I have a 2002 Saab 9.3 convertible Viggen and the rear tires seem to wear very quickly. The car has low profile tires. Could changing to regular tires be beneficial to wear? Could there be something wrong with rear suspension causing the wear?
Yes, get a alignment done, and pay close attention to the camber in the rear. If rear camber is out, pay the extra money for replacing any worn part and or a camber kit if needed.
Good luck.Are the tires wearing evenly? If not, the tire wear anomolie will be an indication of the likely cause. Tell us more. Scalloped? Feathered? Wearing on one side first?
If so, what is the tire size? The 45 and 40 aspect ratio tires that are coming stock on many cars today come only in high-performance speed ratings come without mileage warrantees…and simply don’t last long.
The low profile nature of the tires is not causing them to wear prematurely. Most likely something in the rear suspension needs to be adjusted to bring the wheels into alignment.
Do you maintain the correct inflation pressure in the tires? Under-inflation increases tire wear.
I too have low profile tires and have been unable to get tires with mileage warrantees. They do use lower density compounds and the mileage is typically no more than 30,000 tops.
While the geometry of the tire (section width vs. aspect ratio) isn’t actually the cause of them not lasting, tires in 45 series and below only come in faster wearing compounds.
However, when I read the post I wondered why it was only the rear tires and also thought something may be amiss. I’d tend to agree that other factors should be looked at starting with the wear pattern.
Well you do own the Viggen model which is soley designed around flat-out performance, much like the BMW M cars. If you want long tire wear and less upkeep I would switch to a standard 9-3 convertible. The alignment and suspension on your Viggen is very aggressive. However, that said you should see more even tire wear. Have a proper and thorough alignment done-if that looks good you may have worn suspension components like bushings, etc.
If you use summer tires and don’t drive the car in the winter try a Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 which will offer very strong tread life and good all around performance.
If you drive the car in the winter I’d recommend a Continental ContiExtremeContact which has a great tread for the winter with reasonable performance in the summer.
Good luck.