Long term cure?

slvrsleeper

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2007 Mazda5 sport 5mt True Silver
Is there a fix for the rear alignment causing the car to eat rear tires? My OE Toyos are cupped to the point of looking like Super Swampers at 26,000 miles. I realize that you should rotate your tires frequently ,but in my mind what you have there is FOUR cupped tires instead of two and the problem still exists that caused the cupping in the first place. So what is a boy to do? I want to install the Speed3 camber links but am wondering if I should take it to the dealer as a warranty issue first. PS the car is NOT lowered.
 
I don't know if there is a cure, but TSL Super Swampers are some bad A$$ tires in the mud!
 
I have tried the dealer and Mazda to get this annoyingly expensive issue resolved and got nowhere. I now have over 30,000 on the stock Toyos and am getting ready to buy a new set. I again tried to get the dealer to try to start a TSB or recall and find a fix, but again he told me Mazda says there is no problem even though my dealer has received several complaints. When I called Mazda they told me that they would " document my concern". I guess our best bet is to try to buy tires that are H rated. Tires that are not classified as ultra high performance tires. The hard compound may wear better. Our only other option is to take it to a good Alignment shop and have them print out a for stating that tires DO NOT wear that way when a car is aligned properly, and that the alignment issue occurs at speed, not at a stand still like it is when its on an alignment rack. Years ago the Ford Focus also had this issue......Ford issued a recall to replace the rear control arms and reimbursed customers a % for the additional tires that got ruined. Calling Mazda in large numbers could help.
 
The car is set at -1 camber (well the rears are, i'm not positive on the fronts) since it's based off of the mazda 3 chassis because it helps the car handle from the additional weight the 5 has over the 3.

If you follow their recommendations and rotate your tires every 5k miles the camber wear on the tires is very minimal...
 
The car is set at -1 camber (well the rears are, i'm not positive on the fronts) since it's based off of the mazda 3 chassis because it helps the car handle from the additional weight the 5 has over the 3.

If you follow their recommendations and rotate your tires every 5k miles the camber wear on the tires is very minimal...


For me that is simply not true. My 5 has had the tires rotated every 5,000 miles since brand new. That's 1000 earlier than Mazda even recommends. Since about 20,000 I have had the sucky noise. Now with all four tires unevenly worn out on the inside edge the noise is even louder. I can deal with replacing these oem tires 10,000 miles early, but I would love to know that my new set is not going to get ruined 30,000 miles before the rest of the tread needs replaced.
 
I think I need to make a call. My OEMs where done at 25k due to that issue. Also the womp womp womp noise at speed was really annoying.
 
My wife's 5 has 17k on it and its quiet as can be. BUT, the 5 I bought with 23k on it sound like I was driving mudders...even thought it was wheel bearing but the back tires are cupped so badly I will have to change the tires before I can tell.
 
My wife's 5 has 17k on it and its quiet as can be. BUT, the 5 I bought with 23k on it sound like I was driving mudders...even thought it was wheel bearing but the back tires are cupped so badly I will have to change the tires before I can tell.

My dealer also thought a wheel bearing was to blame. They replaced it, only to have the tech note that all four tires were severely cupped and it needed to be checked for an alignment. Of course the alignment was "perfect", but even the tech knows tires don't wear that way unless there is some combination of toe in/out and -camber.
 
hrm we got 21k on ours and rotated every other oil change... did oil at 4-5k. I will check ours out as soon as I can, I don't recall hearing the womp womps at speed. I know when my tundra was cupping tires it was due to worn out shocks at 70k. I wonder if something in the aerodynamics and/or suspension geometry induces a slight vibration in the rear. Usually when its just a camber problem you get a nice even taper not cupping... as I've seen on cars I've raced over time. Do you cuppers regularly have people/stuff in the back?
 
I almost never carry anything behind the second row, and the second row is occupied by my 45lb 4 year old. My rear tires were cupped all to hell, looked like the alignment was never right from day one. I will be getting the camber arms before I replace my tires. Then its off to the shop to get a comprehensive alignment done. Does anyone know if the rear wheel bearings on the 5 are identical to those on the 3 ?
 
I read the posts here, and I have a 20k mile 2007. Checked the tires, and noticed that the fronts are really worn and the rears are not, may have been rotated recently.

The tires ARE a little loud, but that's when running at about 70-80mph or so (the normal speed here on the freeways it seems)

What do you mean when a tire is "cupped"? This is the first car I've had where people are reporting this "cupping" not a single car I've had ever had this problem, so I don't really know what to look for?:confused:

I have heard that this "cupping" is caused by cheap suspension elsewhere (of course I don't know what to look for so maybe, maybe not!)......perhaps because the suspension may be from the Mazda3, which is a lighter car, could this be a reason? I do notice the suspension squeaks over bumps.
 
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Usually cupping can be seen when it is really bad. It is uneven tread wear usually on an edge or edges. Seems on the 5 it is usually the inside edge.

To detect this earlier you can slide your hand or fingers across the tread in different directions. If you feel that one direction causes your hand to "grab" or catch on the tread then you have the start of a tire wear problem caused by the toe angle (feathered tread), or a camber problem (wear on inside or outside) There are some others, but those are the most common.

I've been under the 5 with a tech and there are no easy answers. The factory setup this car to handle and I wonder if more of the tire wear problems would go away if people ran more air pressure than the factory amount on the door.

I'm running about 45 PSI but the car went to the dealer lately and it came back with 30-35 PSI in the tires. One of mine slowly leaks and will get down to 25 PSI. You can hardly see it is low without putting a guage on it.
 
Usually cupping can be seen when it is really bad. It is uneven tread wear usually on an edge or edges. Seems on the 5 it is usually the inside edge.

To detect this earlier you can slide your hand or fingers across the tread in different directions. If you feel that one direction causes your hand to "grab" or catch on the tread then you have the start of a tire wear problem caused by the toe angle (feathered tread), or a camber problem (wear on inside or outside) There are some others, but those are the most common.

I've been under the 5 with a tech and there are no easy answers. The factory setup this car to handle and I wonder if more of the tire wear problems would go away if people ran more air pressure than the factory amount on the door.

I'm running about 45 PSI but the car went to the dealer lately and it came back with 30-35 PSI in the tires. One of mine slowly leaks and will get down to 25 PSI. You can hardly see it is low without putting a guage on it.


45psi! are you mad man? lol. I run 36psi, but the dealer always drops em down to 32. If your running 45 your relying on the center of the tire a lot more and I would expect it to be a little darty and maybe twitchy compared to normal. The only tires I've ever had to run at 40-45psi are those on my Tundra... the large sidewall needs a little stiffening to make it feel less squishy.
 
Put something flat on the tire or make a template. Then add air to about 60 PSI and tell me if the tire shape changes on the tread. I admit I haven't tried it yet, but I'm thinking radial tires don't balloon much.
 
Do you guys think the root problem is squishy lower control arm bushings? If the rear end's control arm bushings flex such that, at speed, the rear tires end up toe-ing out some, that'd cause the terrible tire wear right away.
 
Do you guys think the root problem is squishy lower control arm bushings? If the rear end's control arm bushings flex such that, at speed, the rear tires end up toe-ing out some, that'd cause the terrible tire wear right away.
sounds like a good place look, if only the dealer would do it, instead of saying Mazda has had no issues, so we can do nothing.
 
Do you guys think the root problem is squishy lower control arm bushings? If the rear end's control arm bushings flex such that, at speed, the rear tires end up toe-ing out some, that'd cause the terrible tire wear right away.

I bet that is the problem. Prolly the reason for the rear end crunch too. Put some poly bushings back there....
 
I plan on installing the adjustable rear control arms in the very near future and will also go with harder bushings, although I have seen some compelling evidence against going poly on a daily driver.
 
I agree that poly bushings on a daily driver are often not a good choice. I don't plan to do harder bushings, but I am definitely interested in how the 'alternate' alignment specs end up working for everyone (including me!).
 
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