Does this tire wear point to a suspension problem?
 

The tires (Kumho Powerstars) have about 15,000 miles on them. Last rotation was in June.

The front left tire tread is worn about half-way, but the wear is even.

The front right tread is worn nearly down to the wear indicators, but the wear is perfectly even across the tire. (No outer edge wear suggesting a bad UCA or anything like that.) Is there a suspension component problem that could explain this? Or am I just getting what I paid for with the cheap Chinese tires?

I'm planning to put a new set of Michelins on the car soon but don't want to end up back in the same place if I need to address a suspension problem.

By the way, the rear tires look just fine with even wear.

... pretty short mileage, you may have a crabwalk condition with your vehicle... how are the rear tires?

LOL.


Typically if a driver is on and off highway ramps, there will be uneven wear. I tend to not slow down much for turns and wear my left front much faster than the others. This doesnt really explain a right tire wearing faster since we are biased to more right turns than lefts and our left turns are usually easier on the tires.

The fact that you have even wear would make me less concerned. Of course I was expecting pictures and numbers rather than just text for a discussion like this that can be very subjective in nature.

Just the facts. LOL. ;)

Share some pics.

Nothing is jumping out at me. Some drivers need to have their tires cross-rotated more than others.

I have to back out of a steep, off camber driveway that unweights the rh rear tire and winds to the right as I back out. This really eats up the rh rear tire on a rwd.

pic
 

I tried to snap some pics using a penny as a tread depth-gauge, but I couldn't really tell one tire from another in the photos--don't think they'll offer any help!

But please tell me more about cross-rotation. I always rotate front-to-back and back-to-front keeping the tires on the same side. Should I use a different pattern?

Makes perfect sense. The RF has been in the RR position.

RR wears more since there are more right turns, but more importantly, right turns with acceleration.

I've noticed this on all the RWD cars I have owned over the years.

Most tire manufacturers currently recommend cross rotation. The "same side" concept went out the door years ago, except for directional tires.

http://www.kumhotireusa.com/tire/basics/tire-rotation

Thanks, Terry. Amazing what you can find out there if you just look, no? :)

What's interesting is that my last tire rotation was actually performed by my indy while he was replacing the flexible brake hoses and doing a fluid change. Now I wonder which pattern he used...