On Thu, 6 Jul 2017 23:55:24 +1000, Xeno wrote:

Camber does not cause feathering. It does cause wear on one side.

I think the advice so far is good in that it's either of these two:
1. Too much camber (top spread out) + too much toe (front spread in)
2. Hills with curves

If it's the alignment (camber plus toe) it can only be fixed with an
alignment. If it's the hills with curves, there's nothing to fix.

The fact that the rear tires have no obvious strange wear might be a clue
to help. Would the hills with curves also affect the rear?

Or do hills with curves only affect the front feathering?

The tires are "feathered" only on the outside edge of the tread (last inch
or two) evenly on both tires, but only on the front.

The greatest cause of outside edge tyre wear is overenthusiastic cornering.

I don't enthusiastically corner. Period. I drive slowly.
But I can't change the five miles each way that are hills with sharp curves
where most are hairpins and there is no stripe in the road since it's too
narrow for a center stripe.

I'm guessing the speeds are 20mps or so but the turns are extreme.

Would that only affect the front feathering leaving the rear unfeathered?
It's a rear drive 2WD basic SUV with a solid rear axle I am told.

One point I should note. By all means have your alignment checked. One
thing that can cause feathering is a bent steering arm. Typically, a
bent steering arm will cause a change in toe. If the technician just
corrected the toe, he will have missed the real issue and the car will
now have incorrect *toe out on turns*. A *toe out on turns check* should
always be done at a wheel alignment as it will show up issues like bent
steering arms.

Anything can happen at a pothole or curb but I seriously doubt anything
major is "bent" since I'm the only driver and it was thoroughly checked two
years ago when I bought it, including a full four wheel alignment.

My main question is how to determine if the front feathering is only due to
the 90 and 180 degree corners on a 10% grade (I'm told) I have to go
through at 20 mph every day (at least twenty of them each way).

Would that type of hilly curve NOT affect the rear tires at all?