I bought a brand new set of Uniroyal Rainsport 3's last April 2014.

 

Today(14k miles later) Ive just scraped through the MOT but they are really worn on the inside and all need changing.

 

I recognised the inside wear around 6 months ago and changed the tyres front for back and vise versa.

 

I did have the alignment done, but at a side street £10 alignment offer, and it now has happened to the 'swapped' tyres again.

 

I have just had my bushes replaced and had a hunter 4 wheel alignment done at kwikfit.

 

I am hoping that it solves the problem, but my question is..

 

Was it the tyres being rubbish and dont buy then again?

 

Was it rubbish wheel alignment?

 

Or is it a more deep rooted problem that causes them to wear like that.

 

Cheers in advance

 

Lowered suspension?if so how low?

Didn't they tell you what the tracking was?

How badly broken were the console(?) bushes that you've replaced?

Standard Everything. Bar remap.

 

Bushes were relatively good.

 

Drives better since the Hunter, but obviously spending another £250+ on tyres I dont fancy an underlying problem making them wear again. But surly they should last more than 15k mile

RS3's start life with 8.5mm of tread depth as opposed to the normal 7mm.

 

I had quite a fair bit of meat on mine until it was Sharked in early July. Now down to ~ 1.8mm on the fronts.

This sudden loss of depth is purely down to the remap and RARB so my question is, have you been ragging it a bit lol

 

Edit, new fronts (also RS3's) went on last Tuesday. So from that you can infer that I'm happy to buy them again.

^ Even wear though?

^ Even wear though?

good point. Yes pretty even. Just had a thought now you mention that; I run mine at 2.5 Bar all round so a little higher than recommended; the RS3's have a softer side wall from what I've read.

Bit of a roundabout fiend? 15k doesn't seem bad if you're driving with enthusiasm.

Guess i should have had the hunter straight after the uniroyals fitted. rookie error.

 

On a separate note any suggestions on a decent tyre choice that isnt going to break the bank?

Uniroyal RS3's lol

Uniroyal RS3's lol

 

Please tell..

TBH I swear by them; great tyre for the Fabia and at ~ £65 a corner from Camskill, good value. Great grip in the wet and dry.

You could buy Michelins etc for more and get more wear but cost/ time, IMO the Uniroyals work out at good value.

Had a similar issue but mine was already running the updated bushes. I did a lot of research and found that lower ball joints can be an issue if there worn. It might be worth having these changed anyway and it won't be obvious how bad they are on the car. Just had a set of rainsports fitted so hope it's sorted!

15k from a set of tyres isn't that bad if you like to drive enthusiastically! - The uneven wear is an issue though, as said above the ball joints are worth a check considering you've already done the console bushes but if they need changing you'll have to pay for it to be aligned up again. So unless they are showing signs of wear I'd not be in too much of a rush to replace. Just keep an eye on the wear now and see if it's sorted. 

 

I'd also run the tyres at a slightly higher than the stock pressure. I feel the stock pressures are a bit 'soft' for my liking. Usually run 35psi rear and 37-38psi front and have no issues with uneven wear. Anything up to 40psi is OK and within tolerance.  

can anyone say why they need realigning after removing the ball joints? they can only go in once place....

can anyone say why they need realigning after removing the ball joints? they can only go in once place....

It's in case it's been tracked/set up with the worn joints,fitting new could alter suspension geometry.

on the plus side, mine no longer pulls towards oncoming traffic after changing all the bushes/arb/wishbones/ball joints, just the track rod ends to change (as advised on the MOT) probably get it "hunter"ed at same time... if i can find anywhere local that has a machine... bought some shims for rear just incase

 

gonna need new tyres too... best to get tracking done with new or old tyres? sounds stupid but im really tired and i can't brain today

Edited 25 August, 201510 yr by SkUG

If your near Wakefield this place is very good http://www.bramracing.co.uk they actually know how to use the hunter equipment and the service is excellent. Just had mine done here.

Edited 25 August, 201510 yr by OllieH

When I did have it hunter aligned at kwick fit there were some parts of the 'after' diagram where still red, which i was informed that they couldnt sort. Think it was camber/caster/toe or something like that.

 

How do you sort things that a £40 alignment cant sort? i.e is it still worth driving on?

 

I dont want to throwing good money after bad to be honest and because I had it hunter aligned on the knackered tyres I cant see if it made much difference.

 

So frustrating and unsure of next step really

 

If it is the ball joints you would suggest changing can you advise on a link for them please? 

 

Cheers 

Edited 26 August, 201510 yr by benni8

When I did have it hunter aligned at kwick fit there were some parts of the 'after' diagram where still red, which i was informed that they couldnt sort. Think it was camber/caster/toe or something like that.

How do you sort things that a £40 alignment cant sort? i.e is it still worth driving on?

I dont want to throwing good money after bad to be honest and because I had it hunter aligned on the knackered tyres I cant see if it made much difference.

So frustrating and unsure of next step really

If it is the ball joints you would suggest changing can you advise on a link for them please? I believe I need 2 of these http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-FABIA-TDI-VRS-1-9-03-10-FRONT-BALL-JOINT-LOWER-/300456637652

Cheers

Can you post a pic of the 'after' diagram?

http://s397.photobucket.com/user/benni8/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0014_zpstewr8hw0.jpg.html

 

http://s397.photobucket.com/user/benni8/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0206_zpsl3uzp6hb.jpg.html

Just spoken to skoda who advise before I spend any money get the track rods and ball joints checked

Booked in the garage to check the above on Friday morning

The reason you can't fully set up suspension geometry is because only the front tracking is adjustable as standard, to be able to adjust camber and castor would involve fitting adjustable top mounts or bottom arm for camber, castor would need some sort of adjustable mounting point again on bottom arms.

You would prob need to go to full custom made bottom wishbones with rose joints for full adjustability.

gonna need new tyres too... best to get tracking done with new or old tyres? sounds stupid but im really tired and i can't brain today

New tyres for getting tracking done

As worn ones can alter the readings.