5000 miles later Tire goes flat from no tread!!!!!!

[BladesNSX]

My NSX is lowered, and has been given an alignment several times. I got SO-2s 285/30 for the back of my car about 5000 miles ago. Last night on my way home the NSX starting shaking a little. I pulled over and checked my driver side rear tire and saw that it was going a little flat. I check the pressure every other week so I figured it must be a leak. I felt inside the fender along the tire to find the leak only to realize that the tire was worn so badly that the inside wall opened up exposing the metal. To my shock a better part of more than half the tire was worn down like a baby's but!! Now I had those Pirelli P7000 tires on the back of my car, almost 20,000 miles later I got the SO-2s for better traction. Even after all this time the Pirelli (which I really don't like anyways) had a good amount of tread left. My camber is no different now with my SO-2s than they were with the Pirelli. I simply can't understand why after just 5000 miles I have no tread on either of my rear SO-2s. Yes, I checked the passenger side rear tire and it is worn just as bad. The driver side tire just happen to go first. Now I have to decide what tire to use as a replacement. I also have to remedy what ever it is that is causing such excessive tire wear. Some have said that my camber is off, which I do not believe is the case. Others say I have to change the toe and get some Dali anti-sway bars. I was considering getting the SO-*3* from tirerack.com. Can anyone give any suggestions as to my wear issue; can anyone suggest what tire I should use as a replacement. BTW, my NSX is lowered with H&R springs. Yes I have gotten several alignments after lowering the car. Also, I do not run my NSX hard. I have never tracked her and burn out. I know how expensive tires are and hoped to make these last.

Thanx

'91 Blk/blk

 

[NSX4U2]

Nothing sounds out of the norm to me. The wear rating on your tires will not allow much more than 5K. It is very common to have the insides wear they was you have described. Common even with a stock setup.

Get new tires and check alignment at the same time.

Next time you check for tire wear, turn your wheel to full lock so you are able to see the entire patch of rubber, not just the outside wear.

 

[Lud]

You said the car has been aligned several times, but to what settings? Factory spec is almost certainly not possible if you have lowered with H&R springs. So what are your rear toe and camber settings?

Sway bars have nothing to do with it. It's certainly alignment, but when you lower the car more than 1" you're going to have more negative camber which is going to wear the tires much faster on the inside.

There are two things I would do: First, make sure your car is aligned with no more rear toe than in the OEM spec. Second, monitor the wear on your rear tires next time and after say 2500 miles swap the left and right rear tires to even out the wear. Then continue to monitor them.

 

[nsxtasy]

Next time you check for tire wear, turn your wheel to full lock so you are able to see the entire patch of rubber, not just the outside wear.

That makes sense for the front tires, but Kevin's rear tires wore out.

On the rear tires, you need to bend down or remove them or do something to check the entire width of the tread.

And, as Lud notes, you need to do this fairly often on the NSX. Particularly in the rear.

 

[nsx4jlp]

Second, monitor the wear on your rear tires next time and after say 2500 miles swap the left and right rear tires to even out the wear. Then continue to monitor them.


I was told by a tire installer that doing this could cause the tires to go bad. Is this true?

 

[DanO]

Soft tire compound (STC)
Agressive camber settings (ACS)
Fast inside tire wear (FITW)

STC + ACS = FITW

To mitigate FITW one has to mitigate either STC or ACS or both. It's a mathematical equation.

If your car is lowered then reducing ACS may not be possible. Therefore...

DanO

 

[nsxtasy]

Second, monitor the wear on your rear tires next time and after say 2500 miles swap the left and right rear tires to even out the wear. Then continue to monitor them.

I was told by a tire installer that doing this could cause the tires to go bad. Is this true?

The answer may vary for different tires.

For example, some tires are rotational, which means the tires are designed to rotate in one direction. Some tires are asymmetric, which means one side of the tire is designed to face outwards.

If a tire (like the OEM NSX tire) is both rotational and asymmetric, it should only be used on one side of the car.

If a tire is rotational, it should be re-mounted on the wheel (with the opposite side out) before moving it to the opposite side of the car.

There are some other reasons why you might not want to move tires from one side of the car to another. Bottom line, though, is that (a) if your tires are not wearing evenly, you probably have SOME kind of problem somewhere that you ought to be addressing; and (b) if one edge of the tire tread is worn out, you probably don't want to keep using that tire anyway.

 

[jorligan]

I just got S03s with new wheels from tirerack. Just got the alignment, Camber of front is 0.0 and rear is -1 degree 30 minutes as recommended on the FAQ. Mine is lowered with Eibach - 215/40/17 on front and 255/35/18 on rear with SSR GT1 wheels. They should be able to obtain proper alignment. Hope I get more miles than 5K.

Tim

 

[nsxtasy]

Hope I get more miles than 5K.

I would suggest checking the entire width of the tread visually at least once every 1000 miles starting after about 3000 miles. (Presuming of course that you know what the treadwear indicators look like.)

Of course, this is a good idea with ANY tire - especially one used on the NSX.

One indication of the treadlife you might expect from a tire is the treadwear rating. The OEM Bridgestone RE010 is rated at 120, and is known to last 4-8K miles when used on the rear of an NSX. The S-02 is rated at 140, so its expected mileage would be only slightly higher (140/120=1.17 means you might expect to get 17 percent more miles from the S-02 than the stock tire). The S-03 is rated at 220, so its expected mileage might be 83 percent more (220/120=1.83) than the OEM tire.

Still a good idea to check them periodically.

[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 17 November 2001).]

 

[lemansnsx]

Originally posted by nsx4jlp:
I was told by a tire installer that doing this could cause the tires to go bad. Is this true?

I have heard this also and not for just for directional, rotational, or asymetric tires. I suspect that this "theory" pre-dates modern tires, possibly going back to the days of bias ply tires. The way I heard it switching sides will literally tear the tire apart internally.

------------------
Andrew Henderson
The NSX Model List Page

"We have long acknowledged that enthusiasm for things automotive is a sure
sign of emotional instability if not outright dementia" - Brock Yates

 

[BladesNSX]

As always thanks for the input guys. I have been debating if I should sell my H&R springs and go for the eibachs. The Eibachs seem to be more popular. I don't know how much of a difference this will make in enabling some adjustments to the camber (not to mention that my front looks higher than the rear, it's so annoying). I intend to get a copy of my latest alignment specs to post on here. I know a couple NSX owners who use SO-2s all around and lowered there car with Eibachs. The first owner tracks his car hard and still got 12,000 miles from the rear potenzas. The other owner is currently at 17,000 miles and still going. How many owners have H&R springs and what milage do you get out of your tires?

 

[dswartz]

I have Eibachs and just took off my Nitto 555R Drag Radials for the Winter. During the season I had 12 runs, all with tire smoking burn outs, and just over 5,000 miles and they still have enough tread for another season!

I was beginning to wonder, however, if the difference may be in the springs. I've noticed that Eibach cars are always higher in the back then H&R cars. Maybe Eibach does this because of the alignment issue?

In any case I think your tires wore out before their time.

Also, with a lower ride height, and/or wider wheels, and/or low profile tires, you don't need as much (if any) negative camber. The negative camber compensates for body roll and tire roll over, both of which are reduce by lowering your car and using lower profile tires and wider wheels.

Dave.


[This message has been edited by dswartz (edited 18 November 2001).]

 

[Edo]

Hey BladesNSX, I have CT's Eibach's (re-painted silver I think) and want to switch to a linear rate spring.
Want to swap springs?

 

[BladesNSX]

How old are your CT Eibachs?

 

[Edo]

I bought them and received them/installed them this May. So about 5 months old give or take a bit.

Does anyone know if the H&R Springs are stiffer than the Eibachs?
Or does anyone know the Spring rate specs on both springs?

Also, do the H&R Springs mount up to CT's Coilover Kit?


[This message has been edited by Edo (edited 20 November 2001).]

 

[nsxtasy]

Does anyone know if the H&R Springs are stiffer than the Eibachs?
Or does anyone know the Spring rate specs on both springs?

They're in the FAQ here.