Without addressing the things that you don't do, like off-roading etc, there are several things that can cause a tire to chunk, the most common include hitting potholes, having worn-out tyres (believe it or not), damper wear or suspension arm bushes. Looks like tyre, damper of bush wear are the most likely causes in your case.

 

Both outside edges are wearing funny on that thing 🤔 over inflation? Alignment? Tire rotations? Lastly, bag shocks?

 

More info, Air Suspension, 57000 km total on the clock, no rough treatment or potholes, but I purchased this vehicle at 11000km oddly it had these tyre on new at that time ( no idea why the car had new tyres at 11000km)

 

What is the DOT date? It maybe the photo ISO setting, but that compound looks aged to me.

 

I get that on my rear tyres, Vredestein Quatrac Pro All-Seasons - occasional unmade tracks but not off-road as Aussies might - on air suspension, tows 1500 kg caravan with 100 kg noseweight - it also occurred with my previous winter tyres Dunlop SP Winter Sport D4 but not with the OE tyres Bridgestone Dueller H/P Sport.

 

Wow. Keep them rotated I reckon

 

I think that once that kind of damage has happened it's only going to get worse so it might well be that scrabbling up that incline did for them as all the weight of the trailer was on the back axle and it's the front tyres that have taken the hit.

 

I've been watching my drivers side front since it's doing this exact same thing. Passed inspection in January but I've never seen tire ware quite like this. I helped pull my friends car out of some gravel a while back and thought that might have chewed it up but it's only the one tire. Tires are from 2020 and 3 years ain't long enough for tires to start shredding themselves.

 

I'm looking for suggestions on the tyre damage shown here.
These tyres are 45,000km old (4 yrs old) and were due for replacement soon this damage has appeared in the last 1000-2000 km.
Car has total of 57000km on click with air suspension
Goodyear Eagle F1 275/45R20 on a 7P Touareg
Usage is sealed roads, no hard driving or high cornering speeds and equally damaged on both front wheels, rear treads are undamaged.
Best I can tell the tyres are properly inflated to the values stated on the vehicle tyre placard.

2nd Question:
Can anyone tell me if there are clearance differences to suspension and wheel archs between 7P with Air and CR with Air models, also I guess wheel offset on the CR.
I want to fit tyres that are more towards AT use. Clearances seem very close on the suspension strut.


View attachment 257282

Defective tyres??
Almost seems like the tread blocks have overheated!
See attachment for ride heights

 

I'm looking for suggestions on the tyre damage shown here.
These tyres are 45,000km old (4 yrs old) and were due for replacement soon this damage has appeared in the last 1000-2000 km.
Car has total of 57000km on click with air suspension
Goodyear Eagle F1 275/45R20 on a 7P Touareg
Usage is sealed roads, no hard driving or high cornering speeds and equally damaged on both front wheels, rear treads are undamaged.
Best I can tell the tyres are properly inflated to the values stated on the vehicle tyre placard.

2nd Question:
Can anyone tell me if there are clearance differences to suspension and wheel archs between 7P with Air and CR with Air models, also I guess wheel offset on the CR.
I want to fit tyres that are more towards AT use. Clearances seem very close on the suspension strut.


View attachment 257282

I have some Michelins on a FWD minivan presenting the same odd wear pattern. I have a rear toe alignment issue that needs to be corrected and I towed very heavy, at Max tow capacity for the van. I believe its a combination of the two. As you may know, if toe angle is too far out or in the tire gets is rolling at a slight angle to forward and this can result it scalloping or feathering of the tire tread. TRegs are HEAVY and if combined with a toe angle out of spec, it may cause this issue. Get an alignment inspection to measure what the current baseline is.

 

I had this happen on my 2012 TDI with original tires GYs bgt new. 3 + ears later they showed the same chunking. I think it's a combination of age and that these cars are tough on tires. I replaced with Michelin LTX and they went over 30K miles when I traded it for A 2016 tdi . The Michelins didn't experience the chunking and the threads were still not shot.. I always rotated and had balancing done as well as alignment for new tires.

 

That's the answer. Good tires plus proper rotation and alignment

 

I'm looking for suggestions on the tyre damage shown here.
These tyres are 45,000km old (4 yrs old) and were due for replacement soon this damage has appeared in the last 1000-2000 km.
Car has total of 57000km on click with air suspension
Goodyear Eagle F1 275/45R20 on a 7P Touareg
Usage is sealed roads, no hard driving or high cornering speeds and equally damaged on both front wheels, rear treads are undamaged.
Best I can tell the tyres are properly inflated to the values stated on the vehicle tyre placard.

2nd Question:
Can anyone tell me if there are clearance differences to suspension and wheel archs between 7P with Air and CR with Air models, also I guess wheel offset on the CR.
I want to fit tyres that are more towards AT use. Clearances seem very close on the suspension strut.


View attachment 257282

Looks like under inflated tires issues.

Over inflated tires Symptoms, Cause - Is it safe to drive?

Wondering if over inflated tires cause and symptoms are still safe to drive with or dangerous? The topic of over inflated tires helps answer.

worldtirereview.com

 

If they were mine I'd suspect the tyre compounds, but the pattern is consistent with lower pressure. And then there's that hot stretch of road that factors combined might have hardened up the blocks. If it were me, I'd get a set of evenly worn 2nd hand tyres and have them fitted, get an alignment and see what happens in the next 5000 klms. Y When towing I run 38/42lbs, so 35 might be a bit low?

PS I'm running Cooper HTS now in 265/60 18 and no clearance issues on my 14 with air suspension. Bit bigger than stock, bit the speedo now reads exact to GPS. Lots of sidewall for airing down off bitumen. Not too aggressive, but quiet...

 

I had similar tyre wear on my previous 2010 7L Touareg (non air). Front tyres only. It had Nexen Ru5 tyres on it when I bought it and the front tyres started showing the exact same wear as the op' s photo. Played with pressures checked bushes, suspension etc and it kept getting worse. To test if was suspension related I put some second hand Michelin Latitude tyres on to see if the wear happened to them . If it did I was then pretty sure was related to suspension. However no abnormal wear issues occurred. Eventually put new Michelins on. My conclusion was faulty tyre compound in the Nexens.

 

I had similar tyre wear on my previous 2010 7L Touareg (non air). Front tyres only.

Thanks for your reply
And to everyone who has offered help

Many have suggested tyre pressures because the damage is towards the outer parts of the tread, however this is tread tearing more than wear or surface scrubbing.
This issue appeared on the last 2 days of 2 months 10,000km on the road hauling a caravan on sealed roads below 100kph. I do not believe we were overloaded and the TPMS indicated that the recommended pressures (measured cold 20°c) were maintained throughout. the last days were certainly the hottest part of the trip but not uncommon in Australia.
The tyres have done 45,000km (4 years)
Goodyear Eagle F1 275/45R20 110Y dot 0319
(Rated 1060kg and 300kph)
Until this point these tyres had performed remarkably well with even wear and are very quiet road tyres , no leaks or scrubbing.
I have never before seen tyres tear tread blocks like this.

 

Black Grouse, I meant no disrespect towards Goodyears, They gave me 30K miles which isn't bad at all. I'm just a fan of Michelins and have been for over 30yrs. Never been disappointed with their tires,so I just keep on buying them. I actually have a ancient Alfa Romeo Spider 1978 with the original Michelin tires. Obviously I don't drive it often,but they have no outside sign of their age, no cracking or anything else . My tire guy checked them out and said they're ok just don't go on the highway. It's a garage queen , 500 miles a year Stored in the winter in a bubble. lol

 

Grant,
Worth having a google look at images with the right search terms. This isn't uncommon in a world wide context. I'm still of the opinion that is a combination of aged tyres (the compound rather than failing tyre carcass) plus enough loading to cause the tread to chunk. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and buy a new set and move on.

 

Thanks for offering the correct terminology "CHUNKING" and yes now I can find many others with a similar issue
(Also thanks to others who also mentioned "chunking")
Booked in for new tyres on Tuesday.

 

I had the Goodyear F1 asymmetric 4x4 tires for a short time on my 2014 R line TDI (they were on the Audi Peelers I purchased from a member).
Albeit they were preowned, they had 5 - 6/32" tread. They are terrible for cold weather and wore down to exposed steel belts in a very short time. Tread life rated at 240. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't last 15,000 miles of all season use

 

I had the Goodyear F1 asymmetric 4x4 tires for a short time on my 2014 R line TDI (they were on the Audi Peelers I purchased from a member).
Albeit they were preowned, they had 5 - 6/32" tread. They are terrible for cold weather and wore down to exposed steel belts in a very short time. Tread life rated at 240. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't last 15,000 miles of all season use

"wore down to exposed steel belts in a very short time" .... so many questions WTF

Clearly I do not drive to the maximum of the limits of the vehicle
As stated several times the tyre pictured had 45,000 km so I have no complaint with life, as for cold weather ambient air temperatures in Western Australia rarely dip below 10c (50F) there is NO SNOW or ICE however high 30's C (90F) are common.

 

The same wear pattern happened to the Goodyear Eagles that came with my 2013 TDI. Info that I received from tyre specialist when I replaced them at 65k was that this was a common problem for Eagles on SUVs, and had seen it many times.

 

Funny enough I was at a traffic light with a Merc GLE and notice they had the same tires and one of them was chunking too.
mine have been like this for a few months now and doesn't appear to be getting worse. I def. keep an eye on it and it's only a matter of time before I swap it out for a spare tire I've had in the garage. They're 1/32 treadwear off so I've been waiting to get them down to even before swapping.

 

I have now fitted Falken Wildpeak AT3 265/50R20. Really happy with them and much quieter than I expected for an AT tyre

 

I have now fitted Falken Wildpeak AT3 265/50R20. Really happy goth them and much quieter than I expected for an AT tyre

Fantastic world-class tires good choice