I currently have the ASX in 205/50/15 for my integra. I have had them for about 20k and have lots of wear on the inner tire. Car is lowered on eibach springs (1.5 inch) and I can post the exact alignment specs, but I remember toe was in spec and close to 0. The rest of the thread still looks pretty good.

I am trying to decide if I should stick with the ASX or move to the AST if there isn't going to be much difference in performance/treadwear. Any other tires I should look into or any tips in making these last longer?

 

From reviews I've seen the ASTs are worthless in bad weather.

 

The reason I am looking into the AST is because it is a symetrical thread pattern and if I continue to have inner tire wear, I am able to flip the tire on the wheel. I drove with the ASX for the past 2 winters and did not have any problems with them.

 

The ASX is way better than the AST.

You need to get your car fixed. An Integra should not be wearing tires out along the inside edge of the tire. The uneven wear is probably caused by damaged suspension component(s) such as worn/cracked bushings, bent control arms, etc, and improper alignment can also be a problem.

Don't just use a crappy tire to get around your car's suspension problem. Get it fixed instead.

 

What exactly do you mean by "lots of wear on the inner tire"? Are you saying that the inside edge/shoulder of the tire is seeing a lot of wear, while the outside shoulder doesn't?

If that were the case, then it seems to me like your car has too much negative camber, and is therefore wearing on the inside edge of the tire. How much negative camber are you running right now?

If it is a camber issue, having 0 toe isn't gonna help.

-Lik

 

Negative camber is not usually a cause of excessive inner tire wear. Toe is more often a cause than camber (and other suspension problems are more often a cause than alignment issues).

Regardless, this car really needs an alignment as well as a close inspection of all suspension components by a mechanic with a lot of experience with suspension issues.

 

I agree that improper toe settings will have a much bigger effect on tire wear than camber will, but it seems to me that non-zero toe settings will contribute more to the overall tire wear across the tread instead of merely on the inside shoulder. Additionally, the OP has specifically said that his toe settings are close to zero and the rest of the tire's treadwear seems normal.

At any rate, it is meaningless to speculate the exact reason for the excessive tire wear without additional info (eg. alignment specs, suspension component inspections, etc.) Over the Internet, we can only make our best guesses with what little info we've been told.

-Lik

 

and running toe at zero in the front gives you a numb car that doesn't turn in worth a ****. if you do it in the back you get a car that comes out easier and is nervous at high speed.

i agree worn bushings can cause the op's issue

but

so can hard driving on soft springs and loose shocks.

had an experience a few years back. bought a integra with that shitty tokico blue shock spring package. car wasted the inside edge on tires. switched to 500/430 rates on koni sports, tire wear went down a LOT

up front you can get away with somewhere around -.04 on each side before wear starts going up. having the front toe'd out really helps with turn in and the overall feel in cornering

out back you can go on the low side of factory spec for toe in and still have a stable rear that can still rotate if you have spring rates that allow it.

so, check the bushings, replace and if you still have issues up the shocks and springs

lastly, the ast is a rolling hunk o junk. the asx is better but no all season tire really performs they just attempt to do a little bit of everything. if you can swing it buy a set of snow tires and a set of softer rubber for spring to fall

 

Thanks for the responses. Here are the alignment specs from my last alignment printout done June 2010 (~5000 miles ago).
Front Left: actual (before)
Camber: -1.35 (-1.35)
Toe: -0.04 (-0.22)

Front Right: actual (before)
Camber: -1.40 (-1.40)
Toe: -0.06 (-0.09)

Rear Left: actual (before)
Camber: -1.30 (-1.30)
Toe: 0.20 (0.20)

Rear Right: actual (before)
Camber: -1.25 (-1.25)
Toe: 0.46 (0.48)

I am not sure what is going on with the rear toe. I don't know if the tech was lazy and just didn't touch it or if the toe was already maxed out (took car in right before closing). I have a lifetime alignment with Firestone so i will take it in and have them take a close look at the suspension for any bent components.

Here are a couple pictures to explain what I mean by the inner tire wear. This is the Front Left tire for reference. Please let me know if there is anything else that you guys recommend I look into.

 

Make sure they check the entire suspension for other problems (not just bent components), like worn/cracked bushings, worn ball joints, etc. I recently had similar wear on the GS-R, and it turned out to be a combination of bent control arms, worn bushings, and ball joints.

 

I have AST's in 195/50/15. Grip isn't all that great but for it's price range, it's a competitor. On 10,000 or so miles and I still have about 80% thread. Lowered on Sportlines and oem shocks.

I liked the tires I had before, but can't find ANY info on them. Capitol Negotiators but the thread pattern looks somewhat similar to ASX's if that holds any merit? But a mattress on the freeway made quick work of those=(

 

if you like $50 tires federals ss595 is faster than an ast

 

above pics look like worn suspension components and or too light of spring and too little shock. if you ever look at a stock gsr corner it just rails the inside edge in hard cornering.

also, i have my car aligned twice a year and everytime the toe is out further than i set it. with snow tires i generally run -.02 on each side up front and .4 on each side out back. in the summer i run -.05 to -.06 each up front and .4 to .5 each in the back

just switched to snow tires a few weeks ago and had -.14 on each side up front. rear wasn't so far off with .5ish. i have no idea why the front always toe's itself out

 

If you like $50 tires you're probably not worried about which tire is faster.

 

Thanks for the input. Should I be worried about the rear toe values? This is my daily driver so I just want it to be dependable and as efficient as possible without spending too much.

I purchased the car with 150k and have about 170k now and I don't think the bushings have ever been replaced. Also, it looks like the front end was repainted at some point in time, so there might have been some front end damage. When I take it in to the alignment I will mention the tire wear and have them check for any bent components or previous accident damage. Is there a bushing kit I can purchase to take care of all the bushings? Should I replace the stock shocks (~60k miles on them) with something else?

 

Do you happen to know what the recommended settings and variation are?

They're a likely cause. They're probably cracked.

Not that I know of. You can get the bushings from any Acura dealer, but they're sold individually. You can look at them in the parts diagrams on the Delray Acura website.

This is a multi-part question.

If you're asking whether they need to be replaced, that depends on how the handling is and whether they're leaking. If they're leaking, they need to be replaced. If the handling feels sloppy and bouncy, they may need replacing. But they don't necessarily need to be replaced after 60K miles (it's possible, but not necessarily).

If you want to replace them, and you're asking whether to replace them with stock shocks vs something else, that's up to you. There are cheap generic shocks you can buy at any auto parts store, there are stock shocks, and there are performance aftermarket shocks (Bilstein, Tokico, KYB, etc), with differences in reliability and performance. Compare prices on the internet before deciding. One place with good prices and a nice variety is the Tire Rack. Most performance aftermarket shocks come with a lifetime warranty, so if you go that route, save your receipt.

 

According to the spec sheet I got from Firestone, the specified range for rear toe is 0.04 to 0.16.

I did a quick search on the bushings and it looks like hardrace actually sells a complete bushing kit. They use a rubber with a higher durometer, hopefully they last just as long as oem since they are about half the cost.

The comment about the shocks was directed to idrivesideways since he mentioned the tire wear looked like worn suspension, soft springs, shocks. They aren't leaking or anything but was wondering if using the stock shocks with eibach springs could be a large factor for the wear.

 

So the rear toe is out of spec on both sides. I would expect that to make the rear tires wear faster. But it sounds like your problem with excessive tire wear along the inside edge is occurring on the front (unless you have rotated your tires and they incurred the wear on the rear before the rotation).



No, it shouldn't be a factor.

 

oh., i meant it could be any of the above. toe, worn shocks, worn bushings or too soft of spring for your driving style can all wear a tire like that.

by the way you should check your tire pressure every 2 months


driving hard always blasts the inside edge. stiffer springs and more shock help with this but wear on the inside edge up front is part of hard driving. by the way, this sentence only is to be taken once you have eliminated all other possibles like the bushings, toe, tie rods and ball joints. if you have ANY slop in the steering rack or ball joints a toe setting is near worthless since it will bounce all over the place while you drive

 

I would say at least once a month. It's particularly important in seasons (e.g. autumn) when temperatures are dropping, because that lowers the pressure, and additional air is needed to compensate.

Actually hard driving wears the outer edge more than the inner edge.

 

you know, conventional wisdom says so, however, this has never been the case for me when you have 2deg of neg camber and toe out. no matter how you slice it the inside edge is under pressure during acceleration and braking. my best guess on why is just that the far outside edge just isn't coming in contact with the road with the same kind of pressure or frequency. the shoe polish shoes contact but it's always the inside edge that gets hammered

 

So does experience. I've had numerous brisk and racetrack driving sessions, with my car aligned to spec, and the outside edge always wears more than the rest of the tread (and, in one instance, even chunked). NOT the inside of the tread.

With that alignment, the camber and the toe are causing the wear on the inside of the tread. NOT the brisk driving.

 

that's kind of apples and oranges. on the track you have a lot more heat in the tires and are continually cornering hard

on the street the tires see more wear from braking and acceleration

i absolutely can not stand driving with zero toe in the front. it just kills steering response

haven't actually timed it in the integra but varying degrees of toe out generally bring down track times in most cars.

 

It's still your alignment that's causing the inside to wear. That's not a factory-recommended alignment, which is what most of us use.

 

true there