I just noticed this today....what should I do
1. swap left and right tires, run for another summer
2. buy new tires
Is this an alignment problem
front left tire


front right tire

 

hard to tell tread depth from pictures. but i'd get an alignment. maybe the front left tire hit a curb or something and is out of alignment?

 

looks like camber wear... is the car lowered?
if the tire is wearing on the inner part that is most likely due negative camber
and vice versa.

 

car is stock, no noticeable negative camber which is why I am surprised. Car drives fine. Steering pulls slightly to one side but this is pretty normal for a 3 year old car. I am not 100% sure if it hit a curb as I bought the car used but everything looks good from my visual inspection. I will definitely bring for an alignment.

 

take a guess which way most on-ramps go...

 

-0.3mm toe out on the front left caused the excessive inside wear. Camber was only -0.3
0mm toe on the front right hence tires looked like in good shape.

 

That doesn't look like what I'd call excessive camber wear. The inside is just at the wear indicator, looks like the outside is only 1/32 from them. Not a big deal, but it is time to replace that tire.

The left tire has WAY more miles on it than the rightside one. P.O. probably had damage from a pothole or something and replaced the rightside front semi-recently.

 

Picture can be deceiving...I would say the difference in outside to inside wear is more like 3/32. That is huge for a tire that is 10/32 brand new. It is time to replace the tires. Was going to get Hankook RS-3 but they are on back order and many have reported poor wet traction. I am now leaning towards Dunlop Star Specs. This way I have the option to run these street tires on those track days when it is raining.

Both tires are original from factory, never replaced. 26,000 miles on them. The previous owner never replaced them, I can tell they were all made in 2007.

 

Not really. Say the inside is at 0/32 tread depth and the outside is at 3/32 depth. If the tire had worn evenly then you'd be at 1.5/32 depth across the tread, not 3/32. Significant, but not HUGE. You'd need a new tire anyway.


FWIW, I just ran at Mosport in the rain and in the dry with half-treaddepth Star Spec fronts and brand new RS-3 rears. Balance was great in the wet and in the dry, no undue oversteer in the wet at all. Either of these tires will suck in standing water at or beyond half tread depth.

You sure the tires are all original? Hard to believe the rears would make 26k! It is entirely possible that the P.O. replaced a damaged front tire (or wheel and tire) with barely-used off another AP2. If both fronts are indeed original, the worn one must have a belt separated or have some other internal flaws, or that side brake must be dragging significantly, or a combination of the two.

When you're driving down the road, there's no such thing as one front having -.3 toe and the other having zero toe, they'll both have the equivalent of -.15 toe. Otherwise you're turning.

What were the other alignment specs (front/rear toe/camber)?

 

You aren't by chance fat are you? J/K

That doesn't look normal, even with the expected higher wear due to freeway on ramps. Also a car should track straight, my 2004 doesn't wander one bit on a reasonably smooth road.

So you did have an alighnment done? Something should have been seriously off.