This weekend I performed the first tire rotation on my 2004 SB Ext Cab, 4x4 2500HD. The tires are the OEM 245's on the alloy wheels.


The fronts showed the typical wear IMO, where the corners were a little worn at just under 15,000 miles. The fronts have typically been maintained at 55 psi as recommend by the door sticker.


The question comes in on the rears.


Both rear tires are showing signs I do not like, first they have IMO considerable visible cracks forming between the tread blocks, nothing large, but look like cracks you'd find a very old tire, not a 8 month old tire. The other thing I noticed were chucks of the tread blocks are falling off, at a regular pattern around the tire. Best described as running over a rock and then the EXACT same chuck being pulled out of the next half dozen tread blocks. The tires have been inflated higher than the fronts, typically around 60-70 psi unloaded, or 80 psi when I am going to pull the trailer.


So is this normal for less than 15,000 miles or are my tires failing? http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Confused.gif Thanks.

Is there a factory owned Firestone store nearby? If so, I think you should take your truck to them for an opinion.


I've heard many negative things about the Firestone Steeltex OEM tires, and I admit I'm more than a little concerned about their safety. I have almost 19K on mine now and they won't last all that much longer. I think I'll visit Sam's for some Michelins next set.

So is this normal for less than 15,000 miles or are my tires failing? http://dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Confused.gif Thanks.


A friend went to Alaska pulling a small 5th wheel (10,000 miles+/-), new truck and had to put tires on when he got back http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley19.gif


Factory tires SUCKEdited by: Dmax Tim

First question, were there Firestones or Bridgestones on from the factory?? Doesn't really matter because I think they are about the same tire.


I took my factory tires off on day 1 and put them on my other truck I was selling privately. New owner was happy with brand new tires and did not seem to care they were Bridgestones (I wanted to get rid of them asap and put my BFGoodrich All-terrains or Michelin LTX M/S on, I own a set of each for this truck).


I don't think they should have cracks in them like that already.


Also, I run about 60-65 psi in the front tires all the time, towing or not towing, there is a lot of weight up front there! In the back I run about 70-75 psi when towing which is basically March 1st to November 1st and about 50 psi when not towing. So far for me, this seems to be a very good wear and handling pressures. That 60-70 you have in the back empty is an aweful lot of air and the tire is not "squatting" down and you are basically running on the center of the tire. Could also be the reason the tire is "chunking".


I would go to a Firestone/Bridgestone store and see what you can do.

What the heck, might as well throw my .02 cents worth in on this post.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/hihi.gif First/foremost, I agree with 2fast2 that you should have the tires looked at by a manufacturers rep, in this case Firestone. Can't say all "factory tires suck" because different manufacturers use different makes of tires, i.e. some use Michelin, others Goodyear, others Firestone, etc., etc. You'd be surprised how many people stick with the OEM's while they own their vehicles? People don't like change! Ever wonder why the tire manufacturers basically give away the tires on new vehicles? http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley24.gif


Suffice to say every tire manufacturer is capable of putting out a crappy low end tire as well as a great high end tire! The old adage "you get what you pay for" is true even with tires.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley9.gif Suggest you check out the TireRack.com website if you want to research the different tire manufacturers and peoples experience with certain brands. It is quite an eye opener. Lots of people swear by Michelins, others swear at them, just depends upon the make of tire and application you are using them on.


I agree with Sprintmod1 that you should be running your front tires at higher psi given there is about 4400-4700lbs up there, dang D/A is very heavy. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley5.gif As for your rear tires it sounds like they are cupping, most likely due to improper balancing. Factories are notorious for not balancing tires very well. Also, your front tires have a suspension over them, the rears have nothing but springs and POS factory shocks. No wonder the rear tires are taking it on the chin faster than the fronts.


I tow very heavy so my choices in tires will be limited when the OEM's crap out. Ride quality takes a back seat to structural integrity and tire load rating for my application. If you don't tow too heavy you might consider a "cushier" tire like the Michelin LTX's, my brother-in-law swears by them. They do receive very favorable ratings on tirerack.com as well. Safety first though, always! Good luck! JJ http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley4.gif

First question, were there Firestones or Bridgestones on from the factory?? Doesn't really matter because I think they are about the same tire.


I took my factory tires off on day 1 and put them on my other truck I was selling privately. New owner was happy with brand new tires and did not seem to care they were Bridgestones (I wanted to get rid of them asap and put my BFGoodrich All-terrains or Michelin LTX M/S on, I own a set of each for this truck).





I don't think they should have cracks in them like that already.


Also, I run about 60-65 psi in the front tires all the time, towing or not towing, there is a lot of weight up front there! In the back I run about 70-75 psi when towing which is basically March 1st to November 1st and about 50 psi when not towing. So far for me, this seems to be a very good wear and handling pressures. That 60-70 you have in the back empty is an aweful lot of air and the tire is not "squatting" down and you are basically running on the center of the tire. Could also be the reason the tire is "chunking".


I would go to a Firestone/Bridgestone store and see what you can do.








I have Bridgestones on my o3, 13k and no problems yet. When I get about 30-40k on them I'll upgrade, maybe Bridgestone Revo's, Michilen or BF Goodrich. But meanwhile I can't afford to change now, that would be like throwing money away. Aproblem I do have with the OEM Bridgestones is traction, they are slippery as hell on wet roads.

I had the same problem with the OEM tires on my 02 Avalanche, slippery as well. I could easily lock up the rear wheels, even with ABS, on slick pavement. Scared the ???? out of me! The OEM's on my dually seem to stick pretty good so far. Now that you mention it I will go to the tirerack website and check them out. Thanks JJ http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley4.gif

The tires are the OEM Bridgestone M773 II.


I will more than likely hit the Firestone shop someday. Just not happy that tires with ony 15,000 miles on them are as f-d up as theses are.


The rear tires are over 50% worn out as well, miss my Lumina LTZ where I got 50,000 out of a set of tires. My Dad even got nearly that out of the BFGoodrich on his 95 Tahoe.





The thing that really blows me way is the starck difference in condition that the front and rear tires are in.

FWIW I got something like 65,000 out of my OEM goodyears. I am a 2wd so they were highway rib.

Bridgestone Duravis 773's are POS tires. Towing a 36 ft 5'er in
Durango, I lost a rear tire. Hell of a hole in the tread. Truck and
trailer were OK, but wheel (the alloys) was toast. I can live with
a tire going given the load and speed, but here is the rub...No
road hazard on OEMs, OK, but the OEMs are not a common
tire.

It took ONE WEEK in Santa Fe to get a replacement tire. $182.
And a wheel, $531. They knew they had me by the SHs. After
a week, the tire was a Bridgestone 773 but not a match, and I
said Bye Bye (beware there are diffferent treads and sidewalls).
Now this was the Chevy Dealer, and they could not get it right.
I went to the local Big O, 4 American Racing Alum Wheels,
($108 each) and 4 265 Mich LTX M/S ($178 each) with full road
hazard!!! , and I have not looked back. The tire had 4500 miles
on it when it blew.

Checy should be shot for not putting a match spare on these
trucks. My dealer in Idaho replaced the tire and wheel, NO
COST, but I would not put these on my truck, so anyone need
mounted tires and wheels for their truck?? http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley36.gif

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At about 12,000 miles my tires were toast... There was nothing left of them and I will never own firestones again...

ChevyPackin'Heat, What are those wheels rated to carry weight wise?

As I recall, they are at 3400 lbs. +/-, in that neighborhood.

Also would be nice if GM thought about the fact that this is 4400-4800 lbs on the front end and an aweful lot of power and torque twisting on those rear tires when they spec them from the factory! With that much weight on the front and power on the back, yea, we're going to smoke them off pretty quick. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/hihi.gif Add juice or something else and they are toast even quicker!http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/hihi.gif http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley36.gif

If you want to put real tires on your truck, look into the following: Goodyear G647, Michelin XPS, Bridgestone R250. They are all commercial steel sidewall tires, three times better than factory crap. When I traded my '00 K3500 SRW, the Goodyear G159s had 63K on them and weren't worn to the halfway point. (G159s are discontinued). These tires weigh 13 lbs more than fabric sidewall tires. I took my '91 (see sig) to Alaska last year pulling a 5er, and to Nova Scotia this summer. It has Cooper C120s (also steel sidewall, also discontinued). They have 20K on them and look great, and 15K of that was towing. These are all rib tires, Goodyear makes a G133 that is steel and traction tread. Michelin XPS is also available in a traction, I believe. I think TireRack only carries the XPS. Usually you have to go to a truck tire shop for any of these, they aren't in the pickup/SUV catalogs. They will run near $200/tire out the door, but well worth it.