uneven rear tire wear.

[jhandy]

Hello,
I have new, less than 6 month (5000 miles) old tires on the rear of my 2002 S and just noticed that the inner tread of both tires are almost worn to the point of replacement. The center and outer parts of the tire have lots and lots of tread life in them. Whats going on? Is it camber or aligment or just normal?
Thanks,
James

[Topless]

You must drive a lot of straight lines. An alignment shop can reduce negative camber on the rears for more even wear for your driving style.

[choeglund]

It's typical for insides to wear out first but if you have LOTS of tread left in middle and outside, then you should either get your alignment checked or spend more time at the track.

[Paul]

Could also be a toe in/out issue....

I had my aligned at the very lower limits of camber and toe and my tire wear seems to have slowed down a lot.

[jhandy]

The Boxster is my daily driver so i guess I do drive a lot of freeway strait lines. I will try to have the alignment shop fix it up for me tomorrow. What should i tell him to put the camber and toe at for regular city and highway driving?

[Paul]

You want them to set it to the minimum amount of toe and camber that the alignment specs will allow.

Most shops just put it on the machine and verify that each wheel is some where in between the max and min of each setting. You want the castor to be in the middle of the range, the camber and toe at their lowest allowable settings.

[Paul]

So after looking at the alignment specs (have your guy verify these)

Set the camber at the bottom of the limit: -90' (less than -1)

Set the toe at the bottom of the limit: 0.

Most shops will want to do this with new or evenly worn tires.

[Paul]

I almost forgot:

Have it aligned with a full tank of gas and as much weight in the seats as you usually have when driving it. The camber on these cars changes with weight.