Wheel alignment

[ozzyhufc]

Can anyone help my x5 keeps eating through the inner edge of my rear tyre on passenger side, I have had the tracking done and wheel alignment done but my passenger rear wheel still looks like it is leaning , the tyre place said most x5 do this on rear , but it must be something please

[X5Sport]

Rear wheels on the E53 do 'lean' so the garage was right about that.  Should be even on both sides though.

[Smeeagain]

they do lean but maybe have the alignment checked elsewhere (must be a four wheel alignment system) - ask for the print out of the alignment. mine always look like its not quite right but the alignment read out says its fine.I had the same issue with edge wear when I first got the car until I got the alignment sorted

However ....... under inflated tyres will wear on the edge too (over inflated tyres wear in the middle)- keep any eye or tyre pressures weekly.

If tyre pressures and alignment are fine then I cant think why else a tyre would wear.

[briankerrys47]

[quote="Smeeagain"]
they do lean but maybe have the alignment checked elsewhere (must be a four wheel alignment system) - ask for the print out of the alignment. mine always look like its not quite right but the alignment read out says its fine.I had the same issue with edge wear when I first got the car until I got the alignment sorted

However ....... under inflated tyres will wear on the edge too (over inflated tyres wear in the middle)- keep any eye or tyre pressures weekly.

If tyre pressures and alignment are fine then I cant think why else a tyre would wear.
[/quote]Had simlar problems NSR worse,had lower drop arm bush done seems better on tyres now after fitting new set!

[jaynana]

i've had this prob, fortunately got it sorted before the tyres got totally wasted!

true that the tyres lean or have a negative camber. from memory its -1 to -2 degrees as per spec!!

but that by itself doesn't result in inside edge wear... well not at the extreme edge only as i had it, it would have been leaner across the footprint if its due to camber.

the issue is toe in or toe out! standard wheel alignment does not correct rear wheel toe, cos i think in most cars that's fixed and not adjustable.

in these cars like in most 4x4s it is adjustable.

as said go to a place that does 4-wheel alignment, ensure that they fix rear toe, should sort it out.

also low air pressure results in wear at the edges.

[Dimsum]

Ive noticed a definite lack of "lean" on mine.... Thinking I should get it checked!

[ozzyhufc]

Thanks for all your excellent replys , what is the rear toe someone said  to sort out,
Mine leans more on rear passenger side the garage said they did it to -1 or -2  but still looks leaning to much to me , I was thinking of replacing the whole lower drop arm on that side and see if that makes a difference
What do u think please....

[Smeeagain]

alignment is whether or not the wheels are running true in a straight line ahead of the car. Toe in (or out) is how much they lean in (or out) - every vehicle is designed to have a toe in/out/neutral.

Don't go replacing anything yet and don't go on what looks right or wrong. My local independent tyre dealer for example does 4 wheel drive (and toe in/out) alignment - they check it for free - if it doesn't require adjusting (and you can check the read out to make sure they are not cheating just to earn a few bucks) then they dont charge.

Find someone who offers similar and get a second opinion, free of charge, before you go changing anything at all. Dont tell them what you think it is/might be. just ask them to check 4 wheel alignment and front and rear toe in and see what they say.

[jaynana]

There is camber and toe.

'Lean' is camber, i.e. vertical. Are the tyres exactly 90 degrees to the ground horizontally or slightly off. E53 is designed to be -1 to -2 degrees negative camber.

Toe is if you imagine your feet are the 2 tyres, when you stand whether your feet are exactly parellel to each other or toes are pointing slightly inwards or outwards. Ie horizontal. There is minimal tolarance on toe.

[RRH]

This should give you an idea of the tolerances (and how far out mine is currently!)

[scratchpole]

Had the same sort of wear except on the driver side and had four wheel alignment done. Then when having some electrical work done at a local indie he mentioned that my rear sub frame bushes needed replacing. I explained that the wheel alignment had just been done and he said it was a waste of money until the bushes were replaced.

Bought a set of poly bushes and found someone fairly local to fit them. The old ones were so shot that the inner metal part was not attached to the rubber and a couple of the inners almost fell out by themselves. The drive back home was a total transformation. No need to keep correcting the steering, ran completely straight and going around corners was as if it were on rails. I had been concerned that poly bushes would give a harder ride but in fact it now feels much smoother both when pulling away or on the open road (or even over road humps). Worth every penny.

Well worth getting your bushes checked before getting wheel alignment done.

[AW8]

Some good replies here.

Alignment in itself can be expensive but depending who does it can be waste of money.

4 wheel camera alignment recommended  by me and others.

My Bmw Indy in Surrey has a hunter system

Anyway look at this link for your nearest if you want it checked again or after any new parts in event an issue is genuinely highlighted

http://www.alignmycar.co.uk/