treadwear in miles?

I've finally got my suspension all straightened out but tire wear is still a problem. I have 205/40/17 Falken ZIEX 512s. They have a treadwear of 360 which is pretty good considering the treadwear for most tires this size is 220-280. I don't understand why if I have my alignment perfect and the high treadwear rating my the tires still wear in a few thousand miles. My mechanic said all low profile tires wear very quickly but I don't know how true that is so I wanted a second opinion.

looks to me like camber you lowered at all?

My alignment is perfect

That really doesn't help. What are the specs of your last allignment? How low are you dropped?

But most tires are for every 100 tread wear it's about/approximately 10,000 miles. So a 200 tread wear would be around 20,000 miles. But it all depends on your camber, alignment, how aggressive a driver you are, etc....

I have the H&R OE Sport Springs which lower the front 0.5" and the back 0.25". I have it aligned to Honda's specs: camber is -0.33 and toe is 0. These are just the front specs because obviously the front tires are the ones that wear since it's FWD. Though the drop is minimal I have a Ingalls camber kit installed because my camber was wacky for an unknown reason. I don't drive aggressive enough to wear my tires, I don't burn out or anything but I do drive moderatly fast and enjoy the occasional quick turn. I'm DEFINATLY not going to get 36,000 miles out of these or even a quarter of that. Any ideas are appeciated.

Originally posted by xlosinghopex
I have the H&R OE Sport Springs which lower the front 0.5" and the back 0.25". I have it aligned to Honda's specs: camber is -0.33 and toe is 0. These are just the front specs because obviously the front tires are the ones that wear since it's FWD. Though the drop is minimal I have a Ingalls camber kit installed because my camber was wacky for an unknown reason. I don't drive aggressive enough to wear my tires, I don't burn out or anything but I do drive moderatly fast and enjoy the occasional quick turn. I'm DEFINATLY not going to get 36,000 miles out of these or even a quarter of that. Any ideas are appeciated.

Is that what the guy told you your specs are or is it off the sheet you get when you get an alignment?

I would take it to another shop to get a 2nd alignment as much as a pain as it sounds. Sometimes the alighment rack needs to be calibrated too. But realize the rear tires are along for the ride and also need alignment - doesn't matter if it's FWD, AWD, or RWD.

Well I'm sure those aren't the exact final specs but that's what was aimed for so they're close enough I assume. I really can't afford another alignment because with the camber kit and the aftermarket suspension they're gonna charge me like $100 or more and I just spent over $400 on the car. I did get the rear aligned also but they don't show any abnormal wear. Oh well, I'll try a different brand of tires next time, thanks for the help.

Originally posted by xlosinghopex
Well I'm sure those aren't the exact final specs but that's what was aimed for so they're close enough I assume. I really can't afford another alignment because with the camber kit and the aftermarket suspension they're gonna charge me like $100 or more and I just spent over $400 on the car. I did get the rear aligned also but they don't show any abnormal wear. Oh well, I'll try a different brand of tires next time, thanks for the help.

Going with a different tire is not going to do anything except wear those tire down quick. Figure out what your problem is first or you will just be wearing down tires every 3 months. Fix the problem, don't band aid it.

And you don't know if those are exact specs? What did you take it to someone that eyes your alignment up? When you posted here you said your alignmet was perfect and such. Now you change your story? you don't make any sense. Why would you lie about your alignment when we're here to help you out?

I'm not lying about my alignment. I said it was perfect because I had recently gotten it aligned. I don't know if these are the exact specs because I wasn't the one who aligned the wheels. The guy who did it is very trustworthy so I know he did it right but I'm sure there's a possilbility that it's not perfect down to a hundreth of a degree. I've never done an alignment myself but I'd imagine it's hard to get it that perfect. He didn't give me a printout so I don't know how close it is to perfect but if it was enough to make any difference this guy would have told me. I'm not a master of suspension work and that's why I post here. If I'm unclear it's because of my ingorance on the subject, not because I'm trying to be difficult.

All alignment shops are supposed to give you a piece of paper showing what your alignment was before and after.

Otherwise you could drop your car off and it could have just sat there and they didn't do any work and given your car back to you.

Personally if you are wearing through your tires quickly the only culprit is your alignment or a bent frame, which the alignment shop should be able to pick up.

When I got mine done a while ago back, they didn't put any specs on my receipt paper they gave me, that I know of. They DID align it though because I watched them when they did it. They said my toe was WAY off. Makes sense, because they had to whack away at something at both fronts, LOL.

unfortunately the treadwear numbers on tires are not a real indicator of how fast a tire will wear out, i know it is supposed to be a regulated thing but anyone who has worked at a shop like a firestone or a goodyear knows certain tires for some reason (not alwayse alignment or pressure are at fault) sometimes some tires just wear faster or in a weird pattern,. for example firestone affinity t1's wear in the middle faster nomatter how well you watch your tire pressure,,, i know people wont believe all what im sayin but thats cool just droppin alittle stuff on ya

If it makes you feel better, my Kumho's lasted 1600 miles. I have the receipt from Discount Tire. :alien:
I'm about to up grade to some 18/19's!! :( Those 275/30/19's are gonna kill my wallet!!! :sun: oh well.....
Regards
Z :bandit: