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Thread: Wagon with sls rear tire wear and failure

  1. #1
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    Wagon with sls rear tire wear and failure

    I am curious if there is a known issue with wagon rear suspension with sls causing a problem with tires.
    I have rotated the tires every 8000 miles and have seen no tire wear issues.
    The junkwagon developed a shake that forced investigation into why. The rear tires have delaminated on the inside edge.
    The rear suspension had been aligned with minimal neg. camber, and had no toe scuffing, or inside edge tire wear.
    The tire store said caster can stress the edge independently of camber and toe. That was a new one on me and I thought I knew a fair amount about tires.
    Then I said they were rears.
    Does sls being somewhat less compliant (from a suspension travel point) than a coil put more stress on the tire on a bump?
    I also carry crap in the back of the junkwagon although never near the load limit of the tires.
    Any ideas?
    20190401_165959.jpg
    Last edited by wagons ho; 04-08-2019 at 07:12 PM.

  2. #2
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    Have you tried a different tire brand? I've had many problems with hankook
    E85 fueled, Eaton m112 supercharged 4.5L M62TU, TTV racing flywheel, Spec stage 2+ clutch, 88c thermostat, eibach sway bars, wavetrac 3.15 lsd, m5 steering box, Quantum 340lph fuel pump, Dinan camber plates, some powerflex bushings, Supersprint headers, M5 cats, 2001 gas pedal upgrade and many other things done. all diy by me

  3. #3
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    These came with the car so I was driving them to the end, which is here. It's now on continental DWS.
    The hankook's on the 6spd sedan held up great. So I had no reason to immediately fault the brand. That's why I'm asking.

  4. #4
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    wagons...can I assume that you run the pressures up to the 'max load with 4 persons' setting when you are hauling junk in the junkwagon ???

    ...you also noted that the rear alignment had been set up with minimal neg camber..? fwiw...One of the techs did that to mine and it rode like total shite.... I had him reset the alignment specs to factory the very next day (I could barely live with the 52 mile commute home after...and of course another dreaded 52 miles in the next morning...). Although this was a non-sport sedan running 540 sport staggered style 66's with Contisport 3's at the time, some of the same juju applies. Every tire on that car wore dead even across the face of all four...through many sets btw..!!...including those hard-as-woodpecker-lips Conti 2's, several sets of Conti 3's, and two sets of DWS's. I wonder if standing those rears up more puts an odd load across the carcass...?
    Now, Frau Christine on the other hand (the 03 sport wagon w/SLS), was much tougher on the inside edges of the rear tires than the seedan...but I saw ZERO difference between the wear patterns on the wagon with SLS, and every other e39 sport I had serviced....sedan or wagon...

    tony
    "two wrongs don't make a right...only three lefts do...."
    '79 Euro 635csi - gone and regretting it...
    '89 gsxr-750 - former traffic knife
    '97 528i sedan - holding on strong...(just sold after 16 years of ownership - sad day)
    '03 Euro 525it - something about a famous dolphin.....

    '06 Mercury Grand Marquis (don't ask....it gets the job done....)
    '84 Specialized Allez - full Campagnolo Super Record
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  5. #5
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    How's your rear balljoints?

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by itsbrokeagain View Post
    How's your rear balljoints?
    I stay up on maintenance and perform checks weekly for usual trouble spots.
    Car is driven in rural areas where a tow bill would be 4-500.
    I'm leaning towards adm750 comment that his wagon was harder on rear tires, than his sedan.
    Looking for anyone else with similar experiences.

  7. #7
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    Without see the actual alignment settings the tech used, everything is just a SWAG (scientific wild ass guess).

    So based on that disclaimer, I would say the camber is way off. Suspension parts replaced lately? Lower control arm bushings OK? If yes, then look at tire construction issues.
    Current Garage Highlights
    2003 525iT TiSilver
    2002 M5 TiSilver
    1998 528i KASCHMIRBEIGE METALLIC (301) (Goldie)

    Former Garage Highlights
    2005 X5 4.8is
    2004 325iTs (2x)
    1973 Pantera L
    1971 Dodge Dart Swinger "Lite Package"
    1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 340 Six Pack Alpine White
    1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 340 Six Pack GoManGo Green
    1969 Road Runner 383
    1968 Barracuda Formula S 340 Sea Foam Green

  8. #8
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    My 540 sedan went thru a few rear tires, inner edges, then I had them get rid of the camber a bit on the last alignment, and now they wear evenly. I was also driving that car pretty hard. The 2 wagons that I have, I have not done any alignments as Poolman and Jaxplanet did an awesome job of getting all the parts, everything, including subframe bushings done perfectly, alignments and all, then I took ownership, have not had any wear, everything has been perfect, as a matter of fact, I’ve been able to take care of stuff around the house more..... BMW’s....
    Set the controls for the heart of the sun

  9. #9
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    A happy posting! Yea!
    Current Garage Highlights
    2003 525iT TiSilver
    2002 M5 TiSilver
    1998 528i KASCHMIRBEIGE METALLIC (301) (Goldie)

    Former Garage Highlights
    2005 X5 4.8is
    2004 325iTs (2x)
    1973 Pantera L
    1971 Dodge Dart Swinger "Lite Package"
    1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 340 Six Pack Alpine White
    1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 340 Six Pack GoManGo Green
    1969 Road Runner 383
    1968 Barracuda Formula S 340 Sea Foam Green

  10. #10
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    I have the Michelin premier a/s and they have worn very well and even and I have a very winding road to drive home from work, the tires hold very well. I any body is in Castro valley ca, try redwood road, you will not be disappointed.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by StephenVA View Post
    A happy posting! Yea!
    Hey Stephen, every post from me is a happy post! No bigger e39 fan than me.
    Your twin out west, 20190403_174134.jpgused the tire failure to take off the Style 81's and go mpar.
    On the final push to 200k.

  12. #12
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    My friend has a 2002 540it with SLS and the only things we've replaced in the rear have been the subframe bushings and the rear lower ball joints. His 235/45/17 Continental tires have been wearing very evenly, with tons of tread still left after like 30k miles. He's only had one alignment done in the whole time of owning it too.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    I have been thinking of the same wheel move....
    Current Garage Highlights
    2003 525iT TiSilver
    2002 M5 TiSilver
    1998 528i KASCHMIRBEIGE METALLIC (301) (Goldie)

    Former Garage Highlights
    2005 X5 4.8is
    2004 325iTs (2x)
    1973 Pantera L
    1971 Dodge Dart Swinger "Lite Package"
    1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 340 Six Pack Alpine White
    1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 340 Six Pack GoManGo Green
    1969 Road Runner 383
    1968 Barracuda Formula S 340 Sea Foam Green

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by StephenVA View Post
    I have been thinking of the same wheel move....
    But you just got all your 81's replaced and new tires!

  15. #15
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    I've yet to figure this out. On my 00 528it I got 50K out of one set of tires and 78K out of the next. Goodyear GT, XL 235/45-17. Not perfect wear, a little biased toward the inside, but not bad, especially the XL tires with 78K on them.

    My current 02 525it wore out one tire, with the far inside edge having extreme wear. Not terribly early, 30K+ in my ownership, but the rest of the tire and tires weren't all that worn. Then another tire started wearing with the same pattern. New tires, I told them to put full spec maximum toe on alignment, which they sort of did. Now 30K later I've got another tire wearing oddly. 150K now on this one, 250K on the first one when I sold it. Not really bad tire wear, but not what it should be. I'm clueless.

    Both with SLS, sport suspension, optional 17" wheels. I've known several people who have spoke of terrible tire wear on E39s, but that's not my experience.
    98 328is
    02 525ita
    80 528i
    81 528ia
    and decades of owning and driving BMWs

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