427 Tire Wear Issue

[svfetter]

Once again I have read about another issue with a 427 Owner having a front tire wear issue on this sight. This seems to be happening too often to be just a random issue. I only have about 1000 miles in mine so not an issue as of yet.

Speculation - Why have we not seen any issues brought up by stage 3 owners. I know that the 427 has a modified version of the stage 3 front suspension. Could it be that Roush is getting something out of spec when making changes to front suspension. Maybe a difference between a stage 3 and a 427 that was not anticipated to cause a problem? Also, how many
427s out there with say 15K miles or more with no issues in front tire wear outside of normal? Are there any? Maybe it's just some 427s and Roush made some kind of adjustment mid or late production year. Just Guessing.

There should not be a problem with alignment with a new car. Computer aided assembly keeps very tight specs on things like alignment. I am strictly a ford buyer and have not had to worry about alignment or bad tire wear on any of my cars or trucks since the 70s. I agree with some of the other members here that this should not be happening to these new 427s.

Is this an issue which needs to be addressed as a group. If a problem has been caused by Roush modifications, Do we need a recall through Roush to notify all 427 owners. I am not trying to make unwarranted claims by I do believe that this needs to be investigated to find the cause and fix. I would like to have more information than just - took car back to dealer, checked alignment and replaced front tires.

What about Ferrario up in the north east? I have seen you post many times on this forum and I know you sell many Roush Mustangs. Do you have and info about this issue? What about the 427s you have sold? Tire Wear issues? Just thought I would ask since you have been very forthcoming and helpful on other issues. I believe if we address this issue in the right way we should be able to get the answers we deserve as a consumer.

PS- I have a good dealer but hate the thought of having to get an alignment for fear of the tech scratching my wheels.

[IKandy]

Thanks for posting this Svfetter... I've been wondering the same thing - seems like too many 427R's for it to be a coincidence. I have a little more than 3,000 miles on mine and haven't had the alignment checked. After my last experience at my dealership, I'm not going back unless I just have to!!

Look forward to hearing others' thoughts on this post.

[svfetter]

Thanks Ikandy. I hope we can get to the bottom of this issue. I am also hoping we can get a lot of responses.

I know you frequent site and post a lot. Always enjoy reading you. Wish you were not so far away, My wife and I would love to meet you and check out your ride. Only (4) 427s sold here in Louisville, KY last year but have not seen any of them and do not know who they are. Not many Roushes in the area in general. Hope a few show up in the shows this summer to compare notes. Happy and Safe driving Ikandy.

PS- My Wife got me the mirror covers like you have for my White 427. Huge difference in look. Too cold here to put them on perm yet. Your pictures confirmed our decision to get. Thanks.

[sally4ponies]

I just went through this with my 427. I was told the diagnosis was lose engine brackets which were tightened up and I got two new tires out of the deal. They checked alignment and reset to Roush specs too. Roush and my dealership (where I didn't make the purchase) were very straightforward. Would it be good to make a thread and put a sticky on it to consolidate any and all issues with the front ends on 427's??

[svfetter]

Sally - your post was the latest one I was refering to. I am a decent Mechanic but need someone to explain to me how loose engine mounts could effect tire wear. I am ready to be educated.

Yes making a sticky would be a good idea. Have to admit don't know how to do it at this point.

Glad you got yours taken care of.

[LeeU]

Just wondering since I have a 428R if this is going to be an issue for me as well, only have 785 miles on it since Nov but since the 428R is just a limited No 427R I will be keeping an eye on this as well. I was told that Ford changed the motor mounts on the later 07 and all 08 cars by Roush, when I was asking them about the Trak Pak Strut tower brace being sold on the Roush site and was also told that the new motor mounts raised the motor.... I wonder?????
Thanks,
LeeU

[SteveL]

If the front suspension has been modified, and it doesn't matter who did it, it is always worth having the alignment checked and dialed in as necessary. This is especially true if the front has been lowered.

[Shay]

Roush Mustangs dating back to the 1999-2004 models have had tire wear issues. Though, the 2005+ models have been less a problem than the older ones were. There are many threads on this. I know I replaced almost half a dozen $300 front tires on my 2001 Stage 3 in the 30,000 miles I owned it.

At the end of the day, the tire wear is a side-effect to the suspension tuning that is meant to provide the high grip that our cars have. If you read your Roush Owners manual, you will find language in there that states that your car is tuned for high performance and there are some drawbacks in some areas as a result. At least my owners manual said that.

Most people who have had tire wear issues have found that installing CC plates and getting an alignment that dials back the aggressive set up that comes from Roush has solved the problem. You might lose some of the edge on a track, but you might get better tire wear. In street driving you will likely not even notice a difference.

Calling out a dealership to answer up for this is not the right approach, they don't build the cars. Roush builds them, and they would be the best place to inquire about this. However, historically the answer from Roush is that "there is no problem".

[svfetter]

Thanks for the reply Shay,

Appreciate you moving my post. I wasn't sure if it should be here or in the current year section. Sorry.

The only reason I mentioned the dealer was that he seemed to be a frequent visitor to the site and I thought he might be able to shed some light on it as you have in your post. I did not mean to indicate in any way that it was his or any other dealers problem.

Again, thank you for your insight in this matter. I had not read anywhere on the sweet site what you expanded on above. Your explanation makes perfect sense. I could have been a little better if Roush could have said something to that effect specifically regarding tire wear in the manual.

In addition, out of over 1000 427s produced in 2007, the amount which have brought up this issue is a small percentage. I realized that before I posted. I was just concerned about the number of posts in the last few months of 07 -427s regarding this issue. It seemed like a lot of people having issues in a short period of time.

Based on your explanation - for me the matter is closed, however I would still welcome other 427 owners to share any experiences they may have had on this issue. Thanks again.

[IKandy]

Sam,

Thanks for the update. I know I've seen other posts about this recently. Are these fixes you list specific to the 2005+ models? or does it matter?

I would like to proactively do something to prevent this from happening on my car. Could we have one thread consolidated with part #'s, fix options, preventative measures?

For those of us who are less mechanically inclined, I'd like to know step by step what I need to do.. I'm making a list to take to a mechanic at this will definitely be something I add to the list.

That would really be helpful.

Thanks!
Kandy

[Shay]

Alignment is the key. The set up as it comes (provided it is consistent) has camber settings that set the tires up for best grip. Plus, whenever you lower a car from factory designed presets, alignment is a tricky thing. Because the range of motion is different you tend to get on the edge of what Ford had planned.

[sally4ponies]

Originally Posted by svfetter

Sally - your post was the latest one I was refering to. I am a decent Mechanic but need someone to explain to me how loose engine mounts could effect tire wear. I am ready to be educated.

Yes making a sticky would be a good idea. Have to admit don't know how to do it at this point.

Glad you got yours taken care of.

Thanks, I wondered the same thing. They said something to the effect of the engine mount causing the entire front end to shift. I don't know enough about how it's put together to know how that would be either. Is there a Chilton manual or some reference that would be helpful to me? Right now I am just waiting to see if the issue is permanently resolved or if this is something I will have to repair intermittently. Initially the dealership thought it was a bent strut Then Roush thought the car had been wrecked when the dealership told them the symptoms of the problem. Air bag has never been deployed and no, the car hasn't been wrecked. Right now I think I was treated well, but we'll see. Any light anybody else might share on this problem with the 427's????

[Roushpartsguy]

Im a right or wrong, but, I thought most Stage 3 cars came with BFG vs Coopers on the 427R ? Anything to that ?

[Shay]

Originally Posted by Roushpartsguy

Im a right or wrong, but, I thought most Stage 3 cars came with BFG vs Coopers on the 427R ? Anything to that ?

That could be. I know on the older cars the BFG KD's wore away like mad. Some people replaced them with a different brand and didn't have a tire wear problem any more. Although in my case, it didn't change the problem.

[madtel4]

Mustangs have no adjustment for camber. When you lower a car, you change the alignment. Roush knows this, but most times they get away with it. Roush needs to step up and fix this with camber plates, bolts or some other fix. I called Roush. They acted like they had never heard of this problem. My tires show much wear on the inside at only 4800 miles.
Lee

[ericwp]

This is interesting. I'd like to know what tire wear are we discussing; uneven across the entire tire/tires, or just on the inside. I've checked and all seems ok.

I have 5219 miles in 1 year this week. I have no uneven or abnormal tire wear in the front or rears. I just had to put air in them last week, they all where down 3psi. Never had an alignment done, in a year, and the car still tracks straight as the first day i got it.
I have had the roush tower strut bar on, steeda gtrac bar on the front control arms for about 4500 of the miles. I recently put the FRPP SVT gt500 brakes up front and the steeda front sway bar braces on. I'll be watching more closely now that there seems to be an issue.
My build date is Dec of 2006, if that helps out.
Thanks

[madtel4]

Only on the very inside. More on the right than left, fronts only.

[sally4ponies]

Mine were worn so badly on the inside they were cupped!!

[n2spd]

Originally Posted by madtel4

Mustangs have no adjustment for camber. When you lower a car, you change the alignment. Roush knows this, but most times they get away with it. Roush needs to step up and fix this with camber plates, bolts or some other fix. I called Roush. They acted like they had never heard of this problem. My tires show much wear on the inside at only 4800 miles.
Lee

They know. I posted a pic of my tires on another thread. So far I got new tires out of the deal but they have yet to fix the problem. My old tires were shipped back to Roush so they could look at them. Either way they can fix my car right or send me new tires when they wear out.

[madtel4]

How is the best way to fix the car? Camber plates, adjustable camber bolts or something like Steeda's camber adjusters. Or is ther some other way that I am not aware of.
Lee