Hi! I have a 2006 Civic Coupe EX with 96,000 miles and on its 4th set of tires. I had the upper rear control arm (Service Bulletin 08-001) replaced in April 2009 (which I had to pay out of pocket!) with alignment and new tires put on at the same time. I rotate the tires every other oil change, and here I am 30,000 miles later with completely bald rear tires. (The front ones still have a good 5-10,00 miles before they will need replacing.) The tires are bald all the way across, evenly and identically. They are inflated correctly (I check this at least once a month) and alignment was just checked in July (and is spot on!) Anyone have any ideas what could be causing this?

 

Do you carry heavy things in the back of the car often (lots of people or heavy weight in trunk)??? And do you have the alignment printout from when they did it last (always good to have)?

Chris

 

Good question Chris!

I would like to see also the spec of the alignment also. I have an Si 4 door and they screwed up my alignment already once and cost me a set of tires also. Reason was they gave me a normal Civic spec alignment instead of the Si spec...

 

I know it looks somewhat like over inflation wear, but it is not overinflated, nor has it ever been. I do not usually carry anything in the truck except groceries and the occasional gym bag. I do not have the spec sheet for the alignment (I will call the place and try and get it) because it was sent out for alignment from the shop that does my tune-ups and since it drove perfectly, I didn’t think to ask for it.

I have the Honda 17 inch wheels.

 

What brand/model tires are you running?

 

The ones on there now are Talons TR968.

 

Wow that is worn out completely!

Once you have those specs we can really see what happened... btw make sure you ask for the actual specs that were done on the car from the most recent alignment and not what it's suppose to be.

 

Just did a quick research on your tires... they are knock off of the Michelin Pilots... Something to consider also...

Btw what other brands of tires have you used apart from the Talon TR968?

 

From some research those are Triangle brand (chinese made) and they are marketed as performance summer tires. Not the best choice for getting high mileage out of the tires. The wear seems pretty even so it doesn't seem like an alignment issue.

 

Still doesnt explain how the rear wear more then the front when the front tires do most of the work with the steering, putting the power down plus has the weight of the engine on them....

They are performance summer tires and they shouldn't last as long as let say a Kumho Ecsta ASX which is a high performance all season tire... but rears should have way less wear then the fronts!

 

These weren't the best tires, but at the time these were put on I had already invested over $2400 in tires for this car and so my friend gave me a 'hook-up' (Got these tires super cheap and only had to pay for 3) Of course, I do understand you get what you pay for...but the front tires still have decent tread! I have had a set of Dunlop, Michellin and Pirellis (the Michellin & Pirelli were put on in England..hence why they were so expensive)

 

Thanks everyone for your comments!! I called the alignment place and they don't keep records that long, so I am going to get and alignment check (with specs) at 3pm EST today and I will scan and post the sheet soon after!

 

Great will be able to see whats going on!

 

Left Front: Camber- 0.3 Caster- 6.7 Toe-0.00
Right Front: Camber- 0.1 Caster- 6.7 Toe-0.01
Left Rear: Camber- -1.0 Toe-0.06
Right Rear: Camber- -1.6 Toe-0.07

Front:
Cross Camber: 0.2
Cross Caster: 0.0
Total Toe: 0.01

Rear:
Cross Camber: 0.7
Total Toe: 0.12
Thrust Angle -0.01

 

Could be the brakes or master cylinder. Just a thought. Looks like the rears are locking up more causing the extra wear. Check the fluid in all the lines, master cylinder and rear shoes.

 

Toe is a killer in any amount. When you go to get the car aligned tell them as close to 0 toe possible, and see if it makes a difference in tire life. I would bet that is your issue.

 

I think front and rear toe is supposed to be 0 on the Civic right? I would just make sure you do another alignment and make sure you get the printout. I would not assume they are doing it correctly.... and I've heard from techs at alignment places of "spray alignment" where they just spray the adjusters and loosen them and tighten the right back up... never actually check anything.

So, make sure it's done by asking for the actual paper results and talk to them about what they could and couldn't do. Make like you know what you are talking about and that there has to be a toe issue in back; so you want them to pay special attention to it. I think it will get done for sure that way.

Chris

 

Thanks everyone!!! I found a friend of a friend that works at a local Honda dealer and he is going to look at it and see if he can figure something out (and tighten up my alignment!)

 

I know early cars without the new upper control arms had this issue, rear tires wouldn't last anytime, but IIRC even with the new upper control arms and new alignment specs (there is an updated set of specs for the new arms btw, you car may have been aligned using the old specs) they still wore through back tires faster than the front.

 

Next tire set you get you should do a rotation every oil change.

 

Any news? was your buddy able to bring the toe closer to 0?

 

alingment and camber?

 

camber wouldn't ruin the tires that bad... Toe would and very fast too

 

well i have the same issue with my 06 fg2 as well, my 1st,2nd set (both falkens) wore out in the rear than the fronts but it might considering the type of tires you get...as of now having goodyear rs-a tires on the rear the problem is fix...so maybe depending on how much money you are willing to spend on the tires...

 

ALIGNMENT AND CAMBER