Michelin Pilots Worn Out with 6K Miles REVISED TITLE Actually 12K Miles in 3 Years

[BubbaTree]

1. Looks like the latest alignment on my daily driver has worn the rear tires only down to 3/32 in about 6K miles. Bought the tires from Costco which takes no responsibility, nor will the reputable alignment shop. I have two questions for some short term relief before buying tires and getting alignment. What's the optimal alignment spec for long term tires wear, and should I now rotate rears to the front on my square setup? I guess another question for the group is what tires do you recommend for DD in the desert with lots of heat and little rain? This car may get 8 - 10 K miles annually.

Thanks!

Guess I've also got a lot to learn about posting here! Here's the correct information. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 installed 2-8-17 at 86986 miles, and aligned at that time. Current alignment was done 1-18-2019 at 93086 miles. As of today, the mileage is 98252, so the tires have about 12K in 3 years. Hope the photos are helpful. My concern is how much the tires have worn is 3 years and ~12K miles, if the alignment is basically solid.
Sorry about the errors and confusion. I'll never get how to post my photo's, but here's the numbers from the current alignment done January 2019: Looking only at the rears: LR camber -1.6 degrees, toe +.18 degrees. RR camber -2.0 degrees, toe +.15 degrees. Total toe +.33 degrees. As mentioned elsewhere, I drive this car like a sissy, but acknowledge driving habits can factor into this question. Bottom line, if the current specs look OK to the crowd, and I need new tires soon, I'm asking for recommendations for other than the Pilots I now have.
Thanks,
Steve

[TrackRat951]

Do you have your current alignment specs? Which Pilots? That seems to be a ridiculous amount of wear.

[jbfrancis3]

A picture with good lighting would help, too.

[Obioban]

Worn RTABs can cause tires to wear out absurdly fast, even with a "good" alignment (alignment is good on the rack).

[bassel_sy]

Worn RTABs can cause tires to wear out absurdly fast, even with a "good" alignment (alignment is good on the rack).

Wouldn't an allignment shop notice that though? I remember a few years back getting my car aligned it was mentioned to me to replace them before aligning for fear of this exact issue? Regardless of what Michelin tire it is, it should NEVER wear that fast.

[Obioban]

Wouldn't an allignment shop notice that though? I remember a few years back getting my car aligned it was mentioned to me to replace them before aligning for fear of this exact issue? Regardless of what Michelin tire it is, it should NEVER wear that fast.

Not necessarily. Bushing check isn't a default part of an alignment. A shop with lots of e46 experience might do it, because they know to, but an alignment shop not doing it is not indicative of a bad alignment or shop.

Worn RTABs could easily wear any tire that fast. I picked up an e46 in Florida with bad RTABs and drive it back to PA (1200 miles), and the brand new tires on it were shot by the time I got to PA.

[stash1]

Worn RTABs can cause tires to wear out absurdly fast, even with a "good" alignment (alignment is good on the rack).

Yerp, if the alignment specs the shop used are decent (verify toe setting especially)...it could possibly be worn RTAB's. I've got 4yrs., 2 different suspension set ups (w/fairly aggressive camber settings), and 20k mi+ on my SS's and plenty of tread still left-lol.

[Bostonbruck]

Definitely make sure the rtabs are in good shape. I'd just replace them with oem + limiters or turner monobals.

[Dash1]

Regardless of what Michelin tire it is, it should NEVER wear that fast.

That’s not true at all. You could put economy tires on and worn rtabs will eat up your tires. Your toe is adjusted through the rtabs, therefore, when they are worn excessive play practically shreds the rear tires.

[bassel_sy]

That’s not true at all. You could put economy tires on and worn rtabs will eat up your tires. Your toe is adjusted through the rtabs, therefore, when they are worn excessive play practically shreds the rear tires.

i meant if rtabs are fine, nothing should wear that fast. like it cant be the tire.

[ATB88]

yep, bad RTABs took a fresh set of tires down to the belts in 3k miles on my first M3. that was a great first month of ownership...

[r4dr]

i meant if rtabs are fine, nothing should wear that fast. like it cant be the tire.

If RTABs are fine, the tires can still be shredded by an improper alignment. It's a two-part equation: intact RTABs to limit dynamic changes, and a good alignment from the beginning.

[bassel_sy]

If RTABs are fine, the tires can still be shredded by an improper alignment. It's a two-part equation: intact RTABs to limit dynamic changes, and a good alignment from the beginning.

a bad alignment yes, but to that extent ? id be surprised tbh.

[r4dr]

a bad alignment yes, but to that extent ? id be surprised tbh.

Yes. People think excessive camber leads to crazy tire wear, but it's really toe that can have drastic effects.

[bigjae46]

Excessive toe can add a lot of heat into the tire which will accelerate wear by a lot. You’re basically dragging the tire along the pavement against its intended direction of rotation.

6k miles on a sports sedan is an acceptable amount of wear for somewhat aggressive driving. Can’t blame Costco and Michelin. The alignment shop...maybe if they had it out of spec but you drove 6k miles on the alignment.

when does the alignment shop ever get off the hook for being blamed? 10k miles? 20k? Never?