# Swap front tires to even out tire wear caused by track use?



## David Keogh (Feb 25, 2003)

My front right tire (Conti on E46 M3) is showing pronounced outer tread wear, understandable given the predominantly left-turn track I've been taking it on.

Q1) Can the fronts be swapped to help prolong the tire life? Are all four tires typically changed at once, or can fronts be changed without unduly affecting thec car?

Q2) Have been running 39f/37r (cold) on the track. The wear has come right up to the point of the triangle sidewall markers, except for the front right, on which the triangle markers are pretty much gone. Would this suggest bumping up pressure slightly on both front tires?

I'm used to street tire wear, which has always been fairly even all around, so this kind of topic is fairly new to me.

David


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## in_d_haus (Jan 2, 2002)

David,
1) It's pretty common to swap the tires, inside to out, to extend tire life. PR Loves to eat tires!!

2) Actually your cold pressure sounds a bit high to me.


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## David Keogh (Feb 25, 2003)

Thanks. I've got about 6 more track days scheduled this year, and I don't think that front right tire is going to last much more than one more track day. :-(

Maybe you can take a look at the tires this weekend, and we can talk more about tire pressure, and....gulp...track rims and tires.


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## TGray5 (Jan 22, 2002)

Yes, I did the same with my Pilots. Contis are not directional as I understand it, so you can simply have the tire flipped on the rim and you don't have to swap sides.

In terms of the edge wear, you should consider more negative camber up front. Its very easy to do on the M3 as the strut holes are slotted, so you just jack up the car, remove the pin that locks the strut in place, loosen the 3 bolts and pull the wheel up until the strut slides inward. It takes all of 15 minutes. Will give you about -1.5 camber and will reduce understeer and help reduce outside edge wear during hard cornering.:thumbup:


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## Akakubi (Dec 21, 2001)

Yes, you can swap wheels with the Conti's left to right. They are not directional (though they look like they are....). 

If your sides are wearing, bump up the pressure a bit. Also, try to ease up on the enrty or you will keep eating through the shoulders. :angel:


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## David Keogh (Feb 25, 2003)

With respect to simply flipping the front wheels, it sounds like the one downside is that the outside front right becomes the outside front left. If I swap the tires (more time and expense) then the front-right outer edge becomes the front-left inside edge.

Thanks for the camber suggestion... I didn't realize that was adjustable.

Akakubi, you mean smoothness entering corners? I'm working on it... ;-)


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## in_d_haus (Jan 2, 2002)

David,
Have a tire shop swap them on the rims to make the outsides the insides. We'll talk...


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## Akakubi (Dec 21, 2001)

David Keogh said:


> *
> 
> Akakubi, you mean smoothness entering corners? I'm working on it... ;-) *


:lmao:


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## in_d_haus (Jan 2, 2002)

Akakubi; You've driven Pacific Raceways havent you? It eats the right hand tires of even the smoothest driver. We have 4 surface changes on the track and none of it's smooth.


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## Akakubi (Dec 21, 2001)

StahlGrauM3 said:


> *Yes, I did the same with my Pilots. Contis are not directional as I understand it, so you can simply have the tire flipped on the rim and you don't have to swap sides.
> 
> In terms of the edge wear, you should consider more negative camber up front. Its very easy to do on the M3 as the strut holes are slotted, so you just jack up the car, remove the pin that locks the strut in place, loosen the 3 bolts and pull the wheel up until the strut slides inward. It takes all of 15 minutes. Will give you about -1.5 camber and will reduce understeer and help reduce outside edge wear during hard cornering.:thumbup: *


Will this work on the regular 3 series?


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## Akakubi (Dec 21, 2001)

in_d_haus said:


> *Akakubi; You've driven Pacific Raceways havent you? It eats the right hand tires of even the smoothest driver. We have 4 surface changes on the track and none of it's smooth. *


Have not yet been there, but was planning this year.  But I've heard of the tricky surfaces there. I thought they were planning to repave? :dunno:

PIR's carousel will eat your left front pretty badly too.


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## in_d_haus (Jan 2, 2002)

Hahah, I've never driven PIR (those names are too close) at speed, I've ridden in cars there though.

PR is planning a huge re-do and wats to try luring in Indy cars etc...

Let me know when you come up here to run PR, I've been talking with Jawknee about going to PIR :thumbup: 

Oh, we'll drag David along too...


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## Akakubi (Dec 21, 2001)

in_d_haus said:


> *Hahah, I've never driven PIR (those names are too close) at speed, I've ridden in cars there though.
> 
> PR is planning a huge re-do and wats to try luring in Indy cars etc...
> 
> ...


Come down here guys! We'll have two track days this month - 23rd and 30th. On the 23rd (Lotus day) we should have 5 Bimmers running with our gang. The more the merrier!  Lotus days offer most track time of all clubs. Their sessions run for at least 30 min each! And you get 5-8 of them per group depending on the Drag racing schedule in the afternoon.

Also, at the end of June is a Tri-Club day, but it is always very crowded.


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## David Keogh (Feb 25, 2003)

Nobody needs to drag me down to PIR. I'm bummed that I can't attend the ProFormance June 26th day, but was/am seriously considering going down for the tri-club May 30th day. Is is really horribly crowded, for the intermediate run group(s) ?

I could do May 23rd, possibly. Would have to cancel the ProFormance 1/2 day I'm doing on the 21st. Have to draw the line somewhere ;-)

Did I mention I'm doing PR on June 1st, 7th and 8th? Hence the tire swapping questions...:yikes:


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

Akakubi said:


> *Will this work on the regular 3 series? *


Yes.


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## Akakubi (Dec 21, 2001)

Actually, May 30th is just a plain BMW day. June 26th is a Tri-Club. 

I would recommend pre-registering for the BMW day - it may get crowded. But no need to do that for the Lotus day - says a lot already.


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## Akakubi (Dec 21, 2001)

The HACK said:


> *Yes. *


Ooooh, I see a DIY project for my car coming up. Any specific pitfalls I should look for? :smokin: :str8pimpi


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

Akakubi said:


> *Ooooh, I see a DIY project for my car coming up. Any specific pitfalls I should look for? :smokin: :str8pimpi *


Nothing specific...It's not an exact science though. I do remember all three strut bolt holes are SLOTTED and it allows some movement side to side. You will need to knock out the alignment pin...A chizel and a mallet would do.

I'd probably have an alignment check afterwards, just to get a readout.


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## Akakubi (Dec 21, 2001)

Got it! Thanks. :thumbup:


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## TGray5 (Jan 22, 2002)

The HACK said:


> * You will need to knock out the alignment pin...A chizel and a mallet would do.
> *


On my M3, the alignment pin had a torq head and was easily removable with the right torq bit, can't remember the size.


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## Nick325xiT 5spd (Dec 24, 2001)

Akakubi said:


> *I see now. :yikes: Anyway to replace that bolt altogether? *


I'm looking into new endlinks at the moment.


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## AF (Dec 21, 2001)

If you have an opportunity to swap out the Conti's . . . don't get new Conti's. These tires are terrible . . . the really kill the excellent steering feel our cars have, the grip like crap (just look how often your DSC light comes on) and I can't stand how the tire tread looks likes it directional yet it isn't

Just looking at the tread makes no sense to me. You would think the tires should mirror each other on each side which the conti's don't. If anyone has a picture of them, you'll know what I mean.

The only benefit these tires have are they don't tramline . . . 

I would think there are a lot of cheap alternatives like the Khumo's or the Yokohama eS100's which I bet are better.


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