Excessive tire wear on right rear

[njmurvin]

My wife drives a 2001 330cic automatic. For some reason, the right rear tire is wearing out at twice the rate of the other 3 tires. We bought it used about a year ago with 50kmi on it and the tires all looked good at the time. She has put about 12kmi on it since. She doesn't hot rod the car, so I doubt it's from peeling rubber. The car drives smoothly at all speeds - no obvious balancing issues.

Rear wheel alignment?

Bad wheel? It has the sport package and M wheels.

Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Neil

 

[aNoodle]

Maybe that tire went underinflated for a while and ended up with excessive wear? If the wear is uneven (like the outside vs. inside) then that's an alignment issue.

 

[olcrazy1]

If I remember correctly, all 4 wheels can be aligned seperatly. Possible the 1 rear go tknocked out of alignment. Has the car ever been hit? Possibly in the right rear? Also like ANoodle stated, check the tire pressures.

 

[Zchild]

Yes, olcrazy1, you are correct in that all four wheels get aligned independently. I think you are on to something. I would suggest having a new alignment done for all four wheels. Usually a weird tire wear pattern is an indication of mis-aligned wheels, or defective tires. Anyway that's my two and a half cents worth... Happy Motoring [driving2]

 

[MrElussive]

It's either alignment or the camber is off! Take it to your dealership and have them take a look. It's gotta be alignment or camber.

 

[njmurvin]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll take it in and check alignment. I suspect the camber. No accidents that I know of.

FWIW, the wear is even and the inflation is consistent with the other tires.

 

[olcrazy1]

The camber is part of the alignment. In a real alignment they check Camber, Caster, and Toe. If any of the above 3 are off them the tires may wear incorrectly.

In the rear I do not believe it is possible to adjust the toe on the BMW, it is a fixed position, if the toe is off on the rear then something is probubly bent.

 

[lpquick]

The camber is part of the alignment. In a real alignment they check Camber, Caster, and Toe. If any of the above 3 are off them the tires may wear incorrectly.

In the rear I do not believe it is possible to adjust the toe on the BMW, it is a fixed position, if the toe is off on the rear then something is probubly bent.

If the wear is even and the PSI is the same as the other rear tire, your wife has a heavy foot! She likes to spin the tires, which is not necessarily a bad thing!