As you may remember, a few months ago I replaced nearly all front suspension bushings and shock mounts with polyurethane versions, then I had the car aligned. It seems to me the tech did a terrible job with the alignment because my front tires are starting to wear down to the wire on the outer edge. Very peculiar. The alignment tech also failed to straighten the steering wheel. About the only thing he got right is that the car does not pull in any direction.

Does anyone have the alignment specs so that I can print them out and show them to the tech after I get a new set of tires?

 

Alignment starts on page 14 in the attached spec book.

 

Thank you!

Do you have any idea what could cause abnormal outer edge tire wear? I'm suspecting toe.

 

If your upper shock mounts are in good condition, then your issue is probably the toe being off....

 

Yes, I. bought and installed welsh urethane shock mounts in December. My ride height is within spec, (I'll measure it later today), and the shock mounts themselves, looking from the engine, are still in great condition.

What should I tell the alignment tech? Should I just print out the spec booklet you posted earlier or should I tell him to check the toe and properly center my damn steering wheel?

 

too much toe in

 

Thank you! What's the best way to make sure the guy gets it right this time?

Also, has anyone tried BF-Goodrich G-force Sport Comp 2 tires? They have a reasonable price at Costco compared to the Micheline Pilot Sport 4S that I want and sourcing Firestone Firehawks Indy 500's is proving to be a challenge.

 

Sport Comp 2's are very good budget tires. They stick reasonably well and are predictable. For more money, continental extreme contact sports are better, there is nothing wrong with Sp Comp 2's for the price.

I had sport comp 2's on my '86 Pontiac grand prix 2+2. I challenged my 18 year old kid to a track day, him driving the Pontiac and me driving my '13 Mustang GT with larger tires (275 vs 255) and larger brakes (14" vs 12") and 25+ years of technology and I could not keep up with him in my Mustang.

Here is in car from the Pontiac on 255/50R16 Sport Comp 2's. I'm in the green Mustang (on 275/40R19's) trying to keep up:

Fast forward to 9:00 when an excruciatingly slow idiot finally let us pass

 

Wow, that Grand Prix seems to be glued to the track. It seems to me the Sport comps are pretty good. What do you think about those tires in the wet? Are they as loud as some in tire rack claim they are?

 

I've used the all season version of those.

Nice grip in all road and weather conditions. I premature;y wore out the rear tires (my own fault). by using theowners manual recommendations, and not checking the wear pattern often enough. They were overinflated and wore out in the center, a classic sign of overinflation. But nothing wrong with those tires, short of a racetrack use.

Z

 

giandnaielxk8....
Hey Puerto Rico, I've had good Luck with Continentals and the price is right!

Front - 20" Extreme Contact Sport 255/35

Rear - 20" Extreme Contact Sport 285/30

I have 20" BBS "Montreal" Wheels Overall best Tires..

BC In Houston

 

The sport comp 2's are fine in the wet. My Pontiac had zero traction enablers and we had a few events where it rained and we kept going at speed. My Mustang could run run slicks in the wet and the gyros would keep it pointed straight down the road, so any tire would be fine on it.

I never noticed them to be loud, but the car had 3" duals with straight thru mufflers so maybe they were noisy. Can't say.

 

Gee, that sucks. Is the correct pressure for the 18 inch wheels: 32 psi front, 29 rear?

I was eyeing those on Tire Rack, until I saw that the shipping was $300 and would put me over my budget. I can't seem to find anyone locally who sells them. Bummer.

I may get lucky there? I've got the center resonator swapped for an X-pipe, the before rear axle delete, and the rearmost swapped for magnaflows. It gives the XKR a nice sound that hopefully blocks out the tire noise.

Currently, Costco has an offer for Bridgestones but they couldn't source the rear Potenza's for my staggered setup. I'm going to wait until the 26th when their Bridgestone offer ends and a new one starts. If I'm lucky, I can snag a deal on the Michelin's.

 

Found a great price on Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3, (better price than Costco) and although they are all seasons they have great reviews. I will probably order them tomorrow. The shop says them can have them here by next week.

 

I'll have to look in my driver manual tomorrow (2002 XKR) . I did get 25,000 miles out the rears before I hit the wear indicators. So I did some good service out of the tires. As mentioned previously, this was totally my fault . I should've been checking them more often. The recommended PSI given in the drivers manual is for the tire compound that the cars left the factory with. If an owner is using any other tire, that tire will have a different compound and is going to likely need is different inflation specification. In those cases, the owner should be just using the driver manual spec as a starting point, not a "set it and forget it" type thing. The BFG's just needed less air than the factory tire in order to have an even wear.

[QUOTE=giandanielxk8;2087569 ".....that hopefully blocks out the tire noise....."[/QUOTE]

I don't think the BFG Sport Comp II's are noisy, and I'm hearing everything. I still have the original stock quiet exhaust. There some rust on it in places, but as that's the only rust on the entire car, I'm still more than satisfied with the care given the car by previous owners.

Z

 

You will be really happy with your choice. I am on my second set of those now. First ones got me mileage of 40K rear and 50K front and were always sure gripped and quiet to their end.

 

That’s great! A lot more mileage than I was expecting. Reviews in tire rack and consumer reports would have you believe you would likely get 15k miles.

What’s your driving style?

 

The key is keeping tabs on tire pressure and alignment. For me the pressure sweet spots were 29 rear and 32 front. Plus I bought a lifetime alignment deal and went regularly to keep it in spec.

My driving style is somewhere between "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Need for Speed" depending on my mood.

 

No, in my Vehicle Care owner manual (2002 XKR) the specifications given for "Normal Pressures" for the 18" wheels are :

Front: 32 PSI
Rear: 34 PSI

those are the specs that will wear out the BFG Sport COMP 2 A/S tires prematurely, at least on the rear. Now I'm using the spec given in the manual for "Maximum Comfort / Speeds under 100 mph".

Front : 26 PSI
Rear: 28 PSI

and keeping as eye on the wear more closely, as I should've been doing previously.


Z

 

Wait, which ones will wear them out quicker, the values you listed (32/34) or the ones I listed: (32/29)?