LSD kill my brand new tires??

[dongoesby]

My brand new Falken Azenis RT-615 235-40-17 only lasted ~4 months!

good alignment: zero toe front, minor toe-in back, -2.4 camber front -1.9 rear
~35psi all around

no abuse on the tires, used mostly for DD.
no autox or track, only mountain once for 30mins

Stock S14 SR on 10psi w/ aggressive clutch (on/off)
Stance GR+ Pro coilover (one finger gap between fender well lowered)
Tanabe Sways
SPL tension, tie rod, RUCA arms
Nismo 2 way (fresh Motul fluid)
Enkei TC105N 17x9 +12 (minor stretch tire)

while the front ones are still in good shape, the rears are completely gone. It got worn out evenly too (in the center while outside threads still noticeable)

picture taken when the rear cambers at -2.4

[BlitzRPS13]

Could be a case of defective tires.

What is "minor toe" in the rear?

[Grenade180sx]

thats falken tires..

[dongoesby]

Originally Posted by BlitzRPS13

Could be a case of defective tires.

What is "minor toe" in the rear?

very minor toe-in

thats falken tires..

my buddy has the same tires on a teg last over a year with multiple autox events and mountain runs.

[S14DB]

Originally Posted by dongoesby

very minor toe-in

We're looking for a number here...


Can you get a pic of the tread to show the wear across the face?

[RightWheelDrive]

I am going to venture a guess and say that the accelerated tire wear is due to your LSD, especially since you say all the wear is just in the center of the tire. Excessive toe in or out will uneven wear on the outsides of the tire. My rears ALWAYS wear out faster than my fronts. It part of the cost of having a LSD. You got to pay to play.

[Forge_55b]

im guessing you said your tires are not wearing evenly across the tread surface which sounds like it was overinflated or your alignment is affecting your tires more than what you think it is,

and 615s are pretty soft so of course a 2 way LSD will make them wear out faster, maybe not too significantly to matter, anyhow an up close picture of the tire will show if they were feathering or not

[fliprayzin240sx]

Well, time for you to get some NT05s or Star Specs. Better tires than the 615s and less prone to turning into goo.

[clark]

if your tires wear out in the center more so than the outside of the tire, that means you over inflated your tires.

my falken zeix 912s have lasted me 2 years now. i don't drift but get tail happy sometimes and have never done a burn out so...

if you get tail happy ALOT, do ANY drifting OR a burnout or two, yeah it adds up, PLUS again it sounds like you're over inflated.

btw nice kouki

[sirfallsalot243]

I love Falken Ziex 912's.

One of my favorite tires.

[240sxcure]

I've had those same exact falkens which only lasted me 15-20K, if that, on my DD forester XT.

I think the compound is quite soft.

[volkrps13]

those tires are known for gowing fast... Lsd does increase the death rate for tires, but not thatttttt much. just get some harder compound tires

[jspaeth]

Originally Posted by clark

if your tires wear out in the center more so than the outside of the tire, that means you over inflated your tires.

my falken zeix 912s have lasted me 2 years now. i don't drift but get tail happy sometimes and have never done a burn out so...

if you get tail happy ALOT, do ANY drifting OR a burnout or two, yeah it adds up, PLUS again it sounds like you're over inflated.

btw nice kouki

This is EXACTLY what I was thinking....

[RightWheelDrive]

Over inflated tires is a factor but not the main cause. It does however exaggerate the said wear. Hicas cars have premature wear in the center of the tire as a result of a difference in slip angle (same concept with a 2-way). This happens regardless of tire pressure.

[dynamicck]

why is your front toe in zero, but your rears are minor?
double check ur bushings.
If the bushings are bad, and during acceleration it can cause premature tire wear.

[dongoesby]

here is a pic of the passenger side rear tire. The driver side looks the same.



I know this may caused by many reasons, overinflated tire, aggressive lsd, problem with alignment, etc., but how could these cause a street tire only last 4 months??

[FaLKoN240]

Uh, you just listed a bunch of reasons why a tire would only last 4 months.

You're lucky a summer compound tire lasted that long with all those variables fighting against it.

[dongoesby]

Originally Posted by FaLKoN240

Uh, you just listed a bunch of reasons why a tire would only last 4 months.

You're lucky a summer compound tire lasted that long with all those variables fighting against it.

Well, those I listed above could be the possible reasons. But the facts are the tires were pumped 35psi (235/40 on 17x9), and the alignment is good (-1.9 rear camber & very minor toe-in), and I admit that I have an aggressive lsd...

I also know falken azenis don't last, but that fast? I'm saying I paid for $100+ a piece for 4 months??

lastly, sort of a dumb question, can I still run this in autox? if it doesn't hold traction, is it going to be worse if i rotate them to the front (to have major understeer)?

[BlitzRPS13]

4 months is actually pretty decent.. i had someone fuck up one of my alignments.. cooked off a set of tires in 1 week.. so yea.

Those tires are cooked.. i wouldn't even attempt using them on the street.. let alone an auto-x.. just unsafe.

[Hashiriya415]

it also depends who does your alignment.
At the shop I used to work, some people get lazy, just push the wheel with their hand until it reads good on machine, then print and tell customer alignment is all good. On paper the alignment is good. I would say decrease the pressure and use less negative camber next time. Jack up your car, and look for any movement of the wheel up down, side to side, any play is gonna be giving extra wear.

[dongoesby]

i don't get it, my friend has the same tire on his beat up integra for 1 year abuse and autox and he still have a little thread left.

[DrifTGeeK510]

my falkens did the same im sure its just the way the tire wears i have a more significant stretch (17x10.5 225/45/17) but my wear looks the same as yours id say if you want them to last longer buy a different compound tire me personally im content =)

[huffandpuff00]

Your toe in the rear is off, they are fighting each other. correct toe for a s13 is between .03* and .21*, idk what it is for a s14 but guessing pretty close tho. gl man.

[az_240]

I suggest adjustable toe rods such as spl and a new alignment. Toe kills tires.

[dongoesby]

Since so many people have spoken...

Here's an exact alignment spec i'd done on 10/17/09
front left right
camber -2.5.....-2.4
caster....6.5.....6.5
toe........0.........0
total toe......0
rear
camber..-2.0....-1.9
toe........0.05...0.04
total toe....0.09

late in december last year, i found my driver side spl ruca cracked
rear
camber...-3.2...-2.0
toe.........0.45..-0.05
total toe......0.39

within a week, spl had sent me their replacement (a new design) (thumbs up for SPL)
i swapped the rear upper control arm and eye balled the alignment, and drove for a month. It was not until a week ago I found myself went out of thread in the rear.

[fliprayzin240sx]

Double check your toe...I still think its fucked. Get a measuring tape and measure point to point across the front and back of the wheels. See how far off they are from each other. Measure across the front and the back. IIRC, acceptable toe is within 1/8 of an inch. So if you measure them and you get more than 1/8" difference...then that explains your tires shredded.

[LayNLow]

Originally Posted by dongoesby

Since so many people have spoken...

Here's an exact alignment spec i'd done on 10/17/09
front left right
camber -2.5.....-2.4
caster....6.5.....6.5
toe........0.........0
total toe......0
rear
camber..-2.0....-1.9
toe........0.05...0.04
total toe....0.09

late in december last year, i found my driver side spl ruca cracked
rear
camber...-3.2...-2.0
toe.........0.45..-0.05
total toe......0.39

within a week, spl had sent me their replacement (a new design) (thumbs up for SPL)
i swapped the rear upper control arm and eye balled the alignment, and drove for a month. It was not until a week ago I found myself went out of thread in the rear.

So, you replace your camber arms, eyeball your alignment, and expect it to be all gravy? You cant eyeball an alignment. That is the reason your tires are fucked. Next time you replace a suspension piece I would get an alignment right after.

[240sxrb25]

omg realign realign realign.


unless you have adjustable toe arms in the back, people who align your car wont get it close, so they pry on it til it reads good and hammer the bolts home and hope it stays.

and thats what will happen with a soft tire such as yours with even "small amount of toe"

toe damage is so underestimated.

[chuy]

Make your rear suspension softer, dont take too many sharp turns

[huffandpuff00]

Originally Posted by chuy

Make your rear suspension softer, dont take too many sharp turns

this wont help, I dd my s13 with a locked diff and my tires dont wear much at all.