Premature Tire Wear on Lowered Lara

[madrid2k]

Back in the summer, I put on 18" Drag wheels on my Lara. They're wrapped in a set of all-season Falken 225/40/18's.

I also lowered her with Tein S springs, plus Tokico struts.

After I went in for my 5000 km (3000 mile) oil change, my mechanic pointed out that my tires were wearing down fast.

Damn, I wasn't even paying attention to the tread wear, because the tires were relatively new, but he was right! My tire tread on the front looked like they had 20,000 kms on them, not 5,000.

Has anyone else experienced this with a lowered car?

Is it a problem with the Falkens being a soft rubber? Perhaps it's because the tires are low profile? Or do you guys think it's because the car is lowered and its putting extra downward force on the wheels?

At this rate, I'm going to have to buy a brand new set of rubber after less than a year - that's crazy.

[SolaraBlue]

its probably because your car is lowered... also if you need an alignment or tires balanced this will happen... did you have this done after having your suspension lowered? its a must.

[unbalancedwood]

Did you ever get your car aligned? This is a must epically after lowering. I bought a 3 year alignment package just for kicks and a decent price. Usually if you dont get an alignment and if your camber is off, you will have a one sided type of wear....

Tire balancing is also nice to do every 7-10,000mi to make sure they are spinning correctly.

Did he say how the tires were worn? cupped, one sided...??

http://www.procarcare.com/includes/cont ... ewear.html

[madrid2k]

Yeah, I got them aligned after it was lowered.

It's pretty even tire wear. The rubber just seems to be wearing down too rapidly.

Do Falkens have a reputation for wearing down easily?

[dvdchris45]

Yeah, I got them aligned after it was lowered.

It's pretty even tire wear. The rubber just seems to be wearing down too rapidly.

Do Falkens have a reputation for wearing down easily?

Falkens are actually pretty decent tires, I'm looking a set myself if/when i make my rims upgrade with the 452s...

could be an issue of improper alignment? you never know whos qualified for what nowadays..

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

thats one of the reasons I went back to my oem's, bloody tires costed too much for my driving needs...now i wish i would still have my plus sized..I've not even added 3K miles since 7 mts.

[Mole]

Yeah, I got them aligned after it was lowered.

It's pretty even tire wear. The rubber just seems to be wearing down too rapidly.

Do Falkens have a reputation for wearing down easily?

whats the treadware of your tire?

[Solorange]

My buddy had falkens on his car and his seem to wear down pretty quick too. But he also drives his car hard where ever he goes. They may just suck as far a thread life goes.

[hskrsolara]

My buddy had falkens on his car and his seem to wear down pretty quick too. But he also drives his car hard where ever he goes. They may just suck as far a thread life goes.

I had the falken ziex as the first set on my 18's...these tires are TRASH! Even tread wear, but completely gone after 6,000 miles. Sears didnt even hesitate to replace them, unfortunately I replaced them with Kuhmo Ecsta ASX...TRASH! Replacing those after 10,000 miles with BFG's. Alignment was perfect every time.

Don't read too much into the treadwear ratings. There is no industry standard, thus each company can rate theirs however they want. IE: BFG's 340 treadwear rating may be better than a Kuhmo with 420 treadwear rating. From what I have seen in low profile tires, Falkens and Kuhmos are junk. Falkens are VERY soft, but usually have decent dry grip. In wet conditions, my falkens and kuhmos were terrible. Unfortunately, when it comes to tires, you get what you pay for, but dont expect to get much more than 30,000 miles on any set of low profile tires.