Still Sawtoothing - Help needed.

[vrs777]

I've had my car hunter aligned and all good. But my rear off side is sawtoothing quite bad, both rears do it but the one worse than other.

If I take it back to be aligned, what are the measurements I'm aiming for to stop this?

06 TFSi VRS, on 18's.

Cheers Rob

[gadgetman]

What brand of tyres and what pressures?

[67Mark]

Could it be the wheel bearing?

[Red Rocket]

I've got the usual sawtoothing on Dunlop Sportmaxx tyres. I was looking at getting a 4 wheel alignment done but i read on one website that if the tyre already have uneven wear then alignment won't help. Would be interested in others' experiences.

[vrs777]

Dunlop tyres, bearings fine. They have done 22k mileage and still loads of tread but the sawtoothing if deffo coming back, the droning noise is getting worse too.

I've just swapped then to the front and the droning has now gone as the fronts (now on rear) are new tyres.

[gadgetman]

Dunlops have been reported by a number of members to be bad for this.

What pressures are you using?

[vrs777]

I wouldn't say they were bad but deffo starting to get worse over the last 5k, they have about 4.5mm left on them.

Pressure at 32psi

[vrs777]

Just don't want to wreck the new tyres, but can't be doing with the droning which the sawtooth effect creates.

[67Mark]

I only asked about the bearings because I had the droning and thought it was the tyres. Had a set of Hankook's that have a bad rep for saw toothing on the rears, so got some new rubber....guess what...yep it was a wheel bearing you live n learn.

[gadgetman]

I wouldn't say they were bad but deffo starting to get worse over the last 5k, they have about 4.5mm left on them.

Pressure at 32psi

Pretty sure there was a pressure poll and people were using 34 on the 18" where as 32 is perfect for 17" IME

[andyvee]

I've got the usual sawtoothing on Dunlop Sportmaxx tyres. I was looking at getting a 4 wheel alignment done but i read on one website that if the tyre already have uneven wear then alignment won't help. Would be interested in others' experiences.

Once the tyres are sawtoothed you will get the droning even after the alignment is corrected as the tyres are making the noise. You need to get it aligned and replace the tyres. Steer clear of Dunlop and Bridgestone as they have a rep for sawtoothing.

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[vrs777]

I've replaced the tyres with the fronts which are nearly new so the droning has stopped but I just want to get it realigned now with the updated alignment settings.

[KBPhoto]

I've got exactly the same issue.

One year after have an alignment done and new tyres, OSR is doing the same as before.

Going back on Tuesday to the same garage so will see what they say.

Have been advised to get them to set the rears to 1.2 not the currently accepted 1.4.

Will update this when I get back with any news.

[Stuarted]

Make sure the alignment people really know exactly what they are doing.

I know from experience that some workshops - even main dealers, and even workshops with all the right gear - do not always have operators with enough training, skill, care, knowledge and experience to do the job as well as it should be done.

At the very least, they should provide you - without you needing to ask for it - a computer print-out of the "before" and "after" settings, which should also show what the correct settings (and tolerances) should be for your car.

Such an alignment check should show also detect a worn wheel bearing.

[KBPhoto]

Turns out mine is doing it on both rears now. NS worse than OS, but even wear across the face of the tyre.

Outcomes are that it could be the tyres (old stock maybe & they are Dunlops), possibly the springs aren't quite strong enough to support the weight of the estate (but Eibach confirmed that it is the correct part that is fitted, but an old part number), possibly duff springs (unlikely as they are genuine Eibachs) or something else wrong/worn that hasn't been spotted whilst up on the ramps.

The camber has been set to 1.1 degrees (lowest they could get it to on my car) to see if that makes any difference.

Won't know until I either swap front wheels to rear or get some new tyres (not likely with another 10000 miles or so left in them.

[vrs777]

Yeah I'm just going to see if my new rears start doing it. My fronts, which were on the rear are rubbish at about 80mph, really fast vibration through the car due to the sawtoothed pattern. I think I need to either buy new ones or do a large burnout! To even it out.

[andyvee]

Yeah I'm just going to see if my new rears start doing it. My fronts, which were on the rear are rubbish at about 80mph, really fast vibration through the car due to the sawtoothed pattern. I think I need to either buy new ones or do a large burnout! To even it out.

Turn off TC/ESP and burnout LOL

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[vrs777]

Haha I'll do it Sunday morning on the drive, give the neighbours something to talk about....imagine

[rob_e]

from my experience one you've got deformation on the tyre the only solution is to replace it - no amount of hooliganism will correct the issue, although it may be fun trying

FWIW my 2010 car ran 1.5 degress negative at the rear on coilovers and i never had a problem with uneven wear or sawtoothing however I did have the alightment checked every 30k or so. that was with continental and goodyears btw.

[Aspman]

Just had mine done yesterday after the rears got eaten by this problem.

Hunter set only showed one wheel in the red and the ajusted all 4 in the end but not my much.

Suspect it's a characteristic of the car and some tyres.

I've read to avoid directional tyres but I've no evidence to back that up.

I've got my sawtoothed tyres no teh front now since. I can't afort to replace them right now (Ins, tax & MOT all this month) so I've got this feckin drone from the front now. Bloody waste since there is easy 6mm of tread on them.

[FatblokeVRS]

Had my alignment done twice at the dealers about 3 years ago. Mileage from tank dropped from 480 to 400. Took it to specialist CLCM in Edinburgh and got 4 wheel alignment done. Mileage jumped back up to 480 - 500 miles per tank. Not had a sawtoothing problem since.

[dirk1978]

Can anyone suggest anywhere around west Midlands / Worcestershire to have it done properly?

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[Stuarted]

Can anyone suggest anywhere around west Midlands / Worcestershire to have it done properly?

I live in Hereford (Welsh borders) and although there are one or two local places I have no experience of them.

I waited until I was travelling near London and used Wheels-in-Motion (who have n excellent reputation) in Chesham.

http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/wheels-alignment.php

(I have no connection with them except as a satisfied customer. The car I had adjusted was a Mazda MX-5 [WIM have a good reputation within the MX-5 owners' club], not a Skoda, but they get Aston Martins and all sorts in so they should be OK for Skodas.)

Edited 16 June, 2013 by Stuarted

[KBPhoto]

Can anyone suggest anywhere around west Midlands / Worcestershire to have it done properly?

Hereford Tyres would be the best bet. Excellent service and full Hunter rig.

Or Midland VW in Cannock.

I've been to both and both are good, but I'll be going to Hereford as its a small local business with excellent service.

Took SWMBO's Fabia there and alignment check was free with 4 new tyres, and the adjustments cost £35 IIRC.

That's not to say Midland VW aren't good, just they are not local and are a bigger company.

[KBPhoto]

Double post: sorry!