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Can incorrect tracking cause wear on one tyre?


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Hi.

It's been a long time since I was last on here (possibly over 5 years).

Can anyone tell me if incorrect tracking of the front wheels can cause wear on the inside edge of one front tyre only? Logic tells me that it would affect both tyres, but am I right?

The right front tyre of my Mk3 Mondeo has suffered from heavy wear on the very inside edge over the last two sets of tyres. The rest of the tread wears evenly. I have had front wheel tracking done earlier this year, but the damage was already done and it's been impossible to tell if the problem is still there. Now I have just spent over £300 on a set of 4 tyres, so I'm keen to protect my investment. I'd consider having the 4 wheel alignment done, but I'm concerned it could be a waste of money if there is an underlying problem with the suspension. I have had my local garage look at this - they didn't find anything and nothing was flagged up at the last MOT.

So, should I just keep a keen eye on the tyre in question, or does it sound like an obvious case of the camber being wrong? I almost forgot to mention - the steering wheel is as near as dammit central since I had the tracking done.

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Welcome back! Nice to hear you still have a MK3 Mondeo on the road, not many around now. 

Sounds like the toe angle to me and yes it could just affect the one tyre. I would definitely get a proper geometry done. After all the fronts are measured from the rear so if those are out the fronts will be.

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Welcome back,,,,,

Tracking as it's called cannot wear one tyre on the front. Reason being both front wheels are linked via the steering rack. This means it's a shared angle.

If the wear is about 10% of the tyres width and smooth then it's camber.

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Thanks both.

Yes, I would say that the wear was (is) smooth, and literally just on the inside edge (not gradually outwards). The flat part of the tread was fine, which is why I hadn't noticed how bad the problem was, I suppose.

There is a garage fairly local to me that has a Hunter Hawkeye machine, which I'm assuming is "state of the art"? According to their website, they offer a free alignment check, which also includes an initial suspension check. Another much closer garage has a John Bean Visualiner. Is that any good?

Thanks.

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If the wear is smooth and it's the camber angle then something is likely to be bent or broken as it's not adjustable. A broken spring is a good shout from Nick, they're pretty common for breaking on the Mondeo. How many miles does the car have?

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I have had the alignment checked and adjusted today. If anyone would care to interpret the before and after printouts, I will post them up tomorrow. Very briefly, though:

Before
Front - Camber and Castor green both sides, Toe just in the red both sides, Total Toe green, Steer Ahead in the red.
Rear - Camber green both sides, Toe in the red both sides (miles out on the left), Total Toe miles in the red, Thrust Angle -0deg06min.

After
Everything in the green, Thrust Angle 0deg00min.

So, all would be appear to be good now, but... driving home I'm almost certain the steering wheel is slightly off to the right. I don't know why this would be but it's going to play havoc with my OCD. Surely the machine can't lie? I may try swapping the front wheels around, as I have known this to have an effect before (but not this car). What else would cause this? Could it just be sensitive to the road camber? Car has done 161,000 miles, but I really don't think there is anything broken or even that worn - I've had all this checked.

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After a bit more driving, I think my initial observation about the steering wheel not being centred was incorrect. What is actually happening is that the car has a tendency to drift to the left (or more likely it is sensitive to the camber of the road) and I am correcting it. I reckon that on a ramp or a perfectly flat road, the steering wheel would be dead centre, as it is some of the time anyway. I think it has always been like this, to be fair. I have yet to test my theory out by driving on the other side of the road - I might try this on my way home tonight, if it's not too foggy.

Anyway, at the end of the day it's the tyre wear that's the most important thing.

I have uploaded the before and after printouts if anyone is interested.

Before2.jpg

After2.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

Even the before figures arnt dramatically out enough to do what is was doing? Does it sit straight on a flat road? Good result for you though, mondeo ownership can be a bit of a pain sometimes.. I must of had 7 in a row :lol:

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  • 5 months later...
  • 11 months later...

Hi. I have this identical problem! I have a 27,000 mile Hyundai i10 and noticed the OSF tyre wearing prematurely on the inside edge of the tread area (thin grooves disappeared). 

I've just today had the alignment checked on all 4 wheels (identical type of printout to MondeoGhiaX's suggesting it was tested on the same/similar type of equipment). Both front Toe's were red as was total Toe but the correction was only 0°03'  if I'm reading this correctly. 

The car does still seem to have a slight bias to steer to the left sometimes (I think) but it could be that I'm just looking for a problem now.

Has anyone got any opinions please?

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  • 1 month later...

Well, it's a year and a half on and I've just noticed that the right front tyre is well worn on the inner edge again, exactly the same as before! It's almost like it happened after I stopped checking it regularly (I kind of lost interest during the lockdown I suppose). It was not mentioned at the last MOT, but that was last November. 

To be honest, I think this car's days might be numbered now anyway, so not going to get too obsessed over it, but thought it was worth updating for the record.

  • Thanks 1
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  • 2 months later...

I was going to start a new thread, but might as well carry this on.

My old Mk3 Mondeo Titanium X has finally bitten the dust. But don't panic, as I have another Mk3 Mondeo! Amongst the comprehensive paperwork is a receipt with before and after printouts of 4 wheel alignment that was carried out earlier this year. I have deduced that this was done after replacement of a suspension part. Everything is well in the green on the post-alignment printout. However, one of the first things I noticed when driving the car is that the steering wheel is slightly off-centre (right hand down a bit) when driving on a straight road. Surprise, surprise, eh? I think it's highly unlikely that the car has had any work done since the alignment.

I believe that the car is actually drifting slightly to the left due to the road camber, and my subconsciously correcting this is causing the steering wheel to be off centre. It's not a huge amount, but this sort of thing does my OCD head in. Surely all Mk3 Mondeos weren't like this from new? Do manufacturers ever deliberately bias a car's geometry to suit driving on the left or right?

Assuming the toe is set correctly, I was wondering what people's thoughts are about minor DIY adjustment of the tracking (equal amounts each side), to correct the steering wheel position. I could be pretty accurate with this, but have no idea how much to turn the track rod(s) in order to rotate the steering wheel a couple of degrees, so it would be complete trial and error. I haven't done a thorough inspection of the tyres yet, but the wear looks pretty even to me.

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  • 2 months later...

An episode of Wheeler Dealers I watched yesterday featured an Aston Martin DB7. While carrying out four-wheel alignment, it was mentioned that the alignment on this car was biased to suit UK roads (i.e. driving on the left). So is this typical? Would it explain why the last several cars I've owned, even after four-wheel alignment, have had a tendency to drift to the left, particularly if they've had suspension work done?

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20 hours ago, MondeoGhiaX said:

An episode of Wheeler Dealers I watched yesterday featured an Aston Martin DB7. While carrying out four-wheel alignment, it was mentioned that the alignment on this car was biased to suit UK roads (i.e. driving on the left). So is this typical? Would it explain why the last several cars I've owned, even after four-wheel alignment, have had a tendency to drift to the left, particularly if they've had suspension work done?

Yes, it's because of the slope of the road. I'm from Ukraine, we drive on the right. Most cars pull to the right.

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