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Tyre Wear

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Hi folks, new to the group so forgive me if I am asking something that’s already been discussed. We have a model 3 performance with the 20 inch wheels, not the new model but the one with the chrome trim. I’m assuming this is the American built version. Long story short it’s burnt the front tyres off in 13k miles with incredibly uneven wear. Outside edge still has 4mm inside edge is through to the wires. Tyre pressures have been run at 44psi and checked regularly and we don’t drive this car like mad people as we usually carry 2 small children with us. The dealer has told me this is normal and as it’s a performance car I should expect this type of wear. I’ve had a good few performance cars in my life and never had this happen (Audi RS4, Jag F-Type, TTS and all were also 4 wheel drive). My neighbour has the exact same car as us, about 6 months older and he drives his ‘hard’ by his own admission. He’s done more miles and his front tyres are still at about 4mm with nice even wear. Am I being told some garbage by the dealer because I can not see how this is right? The tyre wear alone offsets any saving this car provides if I’m having to replace two tyres every 12k miles. I would appreciate if anyone has had this issue to let me know and did you get it fixed, by whom and how did you go about it as Tesla have said it’s in their limits and no other garage will touch the car. Thanks in advance and my apologies for the long post.
Pete.
 

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When the inside edge wears faster than the outside edge it suggests there is too much negative camber. The negative camber on the model 3 is almost nonadjustable so it is kind of hard for it to get out of whack unless there is a bad accident. Did both front tires wear that way? Has the car been in any accidents?

It is possible your camber is fine but the toe is off, and you just always take turns very gently. If toe is off it will accelerate wear, so get that checked.

Lastly it is true that a heavy performance car on relatively narrow performance tires will wear out quick, but unless you drive aggressively, it souldn't be THAT quick.
 
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Check your alignment, camber and toe can do that, but worn inner shoulders after only 12k seems early, but not extremely early. I remember when the Acura NSX first came out, owners were so upset after having to change tires after 12k miles. That's what happens when you have high-performing cars usually driven very lightly, used as daily drivers!

And having to change a complete set after 24k miles on a high-performance vehicle seems very normal to me, if you don't want to drive around on your wear bars.
 
That is caused by excessive toe, I suspect well out of limits. On the Performance model, due to the standard camber being quite low, driving it hard through corners will give you excessive wear of the outer edge, not inner. Camber on it’s own won’t cause this sort of wear If toe is low. I run -2 deg camber and zero toe, and have even wear. Standard camber should be approx -1 deg, total toe-in around 0.2 from memory. I’d get the geometry checked.
 
When the inside edge wears faster than the outside edge it suggests there is too much negative camber. The negative camber on the model 3 is almost nonadjustable so it is kind of hard for it to get out of whack unless there is a bad accident. Did both front tires wear that way? Has the car been in any accidents?

It is possible your camber is fine but the toe is off, and you just always take turns very gently. If toe is off it will accelerate wear, so get that checked.

Lastly it is true that a heavy performance car on relatively narrow performance tires will wear out quick, but unless you drive aggressively, it souldn't be THAT quick.
Hi, yes both front tyres wore identically. We’ve owned the car from new and it’s not had any accidents. As I say we generally drive sensibly as most of the time we have the kids in the car. On those few occasions that we get out in it on our own yes we drive it a bit more like it’s designed to be driven. Tesla did say it needed some adjustments which they did and they gave me a printout. I’ll be brutally honest it’s like reading a foreign language to me but perhaps it may make sense to you?
 

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Yep, the toe settings (red figures) will do that to your tires by 12k or sooner. My tires were also mis-toe'd from the factory. Didn't bother me as I was planning on replacing the tires anyway.
 
Yeah your toe settings were way off, probably came that way from the factory, mine was way off when new also.
Thank you, I do appreciate your answers. Obviously the car is on new tyres now but we’ve been reluctant to drive it too much until we found out if the adjustment they did would prevent a repeat case as these tyres are not the cheapest! My only gripe is Tesla charged me for the adjustment and refused to take any responsibility for it…… suggesting in fact it could well have been me that caused it by racing over speed bumps etc etc. guess that’s a pill I’ll just have to swallow now but for a 13 month old car I was very disappointed. Had plenty other issues with that have been fixed under warranty which were build quality issues. I’ll keep a close eye on them now and thank you again!
 
Thank you, I do appreciate your answers. Obviously the car is on new tyres now but we’ve been reluctant to drive it too much until we found out if the adjustment they did would prevent a repeat case as these tyres are not the cheapest! My only gripe is Tesla charged me for the adjustment and refused to take any responsibility for it…… suggesting in fact it could well have been me that caused it by racing over speed bumps etc etc. guess that’s a pill I’ll just have to swallow now but for a 13 month old car I was very disappointed. Had plenty other issues with that have been fixed under warranty which were build quality issues. I’ll keep a close eye on them now and thank you again!
You are fine to drive now, alignment is good. But I agree with your frustrations, Tesla is being shitty about both the initial quality (your alignment was off) and failing to take care of you after that mess up. The front alignment especially can't easily go wrong unless you bend something. If you have the spare time, small claims court might teach them a lesson but obviously it is way more hassle than is worth except for the principle of the thing. Customers should not be expected to check the cars alignment on delivery to prove fault.
 
I just removed my front wheels to get snow tyres fitted. Found that the inside edges of the tyres were worn through to the fabric / metal on both sides. OK the tyres have done 30,000 miles but the wear is so uneven, more than 3mm left on the outside and middle. Could this be a result of recently having the suspension creaks fixed? Or has it been like this since the car was new?


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I just removed my front wheels to get snow tyres fitted. Found that the inside edges of the tyres were worn through to the fabric / metal on both sides. OK the tyres have done 30,000 miles but the wear is so uneven, more than 3mm left on the outside and middle. Could this be a result of recently having the suspension creaks fixed? Or has it been like this since the car was new?


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Same problem as the OP. TOE. Get it aligned and all will be well. I don’t know what you had done to fix the creaks. But if no suspension parts were replaced it’s unlikely that caused it.

I’ve been recommending to my friends who are now getting Teslas to get it aligned within the first year. As cars settle/wear the alignment changes. Certain suspension designs do this more than others. So was it off when new? Maybe. More importantly, it’s off now. And it’s an easy fix.
 
Got the car back from Tesla. What they found is that the plastic cover over the passenger side rear shock absorber has had an impact. That is in no doubt, it is broken, although I can't think where/when that occurred. They say that this is put the whole tracking of the car out. Anyway no damage other than the plastic which will be replaced when they can get one. Hopefully all sorted but I will be keeping an eye on the inner edges of the front tyres.
 
I drive spiritedly at times (have driven aggressively and stoplight raced a few times), but overall, pretty conservatively. My PD3+ has 52,000 miles, and I just replaced my original Michelin 20s last week. I had heard also that these cars shed tires in the teens and 20s, but it just hasn’t been the case for me. Obviously something is out of line with the camber or toe in with that particular corner of the car so I’d definitely have it looked at so you don’t blow through your next set so quickly. But the rest of the tire is obviously worn to, so there’s something else afoot too. Unless you’re driving super crazy all the time, I’d think anyone should get at least 30,000 - 40,000 miles out of these tires.
 
I just removed my front wheels to get snow tyres fitted. Found that the inside edges of the tyres were worn through to the fabric / metal on both sides. OK the tyres have done 30,000 miles but the wear is so uneven, more than 3mm left on the outside and middle. Could this be a result of recently having the suspension creaks fixed? Or has it been like this since the car was new?


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I would think if someone were working on your suspension, would notice if cords were showing.
 
The model 3 performance is a heavy car with narrow, soft tires, and tons of temping power so they are going to wear faster than you are used to.
Tesla also has a habit of shipping cars with bad alignments though, and when toe is off a bit wear will accelerate much more! Get the alignment checked. If that is good, only other thing you can do is switch to less soft tires that last longer.
 
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The model 3 performance is a heavy car with narrow, soft tires, and tons of temping power so they are going to wear faster than you are used to.
Tesla also has a habit of shipping cars with bad alignments though, and when toe is off a bit wear will accelerate much more! Get the alignment checked. If that is good, only other thing you can do is switch to less soft tires that last longer.
Yes expecting somewhat more tyre wear than other cars. But the car scrubbed the inner edges down to the metal and left over 3mm depth on the outer edges. Surely not right?
 
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I really like how people in the UK spell "tire" and "color" :).

My 2022 M3P came slightly misaligned from factory. Toe was off ever so slightly.

Someone mentioned ; because the performance sits 1" lower in the wheel travel, it will gain negative camber as it corners. I wonder if it gains camber a lot more, due to the suspension geometry (length of arms/spindle) being the exact same as a non performance model. So the suspension was designed around the ride height of a normal model 3, which will gain camber less agelessly (as it was intended). Essentially the performance's geometry isn't optimized for it's ride height, and perhaps the only fix is aftermarket new control arms (which can be adjusted)?