Uneven tire wear front vs rear - asking for advice

[David 41]

For every pair of rear tires for my 944S I'm going through 3 pairs of front tires.  The rear tires are wearing evenly as do the fronts. 

Fronts = 225/45/17 rear = 255/40/17

I imagine this is a set-up issue.   Seeking advice

Regards,

 

David

 

[Lainey]

What type of alignment do you have on the car? Is it a street vehicle? There's always a trade off if you track your street car, because you need more "camber" (the tire is aligned where there is more of an angle so when aggressively turning you have more of the flat surface of the tire on the road)... Some shops will do an "aggressive street alignment".

What type of tires are you using? Pressures? I am assuming you track your car, of course. The other thing is certain tracks are harder on tires, especially fronts. Like Thunderbolt/NJMP for example.

Hope this helps

[David 41]

It is a track car.  It was balanced (corner weighted) and given a "mild" track aligment by Doughtery. I run 31 lbs front (2 plus factory 29) 36lbs rear (factory pressure). The tires are Nitto 01 r-compounds. 

[Brian Minkin]

David 41 wrote:

It is a track car. It was balanced (corner weighted) and given a "mild" track aligment by Doughtery. I run 31 lbs front (2 plus factory 29) 36lbs rear (factory pressure). The tires are Nitto 01 r-compounds.

Are these presures hot or cold? What tracks are you running the car on? If 31 lbs is your hot pressure in the front that certainly contributes to the wear.

[ccm911]

Uh guys..... he is in a front engined car.

Of course the fronts are going to wear faster. I know they do on my BMW street car. Now his RATIO does sound a bit high. I wonder if he needs to soften up the rear so he can reclaim some grip? Sounds like he is plowing through the corners, thus scrubbing his front tires more than necessary.

I would call Dougherty back and run this by them. I am sure they can adjust to suit your driving style.

[David 41]

Thanks for the responses Brian and Chris,

Plowing, seems right.  Little less rear anti-sway bar firmness and maybe taking a turn out of the rear shocks...

Chris, you're right, it should be done by a knowledgeable shop.

Regards,

David

 

[ccm911]

Please be sure to let us know the solution. I may have said it backwards above, but based on your response, I think you got what I was trying to say.

Hey, I am no Kevin Cameron.

[David 41]

Thanks Chris,

Now I have to "Google" Kevin Cameron.

David

[bobt993]

David,

If your getting that much under-steer on entry then loosen the front bar a bit. Staggered tire pressures are not necessarily bad and often suggested by the manufacturer. You also may want to have your driving style evaluated. Very often drivers compensate for setup issues with too much slip angle which is very hard on tires. I would put this and over-slowing on corner entry as the two biggest issues in driver development.

[cjbcpa]

Dave,

IMHO, I think your front tire pressure is too low. If you've had a track alignment/corner balance, then car should be in the neighborhood of 50/50 front to back. I'm using r-compounds on my '44 and starting pressures are 35 front and 36 rear seem to work for me.

I'm not contradicting Bob, but I would recommend tightening up the rear sway bar; 1) because odds are, your front is not adjustable (I've rarely seen a '44 with one); and 2) tightening the rear should accomplish the same thing (assuming you have an adjustable M030 sway bar) as loosening the front, getting the car to rotate sooner/easier.

Good luck, hope to see you at the track.

 

CB