159 / Brera / Spider tyre wear issues - VIP - Revised Information

[k3lvc]

Originally Posted by David C

Did you also inform them that the tyre size you are using have a lower load index than the OEM size?

Absolute critical point - there's a few alternatives if I don't need the XL rating but suspect the insurance co would be none too impressed.

[davmatt]

2 front tyres replaced at just over 9000 miles absolutely destroyed on inner edges , very very little wear on rest of tyres still between 4.5 - 6mm on majority of tyre . sent all info to western alfa in edinburgh including photos of tyre wear and mileage info , was told by sevice manager to bring car in to have tyres replaced and have vehicle alignment checked , i was told i would have a very good case for warranty claim , tyres changed for new contis , wheel alignment done told to take car away , 7 days later handed a bill for £650 for 2 front tyres 19in ( for 159 ti 1.9jtdm sportwagon ) told by customer service that they don`t even entertain warranty claims on tyres after 1000 miles , i felt absolutely scammed took case to alfa uk warranty claims and was very basically told that its my fault because of the way i drive , don`t know what that means the wheels had to be realigned cos apparently i had knocked the alignment off , only recourse i have had was western alfa did a price match to £450 for tyres , really disappointed with alfa but they`ve certainly shot themselves in the foot with my company , we have a national fleet of over 3000 cars and i was the 1st person to get an alfa , they were then put on our approved list but have now been removed so it looks like this will be my 1st and last alfa romeo ( fantastic product ruined by poor service )

[revuptv]

Originally Posted by David C

Did you also inform them that the tyre size you are using have a lower load index than the OEM size?

Did I tell them the full spec of each tyre including the Bridgestone? I certainly did. I even gave them links to the manufacturers web sites and the individual pages of each tyre. But just to clarify any confusion this post may have roused.

Bridgestones are classified as a summer tyre. This is possibly why we all have had and will continue to have high wear issues. One thing no one has mentioned is the acute Ackerman angle the inside tyre displaces on lock. This will also both give high wear on the inside edge of the tyre which is the payment we suffer for superb grip and handling. Alfas are a drivers car not a Euro Box so tyre wear will always be an issue. All we can do is attempt to mitigate it and my way was to go to a better all round tyre.

The index is (off Bridgestones own web site and read off the two rear tyres I kept) is 92% Load Index. The Falkans I had were 100% load index and the Vredsteains now fitted are 98%. BOTH tyres are more than the Bridgestones.

As far as the insurance goes I have discharged my legal obligation to inform them of any changes from the manufacturers spec and have been given written approval to do so. I am fireproof and any Court in the land would side with me should it come to that. Needless to say the written documentation I have now been given is secure in the Fire Safe.

[Paul J]

Originally Posted by David C

Are yours wearing evenly?

No the inner edges, and it's worse on the right front than the left. The tyres are Continental Sportcontact 3, and the dealer adjusted the tracking after 4K miles to "half way between the min and max spec".

[David C]

Originally Posted by Paul J

No the inner edges, and it's worse on the right front than the left.

Make sure you get the tracking set to the latest settings when (or before) you fit new tyres.
The latest settings are close to parallel on the front and will make wear much more even across the tread.

[Giovanni2106]

I have the same issue as everyone else with my 06 2.4 Brera. I followed Mediaman's suggestion and visited www.AlignMyCar.co.uk and then visited Autocity in Northolt. Brilliant service with resetting the tracking which was out by a country mile. Tracking done and new tyres and, I cannot believe how differently the car drives. I now have another issue with AR as at 18,000 miles the lower wishbone bushes are perishing. I believe this is because of the tracking being so bad. If ARUK come good with the warranty claim I will update the blog.
Good luck!

[tommy]

I came looking for this thread as I've just experienced the shock of finding out my tyres must be made of weetabix! Picked up a minor puncture on one of my rears (nearside) and discovered complete baldness on the inner at just over 10k when it came off for repair. Checked the rest and found front offide down to the wire on the inside too. The other two aren't great but I can probably squeeze another couple of k out of them.

This is on my less than year old 159 ti 2.4 btw - original Pirelli tyres.

I've had slippers that covered more miles!

If this is normal, I'm looking a minimum of over 400 quid a year for tyres. With the disappointing fuel economy this is making ownership a good bit more expensive than I anticipated.

Maybe I can ask Santa for a couple of new Pirellis - or does anyone recommend other brands.

[David C]

Originally Posted by tommy

If this is normal, I'm looking a minimum of over 400 quid a year for tyres. With the disappointing fuel economy this is making ownership a good bit more expensive than I anticipated.

If you read back through this thread and the other threads on the same subject you will find that there are revised tracking settings to reduce excessive inner edge wear.

[Macie]

Originally Posted by Squadrone Rosso

Evening all.

Following a good discussion with ARUK Customer Services today, I'm want to catalogue all the posts to do with premature front tyre wear (inner edges) so as to evidence the problem.

I'll stick this thread like the 2.2 hesitation thread / 2.4 economy thread.

Please provide details of the mileage when your tyres got changed, the wear pattern, the size of the tyre, the cost and any response from your dealer or support from ARUK Customer Service. Also, feel free to mention anything else you feel relevant.

To note, please be factual & constructive

Over to you

I'm new to this so here goes. I took delivery of my brand new 2.4 159 Ti on 1st March 2008. It has covered 7,800 miles and the front tyres are now illegal due to wear on the inside. I took the car to the Alfa dealer it was purchased from. They checked the suspension and the tracking. All settings were as recommended by Alfa. The tyres are 19" and it is 2.4 diesel. I think the suspension is lower on this Ti model than normal. It is all original with no modifications.

[Squadrone Rosso]

Originally Posted by Macie

I'm new to this so here goes. I took delivery of my brand new 2.4 159 Ti on 1st March 2008. It has covered 7,800 miles and the front tyres are now illegal due to wear on the inside. I took the car to the Alfa dealer it was purchased from. They checked the suspension and the tracking. All settings were as recommended by Alfa. The tyres are 19" and it is 2.4 diesel. I think the suspension is lower on this Ti model than normal. It is all original with no modifications.

Hi.

You may get a refund for the set of tyres although I understand this may have been pulled as Nick Jackson, the guy that made it happen for us has "moved on" (probably because of his good work).

Your dealer should have altered the settings for you to nigh on parallel.

Hope this helps

Cheers,

Simon

[Alfa 4eva]

Still not had a reply from ARUK regarding my visit to the dealers i think its time i called them ...maybe they are hoping the problem will go away

[Dr Feelgood]

After 14500 miles (of driving like a saint with rarely anything in the boot) I have just had all 4 tyres replaced - fronts were 4 - 4 - 1 and rears were 2 - 4 - 4.

Fitter had not seen such a wear combination like it before and expected hassle when he rang for approval but it was okayed immediately. In his words 'it must be a known problem if L*x dont argue over tyres'

[k3lvc]

Well 4 new Ultrac Sessantas fitted this morning £122 each from Camskill then £50 for fitting etc at local dealer. Feel good so far but will review in a couple of weeks. Latest Bridgestones did 14.5k from fronts (still worn on inner edge but not down to canvas) and 24.5k from rears (slightly more wear on outers edges)

[tommy]

Rear Nearside completely smooth inner, Front Offside completely smooth inner after 10k (Pirelli P0 Nero 235/40/19).

The other two actually had fairly even wear and I'll push them for another couple of k. £400 in replacement costs for the two duffers at the weekend. Booked in to dealer on Saturday for Tracking check/adjustment. I'll see what they have to say and report back.

Cheers

Tommy

[Paul J]

Just booked mine in for tyres, two Pzero Neros for £163 each!!! I think that's a rather tasty price compared to some I've seen. My Continentals are down to the wear markers on the inner half after nearly 13K.

[Macie]

My 159 2.4 Ti is having two Pirelli P Zero Rosso Extra Load (235/40Y19) fitted through Kwikfit. If you buy online at Kwikfit the fitted price is £376 (nearly £100 cheaper than in the branch). We have adjusted front tracking to parallel (it was 30 mins as set by Alfa). Kwikfit said these tyres will be quieter than the Pirelli P Zero Nero which Alfa fit and also last longer. This is my only complaint with this car, otherwise I love it (it is my third).

[Paul J]

Just had two new Continental Sportcontact3 tyres (originally expected PZeros, but I already had Contis fitted so I'm not fussed) fitted for £320 all in from an Alfa dealer. I was also told they have been setting tracking to parallel on 159s, and they have now done so to mine (for a charge obviously). I'm pretty happy with this, after have seen the prices quoted on the net.

[Macie]

Sounds good as haven't seen those tyres for less than £200 on the internet (although mine are an unusual size). My Alfa dealer didn't offer to fit any tyres or change tracking from the recommended setting. They said that 7,800 miles was all I could expect from 19" tyres and a 2.4 diesel engine (they didn't tell me that when I took delivery on 1st March)! I will keep them posted.

[Paul J]

The dealer did say that Alfa UK are not giving them the money to change the tracking.

[rafasared]

I'm a relatively new Alfa owner - got a 1yr old 159 last June which I'm mostly very happy with. I left it to get engine oil replaced a few days ago with Mervyn Stewart in Belfast only to be told the tread on front tyres was illegal and the wheels needed to be re-alligned. The tread on back tyres is 5mm but was recommended to replace all 4 at a cost close to £500! Needless to say I was shocked. I didn't get them changed and will look elsewhere. I came across this site and noticed 9 pages of posts on 159 tyres alone! I've plenty of reading to do but hope to find an answer in there somewhere. Pity my first post is a grumble as apart from the tyres and a few minor issues it's a great car.

[David C]

Originally Posted by rafasared

I'm a relatively new Alfa owner - got a 1yr old 159 last June which I'm mostly very happy with. I left it to get engine oil replaced a few days ago with Mervyn Stewart in Belfast only to be told the tread on front tyres was illegal and the wheels needed to be re-alligned. The tread on back tyres is 5mm but was recommended to replace all 4 at a cost close to £500! Needless to say I was shocked. I didn't get them changed and will look elsewhere.

Did you at least let them adjust the front tracking to the new settings?

[rafasared]

They told me that there was no point unless I was fitting new tyres.

[David C]

Originally Posted by rafasared

They told me that there was no point unless I was fitting new tyres.

[Pud237]

Originally Posted by rafasared

They told me that there was no point unless I was fitting new tyres.

Typical Alfa Dealer attitude I'm afraid - there are revised geometry settings that go some way to curing tyre wear issues. Obviously if the tyres are illegal you need to replace them, but you need the new settings to prevent the same thing happening to your new tyres.

If I were you I'd give AR-UK a call and complain about the tyre wear - and not being informed of the suspension alterations when they first came out, it could have prevented these tyres wearing out as quickly. You might get some vouchers or a cheque if you are lucky. One of the moderators on here got Alfa UK to foot the bill for his first two front tyres..

[jbsmith1]

interesting quote from Tyrerack.com
"Consider that if the toe setting is just 1/16-inch off of its appropriate setting, each tire on that axle will scrub almost seven feet sideways every mile! Extend it out and you'll discover that rather than running parallel to each other, the front tires will scrub over 1/4-mile sideways during every 100 miles of driving! Incorrect toe will rob you of tire life."
puts it all into perspective.