[Sirrotica]

My first set of tires wore out at 17,000 too and I made Pontiac fix the front end at 20,000, I had to fight to get it done but I succeeded. Next set of tires went 40,000 and the same problems started all over so I got Pontiac once again to fix the front end me paying $100 deductible because I had a damn good service manager working with me on this. The same parts wore out plus the struts and ball joints this time so $100 was still a bargain. The radius rod bushings are shot on your car if it's got over 40,000 on it, I would bet money on it, at static on an alignment machine they will check within spec, on the road your tires are allowed to toe out almost any time your on the brakes and the inside edge of the tire usually wears down to the cords. I just had mine done again at 58,000 and that's the second time. Quick test that takes 2 people, have someone watch your front wheels while you stop rather hard, if your front wheels move back in the wheel opening the radius rod bushings are shot for sure. If yours aren't shot you have a very unusual car, as I said mine were replaced twice before I hit 60,000 miles. Most front end people do not know how to properly check the Holden Monaro/Pontiac GTO front ends to check for defective parts believe me on that. The design of the parts on these cars are made so that no vibration is transferred and the rubber parts wear out really fast. Peddars and a couple other aftermarket companies make harder replacement parts that hold the alignment and wear much better than stock parts.

Excessive tire wear is a common problem on these cars, but it isn't something that is considered normal and it can be repaired if you know what to look for. After 2 freebies from Pontiac under warranty, The next time the front end wears out I will be replacing the stock parts with superior grade aftermarket parts. One other thing that is indicative of bad radius rod bushing is the brakes while not actually mushy don't have a real good hard pedal. You'll notice how much better the brakes feel after replacement of those bushings. Don't forget about the strut mount bushings, almost all of them were destroyed by the way GM shipped the cars over here on the ships. They blocked the suspension solid so they wouldn't move on the ship and destroyed the upper strut mount by putting all the movement and weight on the rubber part of the strut bushings during the shipment from Australia, another well known problem of these cars. Radius rod bushings and strut mounts are the biggest contributors to excessive tire wear on these cars.