alignment & front tire cupping...

[blovatt]

I've recently been noticing a lot of "cupping" on the outer edge of my front tires... 2011 E70 with OE 20" Bridgestone RFTs -- 12k miles.

rear tires show very little wear at all -- certainly even wear...

I've been reading on this forum and a lot of other places that this is not uncommon for this car -- and that the dealer almost always blames alignment.

However, you never hear back from someone who got an alignment from the dealer and then stops having the problem (not that I've heard the opposite either).

The car tracks straight -- I can let go of the wheel and let off the gas at 80 mph in the center lane of a flat road and it does not turn.

Now that I look closer, I suppose there is a bit more wear on the passenger tire than the driver's side... but still, these cars seem to be very sensitive to road camber, etc... so I'm really not sure about the alignment.


To bring the situation to a head, I ran over a nail the other day and now need a new front driver's tire... I'm ok with replacing front tires every 12k if this is normal, but the rest of the tire seems like it has another 10k in it at least...

I ordered the same tire again (from tire rack for 30% less than what they want at the dealer!) because I have no spare and must get RFTs and I'm getting them installed Monday.

I feel like I should do the alignment, but if I take it in for the $300 alignment and it (the same wear pattern) happens again, I'll be aggravated.

I'm also contemplating keeping the passenger tire I'm replacing in case I get another puncture... not sure if this is worth it -- the tire is $325 shipped...

Anyway -- i'm running long here, so I'll stop

Any suggestions or advice will be appreciated.