david_d23

I have an 04 E55 running on Bridgestone RE960AS tires. These tires have 20000 miles on them. I bought the tires from a Firestone early last year. The problem I am having is that one of the tires, driver side front to be exact, is all jacked up. Take a look at the pictures to see what I am talking about.

About 2 months ago, I went over one of those steel plates they put over large construction holes. When I went over it, I think the edge of my tire rubbed along the edge of the plate and it actually jerked my car to the side, pushing the car away from it.

Now, I look at the wear of the tire and think that when the edge of my tire met with the corner of that plate, it carved a groove into it. Add a 1000 miles of driving on it and I think that the image in the picture is the result.

I bought the the Road hazard warranty with these tires. They are not honoring it as they say that this is being caused by an alignment issue. My other tires are wearing a bit more on the inside, but no where near as bad. The rears are almost gone though...4/32 left.

Thoughts?

On the next note, any suggestions for another set? I have the 19" setup and am looking for a good all season tire....something that will last a bit more than 20000 miles, at least on the front. I've been eyeing the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus.

GedaBlaq

Man, that sucks. Sorry to hear about your tire woes bro. Definately fight that warranty issue but in the meantime, get that dangerous a$$ tire replaced!
You CANNOT go wrong w/ the A/S Plus, they're good for 45K. I run them as well. I love 'em. A few of the other guys here run them also. Main thing is your and your fellow drivers' safety. Get that dangerous a$$ tire replaced STAT!

david_d23

Actually, I was thinking of flipping them around and putting the good side towards the inner...lol

Yeah, I will be ordering tires in the next day or two once I can make up my mind on what to get.

Thanks for the reply and the advice

jangy

Looks like more of a rub than a sngle hit. Good thing you saw it.

Yacht Master

Looks like a rim offset/width problem, what wheels do you have?

david_d23

I was originally thinking a rubbing problem when I first saw it but I checked and clearance looks fine. I have a set of Giovanna Sabina's on there now. I can't recall the offset, but I recall it was spot on when I ordered them.

Still investigating tires if anyone has any recommendations.

Why main complaint is how this tire could wear this way. Firestone says alignment issue but the tire is missing an "L" shaped chunk most of the way around. My physics says round tire rolling along a smooth surface (roadway) does not produce that kind of wear. If anything, it would have worn out prematurely but not in that fashion. The edge would have been smoothed out, not roughly cut. I asked the guy at firestone to show me on a spare tire they had lying around which direction the alignment would have to be off to produce that kind of wear. He stated that he could not show me on a loose tire and that it just does. Sounds fishy to me.

david_d23

Also, these are supposed to be 40000 mile tires. Has anyone ever made a case for premature wear (especially on the rears) and won? I am down to 4/32 on the rear for a tire that is supposed to last me another 20000 miles. I know these cars eat tires like nothing but isn't that what we are paying for... an "ultra high performance" tire? Is not like people are mounting these on their Pruis.

Food for thought...I always like a good fight.

GedaBlaq

Then give 'em one and go get the A/S Plus'.

MJ50

20k miles??? it's time to get new set of rubber anyways!

Benz-O-Rama

I just had a set of all seasons put on my SL600. I got the new Conti ExtremeContact DWS. They're rated higher than the Michelins on Tirerack and are a bit cheaper too. Plus, they're asymmetrical, so you can rotate them, side to side. I just took off a set of Michelin Pilot Sports that had 16K miles on them. They were so friggin loud, it sounded like I had a bad wheel bearing.

I've only logged about 100 miles on my Contis, but love em so far.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...emeContact+DWS

baldmike73

I was thinking that same thing - actually was thinking 20K WHOA! lucky!

i had a front suspension prob too so mine are torn up but now since the E is put back to casual driver on weekends I think I can finally get those Forgestars I have been eyein'

i would say you are lucky you got 20K on them - just spend the $500 and get 2 new fronts.

SterlingE55

Can you take a pic straight on so we can see the inside and outside of the tire at the same time? I don't think there is anyway your toe'd out a large amount bc not only does that wear the inside of the tire it drags the entire tire along with it so you would see more wear across the whole tire. How much negative camber do the front wheels have? Tire Pressure?

Houstonnewbie

That definitely looks like a rub to me. My friend put 19's on his Infiniti and developed a rub, and the damange looked exactly like what you're showing. There's no way that amount of damage would be caused by a one-time hit. That has to be caused by intermittant/frequent friction. And it wouldn't be surprising if you didn't hear it given how well insulated our cars are...and the drone of the engine and exhaust. Just my $0.02.

CynCarvin32

Just put a set on my S63. I was amazed with the tire. I have had the OEM conti tires and then the OEM Yokohama Advan and this DW is so much better than both of those.

They seem to resist wear well but I notice the side wall is a bit soft and rolls over when you push the big tank. I never saw side wall wear with the OEM tires.

But for a big car it rides like a caddy now.

Benz-O-Rama

Yeah man....

I think once word gets out about these tires, they're going to become a very popular high-perf all-season choice.

I had them put on at the dealer and when the porter pulled the car around, a couple of the S.A.s and techs came out to check the tires out. They hadn't even heard of them before.

david_d23

Thanks for the advise although according to tirerack, they dont have the sizes I need for my setup...specifically for the rears 275/30/19

david_d23

I'll try and get a better pic as you suggested. I was originally thinking it may be rubbing but could not find any evidence of that. I am not sure on the camber, but I thought the same thing on the wear pattern. Tire pressure is 38PSI.

velvet fog

Definitely looks like a rub to me. Take the tire off and look inside the wheel well for a shiny spot.

Benz o rama - how about a pic of the tires on your SL? I'm getting ready to replace the Conti Contact 3s with an all season tire for the winter.

Benz-O-Rama

I'll snap a few and PM them to you.

mekantor

I have the same type of wear on my front-right tire, not nearly as deep though.

david_d23

Does anyone buy the alignment theory? Doesn't make sense to me but I am by no means a tire expert.

mekantor

part alignment, part underinflation

D Bst

I'm going against the concensus here.

I've had the exact same situation on front right, with a Toyo T1R. Thought it was defective, but it WAS an alignment issue. I could see the cords and steel bands in the tire!!

Had the car up on a Hunter alignment machine and it was waaaayyyy off. Can't remember the exact values, but it was seriously messed up. Fixed with a new camber bolt (I think?) for about $40 and the cost of the alignment. Worth every penny and the new shoes are wearing completely evenly.

CHECK YOUR ALIGNMENT!!!

david_d23

Ok, so I am ordering the new tires today and will bring it in for an alignment. I was looking for some opinions on where to get the alignment done. Can a place like Goodyear or Firestone do an alignment on these cars? Is my only recourse a dealer or good indy shop? I read about Firestone having lifetime alignment services and it seems like a good buy. Based on this experience, I want to have this car aligned every 6k.

Also, with the factory default alignment settings, will I always have inside wear?

Benz-O-Rama

Dealer, dealer, dealer. I wouldn't trust anyone but them. And my dealer only charges 89.00, so it's a no brainer.