Uneven tyre wear - ripples - mk4 Golf - petrovitch
I had to replace the rear tyres early on my Mk. 4 Golf GTi due to uneven tread wear. This left a series of ripples where the tread varied from 3 mm down to 2mm and back several times around the periphery of the tyre.
Does anybody know what caused this and what I should do to prevent it happening to my new tyres?
Uneven tyre wear - ripples - adverse camber
were they very cheap tyres or remoulds ? I cant think of anything that would cause this.
Uneven tyre wear - ripples - madf
It's commonly a sign of weak shock absorbers. Have you done the bounce test?

madf


Uneven tyre wear - ripples - Number_Cruncher
It's commonly a sign of weak shock absorbers. Have you done
the bounce test?



Indeed, possibly allied with some degree of wheel/tyre imbalance.

Number_Cruncher
Uneven tyre wear - ripples - steveo3002
worn shocks
buckled wheels

cheap tyres or sometimes hard tyres do it...i had original michelin that had done alot of miles got out of shape
Uneven tyre wear - ripples - John S
I agree with madf. Probably shocks. The bounce test is not a lot of good though - only finds shocks which have completely failed - it's impossible to put in the same energy levls they experience in use. It's been discussed here before; shocks have an effective life of 80 - 100k at which point damping has deteriorated significantly.

JS
Uneven tyre wear - ripples - petrovitch
The tyres were Goodyear Eagle NCT3s, V-rated. The bounce test does not reveal any weakness but of course that is a static test. At wheel turning frequency the response could be a lot different. Wheel imbalance would only make one worn spot, not 5, or would it? Could it be anything else?
Perhaps I will change the shocks anyway.
Uneven tyre wear - ripples - Civic8
I would agree with the shocks problem,wheel imbalance would make it worse,but only if you suffered this.Shocks seem to be an afterthought these days ie "fitters" seem to think they last forever?
--
Steve
Uneven tyre wear - ripples - mk4 Golf - JohnM{P}
I've had 2 Golf IVs with old rear tyres, 3 different makes of (quality) tyre, all wore most irregularly. See
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=65...5

However, as the rear tyres last over 60k miles, changing them a bit early isn't too bad (and makes the car much quieter)!
Uneven tyre wear - ripples - mk4 Golf - steveo3002
spin the rear wheels while its jacked up...make sure they run true

ive had tyre fitters tell me some tyres just go out of shape when theyre old