Uneven tirewear and vibrations, even after alignment

[nsx603]

This one is a real brain buster for me, and I was wondering what people thought. Yes, I have read all past forums, tired some suggestions, and still nothing works. Now to break it down.

I have a bone stock 2005 Camry LE 4pot on 15" steelies with newish Kumho KH16 all season tires, 80K miles. I rotate tires every 5k miles, keep 33 psi all around, and generally drive in a normal manner (no excessive cornering, no burn outs, no dumb maneuvers). I did a full alignment front and rear 2k miles ago, everything was brought into spec.

The problem, my passenger side tire is completely bald on the outside and inside tread, also the whole tread face looks like it was put against sand paper. I did the intuitive thing and went to check tire pressure, all fine, I checked alignment at the shop, all fine and in spec. Next, I checked all ball joints and tie rods, all nice tight with no play in them.

Drive the car, and it feels like the wheels are vibrating so much that the steering wheel feels like it will come of at about 40-70mph range. Checked wheel balance, also perfect and spot on, my question is what to do, please help.

Keep in mind, car is bone stock, tires are new and being chewed up.

So far I am thinking (shocks, tie rod ends, ball joints, perhaps shock mounts?), really would like some input as this is not an easy one, thanks once again for the help.

[PRINCESS PEACH]

how was the toe on the alignment?

[nsx603]

Numbers below are the current spec, a full adjustment was done 5000 miles ago, so looks like alignment is keeping itself in good shape.

LF 0.04 toe, 2.8 caster, -0.6 camber
RF 0.02 toe, 2.2 caster, -0.8 camber

LR 0.11 toe, -1.2 camber
RR 0.13 toes, -0.8 camber

If anything, I would say the RF tire should be in best shape, not worn out 50% more than all the other ones.

Also, the vibration is getting worse, steering wheel feels like it will come off at 70mph, all wheels were balanced to no avail.

[MrSo0h0o]

how many miles are on the tires? it may be the tire itself that is out of balance

[nsx603]

tires are at 10,000 all around, wear remaining on 3 is about 80%, on 1 its about 40-50% so something is causing it to wear out asap. And yes, I have balanced all the tires, that is not an issue.

[MrSo0h0o]

Originally Posted by nsx603

tires are at 10,000 all around, wear remaining on 3 is about 80%, on 1 its about 40-50% so something is causing it to wear out asap. And yes, I have balanced all the tires, that is not an issue.

what i meant was that the tire itself, during construction, can be out of balance and cause the vibration/uneven tire wear. If this is the case, a balancing/aligment wouldnt help. I would suggest contacting the place you purchased the tires and open up a warranty claim on the tire. You have all your paperwork on proper balancing and rotation, I am pretty sure you still have a claim.

[nsx603]

Very valid point; however, it this was the case, switching the tire to the back would reduce the vibration at the front end, this has not helped. Also, the tire was fine without vibration for the first 8K, only developing a bad vibration in the recent 2K, and especially last 500 miles, any thoughts?

[MrSo0h0o]

maybe have your front suspension checked out.. bushings, links, CV joints, etc... also check that your brake rotors/calipers are properly tightened.

[nsx603]

Checked the rotors and calipers, all snug and torqued to spec.
Checked the tie rods and ball joint, solid as a rock.
Checked the strut mounts, all solid no cracking, no movement.
Checked the struts themselves, no leaks, seem to be doing fine (ie, no float over compressions in the road).

I use to have a 97 avy, and it had a similar vibration, that was a failed CV axle, starting to think I might have it again, but 80K miles on 4pot camry makes me a bit suspect.