Tired tyres on Transits
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• Ford dealers have replaced a number of front tyres on Transit vans free of charge because of abnormal tyre wear. The problem only occurs on short, or long wheelbase vehicles equipped with independent Macpherson struttype suspension, where the outside edges of the front tyres are wearing out very quickly in certain circumstances. Ford has identified a number of reasons for the abnormal wear: 0 The lightness of the steering with the Macpherson struts, allows very tight turns to be made, which scrubs the edges of the tyres.
E3 The characteristics of the suspension also allows large camber changes for each front wheel, which further accentuates the problem. 0 Urban delivery work often means that such manoeuvres are carried out with large amounts of weight over the front wheels as the vehicle is unloaded from the rear.
0 Finally, "spirited" driving styles, particularly in tight urban situations, also accentuates the problem.
Apart from replacing the front tyres "on an individual basis", Ford is also recommending that the replacement tyres are of eight ply rather than the original sixply tyres.
Eight-ply tyres provide a stiffer side wall that has a better resistance to the abrasive effects of tight turns than the original fitment.
It is possible that the company will also introduce a modification to the shortwheelbase, independent front suspension vehicles. This will comprise a change to the length of the steering arms attached to the bottom of the Macpherson strut.
The effect of this will be to change the Ackerman angles on the front suspension, that allows each front wheel to turn at a different angle for a set degree of steering input. It is hoped that this will eliminate the problem.