Guess my alignment!

[cjv998]

Title says it all. I noticed my car was pulling to the right (not terrible, but definitely noticeable), and I had some pretty bad vibration in the steering wheel on the highway, so I was going to take it in for an alignment.

However, when I was changing my oil last week, I noticed my tires were in terrible shape. They were Yokohama Avid H4S (stock size, 195/60-R15) with about 15,000 miles on them, at the most. The front tires were worn down really badly on the inside edge; like, the cord was even showing on the passenger-side tire. Needless to say, I bought a new pair of tires and got an alignment the next day (I couldn't find anyone with the Avid's in stock locally, so I got a pair of Fuzion HRi's). I got them balanced and rotated last March, and I put maybe 6,000 miles on my car since then. At least, I thought they were rotated then, but the rear tires have hardly any wear on them, so maybe they didn't get rotated after all.

I know the car had been in an accident (front passenger side got hit, back in 2000; remember, that's the side that was more worn down, and the side my car was pulling towards...the suspension bushings are even more worn over on that side...it's like I drive on an oval track all day or something, lol).

So, to get to the point, I didn't get an alignment sheet, and I'm curious what would cause the inside edge of the front tires to wear that rapidly.

[cjv998]

After some reading, it sounds like I had an issue with the toe (toe out, I would think, since it's the inner edge that was worn), because even if my camber was way off, it sounds like the tires shouldn't have worn that badly. Also, my struts are probably pretty worn out, because I had a really odd wear pattern on the passenger-side tire. Oh well, at any rate, it's fixed now.

[N9netwoAccord]

After some reading, it sounds like I had an issue with the toe (toe out, I would think, since it's the inner edge that was worn), because even if my camber was way off, it sounds like the tires shouldn't have worn that badly. Also, my struts are probably pretty worn out, because I had a really odd wear pattern on the passenger-side tire. Oh well, at any rate, it's fixed now.

definatly sounds like a toe out issue like you said... camber may have had an effect on it too.

do you rotate your tires every 6000-9000 miles? i do mine about every other oil change that keeps them wearing pretty evenly, you m ay wanna try that if you notice your tires still wearing funny.

[ExplodingCake]

Well , you should replace your bushings , balljoints , tie rod ends and upper control arm. How are your springs? Saggy springs affect alignment too.

N9netwoaccord said the magic word , TOE. Most people think it's camber but it's mostly toe that is the culprit. I'm lowered and I get toe but no camber wear.

[cjv998]

Yeah, I usually rotate every 6-9,000 miles, give or take. I'll only have the car for the next 2 months or so, so I'm not going to mess with rebuilding the suspension. Besides, the car has more problems as well, and if I started fixing stuff, I'd end up dumping a ridiculous amount of money into the car. And the car was in an accident before I got it, so for all I know, the frame could be a little crooked, and that could be causing my suspension issues. LOL...to add in one more issue, I don't have the $500-$1,000 that I'd need to redo the suspension, because I'll be moving soon, which gets expensive. I've just accepted the fact that with over 220,000 miles, things will be worn out. After I sell it, the car will probably be on its way to the junkyard, or to be used as a parts car.