Jim Madden

I bought a 2011 Grand Sport in March of this year. It had new Continental tires and I have put about 8K on it since purchased. I started hearing a loud roaring and thought I might be having bearing issues. I took it to a local shop and they found the inside treads of the tires are chewed up and are creating the noise. The rest of the treads appear like they are new. Has anyone else experienced this kind of tire wear and noise out of a GS?

DigitalWidgets

Sounds like an autocross or track alignment. My car is set up for autocross....when I was daily driving it all the time (as well as autocrossing a couple of times a month), I'd have tire wear similar to what you're describing. I didn't particularly notice any additional noise (except when my bearings were going out and I replaced them...at like 120K miles with constant autocrossing the car's entire life).

Spaceme1117

Was the car's alignment checked when you originally had the tires installed? Was the alignment checked at the local tire shop?

4SUMERZ

I had the same wear years ago on a set of my tires, and it was the toe adjustment that was off. I get it 4 way aligned on any new set of tires, and thread wear is always even across the tire.

FatsWaller

Get it exactly aligned to the PFADT street settings, and I mean exactly. There's too much leeway in the factory specs. Since then, no problem on my GS.

Jim Madden

Thank you. I will get the alignment checked when I get some new tires.

Jim Madden

Probably not. The dealership was not very thorough about making sure the car was in good working order. I will make sure it is done soon. Thank you.

C6_Racer_X

Alignment issue. Most likely excessive toe out.

Check for bent parts or loose jam nuts and loose/worn parts (ball joints, bushings, tie rods especially).

Have the alignment checked and reset to something reasonable for the way you drive the car.

Nelag

When I bought my 2012 GS 4 years ago it had new tires and alignment. My tires wore like yours. I was told it was aligned that way for better handing, ect. Bull. Tires only lasted 10,000 miles. New tires , proper alignment, tires last 3-4 times as long now.

Jim Madden

Thank you. I will get the alignment done as quickly as possible. Might save a few miles on these tires, although I have not seen a single recommendation for Continental tires on the forum.

Jim Madden

Sounds like a plan. My son accuses me of driving it like it is a 6 cylinder.

C6_Racer_X

Personally, I love Continentals. I even like Generals (their American subsidiary, made in the same plants). I've seen a few C5s and C6s with Continental DWS tires. A bit softer ride, less harshness than the Michelin Pilot Sports. Ultimate grip is about the same. They may be slightly less "crisp" on turn-in. Not sure about the C6 sizes, but on the C5, the fronts are XL rated (stiffer sidewalls) and the rears are SL rated (softer sidewalls), which can help if you have oversteer issues (tail happy).

Jim Madden

Thank you.

Jim Madden

Cool. Thanks.

Jim Madden

Thanks. Very helpful. I have downloaded the specs and am heading out to find an alignment shop.

Nelag

I have the Cont Xtrem Contact DWS06 on the front and Cont Xtrem on the rear. Currently 28,000 + on the front, expect to get 50,000 m from looking at current wear.
Rear have 24,000 miles, expect another 10,000. I do mostly hwy driving and drive like a retired 68 yr old man that I am. lol.

Fronts cost me $265.00 ea on Sept 12, 2019 Rear cost me $390.00 ea. on Mar 10,2020 Alignment was $80.00

z06clif

These cars come from the factory with a racing alignment. It causes tires to wear on the inside. You need a 0(zero) degree camber for street driving. My OEM tires lasted 14,000 miles i never get on it. Replaced with Michelin zp

Clif

rybern

Zero camber? The most I've seen folks recommend on these cars is .5 deg front and rear camber. Even the Pfadt numbers show .8 front and .5 rear for purely street.

Jim Madden

Thank you to all who have responded. I have an appointment to get the alignment done on all 4 corners in a week. The service rider acknowledged the racing setup would tear tires up. That would have been good information to know a few services ago. Oh well, live and learn. I will post how the re-alignment helps the noise and the tire wear.

Jim

kanvasman

Old thread I know but it answered my question for the day. Just pulled my front tires for something else and saw this wear pattern. Car never pulled to either side, straight going down the road with no hands ( not recommended) and I couldn't figure it out until I just read about the racing alignment. Not sure how accurate that info is but I will look into it further and then find a quality shop here in Charleston to do the work. This forum is great. Thank you all for sharing.