Outside tire wear

[kbexperience]

Hello all,


2016 Escalade ESV


I’m upgrading my wheels and tires and before I do so I’m trying to figure out what is causing my tires to wear unevenly in the front. I’ve had an alignment done twice. By two different shops. None of the suspension parts are worn out. New shocks not too long ago. Both times the alignment showed to be in alignment with some slight adjustments made. yet the outside of my front tires are completely worn out in about 25,000 miles. Almost identical wear on both sides. The rear tires are perfectly fine. I realize I should’ve rotated them, but I’d like to get to the issue before I put new tires on it. I’ve read that this can be caused by toe. If it was too much camber, more than half a tire would be worn out. These are both done on Hunter machines by two different shops. Any insights?

 

[tom3]

Every S10 pickup and Blazer we've had did this. Rotate and air pressure help but they just do it. Do you drive on roads with a lot of curves at speed? Haven't seen this with Tahoes/Yukons though.

 

[gtrslngrchris]

If you corner with any gusto at all this is going to happen on a 5000lb+ vehicle in the front. Could it be the alignment? Probably not if it is within specs and you aren't lifted or anything. If you have the front leveled then that can certainly have an effect as it would normally cause the front to go into positive camber some but as you stated you've had it aligned within spec so that should not be the case.

 

[Pressureangle]

Turning forces. Here in S. Florida, the RH front always looks like that- the constant U-turns on the boulevards do it. That it's equal on both sides, I'm supporting the theory that it's simply cornering loads. You can have the alignment shop add some caster to help with that- I don't know the stock specs, but my experience with lighter vehicles is that about 4* caster works pretty good, on simple suspensions like these. You could go maybe 1/2* negative camber as well. FWIW I always keep my tires at sidewall max, not at the door sticker values- they always wear better and last longer. I don't care about ride comfort, it ain't a Cadillac.

 

[Pressureangle]

Turning forces. Here in S. Florida, the RH front always looks like that- the constant U-turns on the boulevards do it. That it's equal on both sides, I'm supporting the theory that it's simply cornering loads. You can have the alignment shop add some caster to help with that- I don't know the stock specs, but my experience with lighter vehicles is that about 4* caster works pretty good, on simple suspensions like these. You could go maybe 1/2* negative camber as well. FWIW I always keep my tires at sidewall max, not at the door sticker values- they always wear better and last longer. I don't care about ride comfort, it ain't a Cadillac.

I'm laughing at myself this morning re-reading, because yours *is* a Cadillac.
Next question is how wide are the new shoes you're considering?

 

[Joeltz]

My 2015 LTZ on factory 22 wheels shows increased outer edge tire wear. I can hear tires rubbing the fender wells at rear outer edge and see a factory rub strip Also the steering is so smooth and ez I try to be moving as I turn the wheel !!

 

[kbexperience]

Turning forces. Here in S. Florida, the RH front always looks like that- the constant U-turns on the boulevards do it. That it's equal on both sides, I'm supporting the theory that it's simply cornering loads. You can have the alignment shop add some caster to help with that- I don't know the stock specs, but my experience with lighter vehicles is that about 4* caster works pretty good, on simple suspensions like these. You could go maybe 1/2* negative camber as well. FWIW I always keep my tires at sidewall max, not at the door sticker values- they always wear better and last longer. I don't care about ride comfort, it ain't a Cadillac.

I'm thinking it's likely the culprit. This Escalade ESV weights over 3 tons. It is a Cadillac, so I do care about ride quality to a degree but I am well aware an Escalade is just a Suburban with more leather on the inside. The magride does a pretty good job, but being on 22's the extra air pressure couldn't make it much worse.

 

[kbexperience]

I'm laughing at myself this morning re-reading, because yours *is* a Cadillac.
Next question is how wide are the new shoes you're considering?

I had 305/45/22 Michelins installed yesterday. $1,600 down the drain. Planning a road trip at thanksgiving, so I wanted new tires on there. Now I am trying to figure out this tire wear issue. I'm thinking it's just a land yacht, and cornering is tough on tires, but may experiment with the toe.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

@OR VietVet has responded to many alignment questions, and he may have some input for the OP to consider.

 

[OR VietVet]

Need to see pics of the alignments you have paid for. Post pics of the before and after printouts. You say is a 2016, 8-9 years old, but no mileage? No worn parts? I very much doubt that. This is all guesswork without seeing the before and after printouts. Plus, inspecting the steering/suspension steps should be discussed. What air pressure is recommended and what air pressure do you have?

 

[Pressureangle]

All these big turds have a lot of scrub at max steer, especially the 4x4. Is yours all wheel drive?
Toe by itself can help a little, as it reduces scrub at max steer. The trade-off is a muddy feeling in the steering wheel, and eventually tire wear across the tread or even the other edge.

 

[kbexperience]

Need to see pics of the alignments you have paid for. Post pics of the before and after printouts. You say is a 2016, 8-9 years old, but no mileage? No worn parts? I very much doubt that. This is all guesswork without seeing the before and after printouts. Plus, inspecting the steering/suspension steps should be discussed. What air pressure is recommended and what air pressure do you have?

All I’ve got handy at the moment is the most recent one. 80,000 miles. New shocks, upper control arms, and sway bar linkages at 50k miles. 35psi(recommended) was what I was running 99% of the time. There is zero play in the tie rod ends.

I’m just confused because according to this my toe was on the lower end of the spectrum which should cause the opposite problem with my tires. If it is being caused by the toe, wouldn’t the adjustments the alignment shop made make the problem worse?

 

[kbexperience]

All these big turds have a lot of scrub at max steer, especially the 4x4. Is yours all wheel drive?
Toe by itself can help a little, as it reduces scrub at max steer. The trade-off is a muddy feeling in the steering wheel, and eventually tire wear across the tread or even the other edge.

I think that’s part of my problem. I rarely ever get on the highway and I make a lot of turns on a regular basis. I think I’m just gonna have to end up rotating these tires every few thousand miles. And, yes it is 4x4 but not AWD.

 

[Pressureangle]

I think that’s part of my problem. I rarely ever get on the highway and I make a lot of turns on a regular basis. I think I’m just gonna have to end up rotating these tires every few thousand miles. And, yes it is 4x4 but not AWD.

Looking at the alignment sheet, it appears you were already toed out beyond spec...should feel better driving now, but I don't expect the tire wear to improve. The caster and camber are already where I thought I'd put them, probably exactly for the same reasons too. <shrug> It yam what it yam, and 'at's all what it yam.