A/C issues - rear tires wearing faster than the front

[jason1234]

Hi all,

I've been having an issue with my Altima Coupe 3.5 for some time. The dealership doesn't think there is any issue at all (surprise surprise).

A couple of the symptoms:
-rear end vibration (felt through the floor boards / body - not the wheel)
-rear tires have both been wearing out alot faster than the front tires.
-a bit of a humming sort of noise is heard, but isn't overly loud.

My last set of tires, the rears went bald, while the fronts still had 3/32 of tread. I thought it may just have been an issue with poor rotation. Bought some new tires this summer, and after 15,000 km (9300 miles) the back tires are 2/32 more worn than the front. No tire rotation has been done.

The wear pattern on both tires is even across the tread, and the same on both rear tires.

I've had an alignment done, new brakes, rotors, shocks, and struts all within the past 5 months, and before the installation of the new tires.

The dealership told me it was a blown wheel weight (I know that the balancing weights were all present - saw them with my own eyes the day before going to the dealer). They re-balanced the tires, took it for a test drive, and said everything was fixed. I noticed no change. Had a bottle of pop in the cup holder, and it was shaking like crazy from the vibrations.

I have 200,000 kms (125,000 miles) on my 2008 3.5 A/C. I do mostly highway driving, but also do about 100 km (60 miles) of gravel / dirt road a week.

Any thoughts??

[AlexN09]

Well I can tell you that after 18,000 miles on my tires the fronts are fairly worn and my rears still look brand new. I don't understand why your rears could be wearing so quickly unless somebody else is driving the car and brake sliding everywhere !

[SanoSuKe]

Are you running OEM wheels?

[jason1234]

@Alex - LOL! Someone doing lots of e-brake turns would wear down the rears quite quickly, but that's not the case!

@sanoSuKe - I am using the OEM rims, and same size tires as OEM. The last set to wear bald on the rears were an aftermarket rim with winter tires, but still same size as the OEMs.

My thoughts were that it may be the rear wheel bearings. I know they are sealed in the wheel hub - how long should they last for? I'm sure my gravel road driving would wear them down a little faster than normal with all the fine dust. But I find it strange that both would wear out at the same time ... I don't know!!

Thank you for the replies!!!
Jason.

[DJ_B_Easy]

I had to replace both of my front wheel bearings at around 60,000 miles or so. Symptoms were similar although not a whole lot of shaking going on. The noise is what really tips you off.
You can get a good idea if they are blown just by jacking up the car and trying to spin them by hand.

However, I dont think wheel bearings are going to effect tire wear. The only way I see that as a possibility is if they are so shot that you are literally dragging the back end faster than they can spin. That would be very, very bad.

[jason1234]

That makes alot of sense, DJ. I've had the rear end jacked up, and it feels to me like the tires are spinning freely. If the bearings were that bad, then I'd for sure be able to hear them!

Thanks!!

[RicerX]

My first question is - are you on OEM suspension? Lowering springs, coilovers, etc?

This sounds much like a rear toe-in being slightly out of spec. Whatever alignment is off, it sounds like the problem is completely symmetrical.

Did you buy new? If you bought used, is the title clean? Just want to rule some other things out.

Welcome to NICO!

[jason1234]

Good morning Xenon

I am using OEM suspension - even the replacement shocks / struts were from the dealer. I bought the car brand new - only accident with it was when I schmucked a deer, and the only repairs involved there was repacing the cracked front grill.

I'm thinking maybe I should go in for another alignment. The last one I had a couple months ago, my wife picked up the car, and didn't actually get any info from the shop, and didn't get the alignment printout either. Just seems weird that the issue is symetrical, and on both sides. I dunno!

And thanks for the welcome ... been a long time lurker, but this is the first time I've needed to create a thread!

Jason.