Is it normal for the rear tires on a 5- speed 88 GT to wear more quickly? I never have had rears last as long as the fronts. I have had two 4 wheel alignments to correct specs by reputable shops and it still seems that the rears wear out first. I am running 245/40/18 Falken ZE 512 tires on 18X8 Falken Torque 5 wheels out back. I have the same tires in a 225/40/18 on a 18X7 Torque 5 on the front.My car tracks laser straight. I don't do burnouts. Is there something I am not doing right? HELP!!

[This message has been edited by Rick 88 (edited 03-11-2008).]

Just like how my FWD cars eat up the tires on the front faster than the rear. My 4X4 also eats the rear tires (it's RWD) like the fiero.

What it means is you are not rotating your tires enough. Every 5000-7000 miles is what you are supposed to do, basically every 2 oil changes.

NOTE: if you are using larger rears, you cant rotate. so you are stuck with replacing them instead of spreading out the wear.

[This message has been edited by timgray (edited 03-11-2008).]

yeah, i'm running 235/4018's on the rear. I just replaced mine, and the fronts still look as good as new.

Question: are they wearing out more towards the middle of the tire?

the 88 rear alignment is critical. you can;t rotate the tires, as the rears are larger than the fronts the 86 se wore all 4 evenly.
my 88 has 3 good and 1 worn, the pass rear, outer edge is gone. the 88's have an issue with proper camber setting, the knuckle has a casting lump that prevents setting it, and it isn;t always on both sides. the top part of the knuckle has a bulge that stops the adjutment from camming the bottom out far enough. it appears I have this issue on one side.
often the alignment shops get it as good as they can, and that isn;t good enough.

quote Originally posted by 88White3.4GT: yeah, i'm running 235/4018's on the rear. I just replaced mine, and the fronts still look as good as new. Question: are they wearing out more towards the middle of the tire?

No.... they are wearing evenly with just a little more on the outside edges. I assume it is normal cornering wear. What is the weight distribution front and rear on the V6 5-speed GT?

well the GT also has staggered tires (or at least mine does) so unless you want to rotate the bigger tires to the front... plus combine that with my directional tires seems to mean no rotation for me...

quote Originally posted by tjm4fun: the 88 rear alignment is critical. you can;t rotate the tires, as the rears are larger than the fronts the 86 se wore all 4 evenly. my 88 has 3 good and 1 worn, the pass rear, outer edge is gone. the 88's have an issue with proper camber setting, the knuckle has a casting lump that prevents setting it, and it isn;t always on both sides. the top part of the knuckle has a bulge that stops the adjutment from camming the bottom out far enough. it appears I have this issue on one side. often the alignment shops get it as good as they can, and that isn;t good enough.

I wasn't aware of this issue. Can the bulge be machined down to allow more adjustment. Do you have pics of this part?

Weight distribution: 47% front, 53% rear.

quote Originally posted by KaijuSenso: well the GT also has staggered tires (or at least mine does) so unless you want to rotate the bigger tires to the front... plus combine that with my directional tires seems to mean no rotation for me...

I just found that Falken has a replacement for the ZE 512 called ZE 519 that allows rotation because it is non directional. I could only do it side to side because of the staggered sizes. Would this would extend rear tire life any?

[This message has been edited by Rick 88 (edited 03-11-2008).]