Alignment Problem?

[lifthard1]

My wife has an 08 base with rite at 20k miles at 13 k miles I noticed that the outside of the front tires were absolutly bald so I had them rotated and front end aligned.I noticed yesterday that the fronts are starting to do it again.Any ideas what is causing this? I check the air pressure on a regular basis,and 90% of her driving is interstate.
Thank you

[mahout]

Originally Posted by lifthard1

My wife has an 08 base with rite at 20k miles at 13 k miles I noticed that the outside of the front tires were absolutly bald so I had them rotated and front end aligned.I noticed yesterday that the fronts are starting to do it again.Any ideas what is causing this? I check the air pressure on a regular basis,and 90% of her driving is interstate.
Thank you

Outside edge of both front tires.
Sounds like your alignment isn't that good - too much toe-in. And toe is the onkly adjustment Honda intended for the Fit. Or your base has too high a ride height but thats not likely. Check toe first.
Try this yourself:
use a stretch cord (readily available at any sewing goods store) to go all the way around your Fit at the center of the wheels and not touching anything except the tire walls between front and back on each side. If the cord doesn't just touch the front and rear of the sidewall on each side you have a poor toe setting. That is, on each side of the car the stretched tight cord just touches both the forward and rearward sidewall on that tire when the Fit is unladen and on level ground.
Now check to see if the streering wheel is centered. (When the alignment is right the steering wheel is also centered).
If toe adjustment and steering wheel centering are not your experience get someone who is or a good alignment shop to help.

PS for those who notice that the aforementioned is a toe setting of a liitle toe out, thats preferred for lightweight FWD cars. And its inside the =/- 3mm specification.
While youre at it check to see if the gap between the stretched cord and the forward sidewall of the rear tires is prety equal. Its not readily adjustable but it can tell you if you about how your Fit drives.
good luck.

[lifthard1]

Ty very much ,very knowledgable info .

[kenchan]

also check to make sure she's not zipping through the entrance and exit ramps like a race car.

[doctordoom]

Originally Posted by kenchan

also check to make sure she's not zipping through the entrance and exit ramps like a race car.

yea, outside wear often is a result of aggressive driving/turning too.

[EQC]

Sorry if this isn't the case for you...but I had what sounds like a similar experience that turned out to be normal wear on the stock Honda Fit tires...

Look closely at the tires -- are they "bald" as in all the tread is gone and the wearbars are exposed? Or by "bald" do you just mean the tread pattern has disappeared on the outside edges and the tires appear smooth there?

With the Dunlop tires that I've seen as stock on most Honda Fits, the outer edges of the tires (near the circumferential groove, if I remember correctly) become smooth as part of the normal wear pattern. The tread just wasn't cut as deep there for some reason...so as the tires wear, you eventually get to the bottom of where those treads were cut.

Everywhere else on the tire, the treads were cut all the way below the wear bars...so as the tire wears out, the outer edges start looking smooth, and the rest of the tire looks fine.

The funny thing is, as soon as my tires got that smooth patch, I noticed my MPG increase a bit.

Eventually, I had the tires replaced as they got close to wearing out...but I think once those smooth patches appeared, and rotating the tires regularly thereafter, I got close to another 10,000 miles on them.


My car is an '08 sport...and although my tires are a different size than yours, I believe they are likely the same model tire, so I would expect similar treads and wear patterns. I've seen '08 base models, my '08 sport, and an '09 base model all with different sizes of the Dunlop SP 31 (or something like that) tires from the factory...

[lifthard1]

Originally Posted by EQC

Sorry if this isn't the case for you...but I had what sounds like a similar experience that turned out to be normal wear on the stock Honda Fit tires...

Look closely at the tires -- are they "bald" as in all the tread is gone and the wearbars are exposed? Or by "bald" do you just mean the tread pattern has disappeared on the outside edges and the tires appear smooth there?

With the Dunlop tires that I've seen as stock on most Honda Fits, the outer edges of the tires (near the circumferential groove, if I remember correctly) become smooth as part of the normal wear pattern. The tread just wasn't cut as deep there for some reason...so as the tires wear, you eventually get to the bottom of where those treads were cut.

Everywhere else on the tire, the treads were cut all the way below the wear bars...so as the tire wears out, the outer edges start looking smooth, and the rest of the tire looks fine.

The funny thing is, as soon as my tires got that smooth patch, I noticed my MPG increase a bit.

Eventually, I had the tires replaced as they got close to wearing out...but I think once those smooth patches appeared, and rotating the tires regularly thereafter, I got close to another 10,000 miles on them.


My car is an '08 sport...and although my tires are a different size than yours, I believe they are likely the same model tire, so I would expect similar treads and wear patterns. I've seen '08 base models, my '08 sport, and an '09 base model all with different sizes of the Dunlop SP 31 (or something like that) tires from the factory...

They are Bald as n the outer thread is gone disappeared

[Shaggs2Dope]

Yeaaaaa, definitely get an alignment. I got an alignment done at like 7k miles. Toe was off quite a bit. They are light little cars and get beat up by the crappy roads we drive on daily. .02 out on toe actually works really well on the fit. Good turning, very neutral feeling. I have 30K+ miles on my OEM tires in just the first year, and have almost totally even treadwear with only 1 rotation. I still have about 3-4mil on the tires as well. Will be switching to Kumho ASX as I have had great luck with kumho's in the past, and they are cheap. If your alignment isn't off, you are running too low of a tire pressure and are pushin the shit out of your car, and the sidewalls are rolling under severe cornering. Bump up the psi in the tires to 35-37ish and you will get better mileage, and a lil longer life out of your OEM tires.