mikeurbas

I have a base 2000 vette. I have 54000 mi. and I think tires are original. inside tread on both front tires is down to nothing with some chord showing through. is this normal, or is alignment off, as I suspect. also, my valve cover gaskets are leaking. is this a common problem?

Bob Chapman

Neither condition is normal.

mikeurbas

Any ideas on possible causes?

tblu92

Front inside tread wear indicates your front alignment is OFF--Your tires are "toed out" too much or your camber is way negative
As far as leaking valve covers ? LS engines seldom have that issue as they use captured O-Rings in the cover and the covers are made of thick cast aluminum---Could be your cover bolts have gotten loose

ZigZag

If tires are original there 15 yrs old and should have been replaced long ago. Remedy is buy 4 new tires and get a 4 wheel alignment and you should be good to go. That's what I'd do myself.

leadfoot4

And the fact that you got 50,000 miles out of them is amazing.....

mrr23

Which is why he said "i think the tires are original"

QCVette

Although not normal, it is pretty common. Especially if the Z06 or aggressive alignment specs are used. They had more camber and inside wear is the result.

For best tire wear I have read that camber should be very close to zero.

leadfoot4

Keep in mind, the Z06s didn't have the stiff sidewalled run-flats, so the increased negative camber didn't have the same wear effect on the insides of the tread.

Yes, I agree, that for good wear and decent handling, "zero" camber is good for street usage.

REDHOTS

Sometimes, it means you are not driving the car hard enough in the corners. Outside wear was always a issue when auto crossing.

ericdwong

While you may not have this issue also given the relatively low miles, check for suspension play too. Jack up one side of the car and try to jiggle the tire in several directions particularly at "3 and 9 oclock". On my car the tie rods are shot (205k), not only is there noticeable suspension noise - the inside tires are worn, but if you jack up the car and jiggle it as described above, there's slop in the tire. Not to mention the steering feels loose as crap. Could also be ball joints too, particularly if you don't know the history of the car and someone wrecked it before.

(Yes I'm correcting my own car now plus other stuff, car is on jackstands )