Front tyre wear Mondeo mk2

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Thu 8 Mar 2007 17:38
Front tyre wear Mondeo mk2 - DP
The Mondeo is coming up due for a new set of front boots, but I'm a little concerned over the wear pattern of the existing ones.

The front tyres are Falken ZE512's and have covered just under 20,000 miles. The main part of the tread is down to around 3mm, but the tread within 2cm or so of both inner and outer edges of both front tyres is almost gone. I've had tyres wear on one side due to tracking problems before, but I've never seen tyres wear on both edges before. I am not fastidious about monitoring pressures, but when I have gone to adjust them, I can't ever recall them being more than 2-3 psi under the recommended pressures. The car is not driven particularly hard, and most of its mileage is on motorways.

I had a four wheel alignment check/adjustment done when the Falkens were fitted and the printout showed everything to be within factory tolerances. That was 20k ago though. The car still steers straight at present, and there are no signs that anything is overly worn or out of alignment.

Can I just fit a new set of tyres, or is there something else that needs attention?

Cheers
DP
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Thu 8 Mar 2007 18:04
Front tyre wear Mondeo mk2 - Number_Cruncher
20,000 miles life isn't too bad - certainly not disastrous.

Typically, this is a sign of under-inflation, and a few psi will make a difference over the life of the tyres.

I think it is worth the expense to make sure that you have a decent pressure gauge - they aren't expensive.

Having seen this happen to one set of tyres, and understanding your less than **pedantic tyre pressure monitoring, I would be inclined to set the tyres a psi or two high - then hopefully, over time the average pressure will be OK.


** my guess is that you are still checking the pressures quite a bit more regularly than most motorists do.

Number_Cruncher
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Thu 8 Mar 2007 18:25
Front tyre wear Mondeo mk2 - kithmo
Is it a V6, I had the same with the Mk3 V6 I had, only my Bridgestone Potenza S03s at £125 each, wore out in under 10k miles. I checked the pressures every week and they were always ok. With the next pair of tyres (Hankook Ventus K104 sports) I upped the pressure by 3psi and that evened it out. The ride was a little harder over rough roads and speed humps, but the handling was fine (slightly more precise steering if anything).
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Thu 8 Mar 2007 19:11
Front tyre wear Mondeo mk2 - DP
Thanks both!

Number_Cruncher, that sounds plausible. I know 20k is a fair life, but I was just a little concerned at the wear pattern.

Kith, it's a TD but I suspect the engine is about the same weight as the V6. I've been running at 31PSI, but the pressure has dropped down to 28 on occasion.

Cheers
DP
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