tire wear:need help

I went on a long drive this weekend and when i arrived to my destination discovered a flat tire a couple hours later. Was very lucky that i made it there and not having the tire explode on me while driving at high speeds on the highway. My question is why did my tire explode and what is causing the wear on my 2 FRONT tires like this? What do i have to do to get it corrected? The rear tires seem to be wearing ok or slower. It seems to only wear like this on my summer rims and tires(18")but the wear pattern on my stock rims/Nokian WR seems to be normal(equal milage on both sets). Here are some pics of what i am talking about.

 

 

First 2 pics is of the front driver side tire that exploded. Notice the wear on the inside edge of the tire where it ripped open

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y115/subaru2222/tires/IMG_1502.jpg

 

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y115/subaru2222/tires/IMG_1503.jpg

 

Here is the passenger front tire. Noticed the tread does not go out to the inside edge as it has worn down completely.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y115/subaru2222/tires/IMG_1518.jpg

 

Here is the normal wear from the rear tire. Tread goes right out to edge.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y115/subaru2222/tires/IMG_1517.jpg

Suspension mods??

 

Camber wear ? Front tires -> // - \\

Camber + excessive toe-out/toe-in. Get an alignment before you do the same thing to another set of tires. Even a ton of negative camber will not wear tires like that IF toe is set to zero.

Looks like toe out.

Get new tires and get a 4 wheel alignment.. Also, have your front end check for worn parts.

thanks guys. I have no suspension mods and like i said it only wears like that on my summer rims/tires set which is 18inch as opposed to my stock rims/tires.

Camber + excessive toe-out/toe-in. Get an alignment before you do the same thing to another set of tires. Even a ton of negative camber will not wear tires like that IF toe is set to zero.

 

it looks like excessive camber all the way with very low tire pressures.

 

toe would see wear all across the board.

 

but if it had to be toe, it would be toe out, and the car would have to make some excessive tire screeching noises.

 

as there's more camber on our cars, there's more toe out due to the kingpin axis.

Camber & alignment for sure.....

 

What tire pressure were you running??

is camber something i need to get installed?

 

i believe the tires were at 33 psi. what is a good setting for summer and winter months?

 

should i get the alignment done with those rims back on(and new tires)or it doesn't matter(i have the stocks on now).

Not installed......adjusted

 

Those tires need to be up around 40psi in the front 38 in the rear

 

Whatever you run the most. Switching between the 2 **17" & 18"** will alter your specs alittle though;)

What is the camber set at up front?

The difference in width comes in to play also comparing the stock to the 18's.

i've never touched the camber settings. I believe i had my car aligned once awhile back. It's 2.5 yrs old now and and the summer rims have been on since new. I alternate between the 18" summers and the 17" winters/all season. I don't see any problems with the winters...only abnormal wear on the front 2 summers. I do go from 205 to 225 in width from 17" to the 18".

is camber something i need to get installed?

 

i believe the tires were at 33 psi. what is a good setting for summer and winter months?

 

should i get the alignment done with those rims back on(and new tires)or it doesn't matter(i have the stocks on now).

 

yea, for an 18" rim, that sounds very low for tire pressures.. normally for a 225/40/18 I run as much as 42 psi up front and 40 in the rear.

 

It's not so much of summer and winter, but it's more about the size of the tire you are running compared to the stock size.

i've never touched the camber settings. I believe i had my car aligned once awhile back. It's 2.5 yrs old now and and the summer rims have been on since new. I alternate between the 18" summers and the 17" winters/all season. I don't see any problems with the winters...only abnormal wear on the front 2 summers. I do go from 205 to 225 in width from 17" to the 18".

 

Yea, that plays a role when you go wider with different offsets as well (geometry changes between the two setups). More importantly, you need higher pressures for the 18" vs 17" because your sidewalls are shorter and you need more PSI to hold the tire sidewalls correctly (assuming that your overall tire diameter is the same).

42/40 hot or cold?

 

yea, for an 18" rim, that sounds very low for tire pressures.. normally for a 225/40/18 I run as much as 42 psi up front and 40 in the rear.

 

It's not so much of summer and winter, but it's more about the size of the tire you are running compared to the stock size.

Negative camber plus excessive toe out will give you that wear pattern.

So I guess now you need to get 4 new tires?

 

X

So I guess now you need to get 4 new tires?

 

X

 

 

lol...yes i will. I wanted to get new tires anyway because those Dunlop FM901's that i have don't grip wet or dry too well.

42/40 hot or cold?

 

cold.. I get to 45/42 hot..