Hi Guys,

I think something is screwed up with the truck and the tires are paying the prices. I have 42,000 miles on the truck and 12,000 on these tires. They are 245 BFG AT/KO's. They were last rotated and balanced 2,000 miles ago. I have included a couple pictures of the driver's side front tire here.

I was thinking alignment at first, but I am not sure. I just had it aligned in October before I got the new tires. Also, it is not the feathering I have seen with alignment. It is more of a patchy problem, not consistent, on the inside of the tire. Sort of like little indents here or there. I was also thinking that they may have screwed up the balance last time I had them balanced. I am going to get that rechecked tomorrow. Any other ideas? Truck is all stock in the suspension/tire size department.

Thanks.

Greg

possible bad shocks??

I was thinking shocks also. I read that on other threads here. Any good way to 'check' the shocks? Also, how does the quality of the shock have that much impact on the tires? I can understand how bad bearings or imbalance could make the tire wobble and wear funny, but I don't see how the shock thing works.

Thanks.

Greg

both tires that bad or just one side? if it is both sides i would say you are pigeon towed if it is one side, i would say it is a suspension problem on that side.

The wear is actually noticeable on all of the tires. Trouble is, I did not see it when I rotated last (2,000 miles ago) and I am not sure if it a front or back thing. It does appear worse on both front tires.

If tires have an imbalance, the wear is made worse by bad shocks. The cupping action is caused by the tire oscillating up and down, which good shocks will dampen somewhat. If you drive down a road that works the suspension hard, the shocks should be very warm afterward. If they aren't, they aren't doing any work. Also, it seems with radials that if it starts wearing weird because of a problem, even correcting the problem doesn't keep the tire from continuing to wear weird.

Also, how does the quality of the shock have that much impact on the tires? I can understand how bad bearings or imbalance could make the tire wobble and wear funny, but I don't see how the shock thing works.

Thanks.

Gregi've heard of these oem shocks going bad by 10,000 miles. when you take bad shocks off, and feel how they travel, they feel like they are empty (like my truck).

if you have ever seen a car driving down the highway, and a tire(s) looks like a basketball being dribbled.... that's the shocks.

if you are wearing like that... i would bet your shocks are gone, not just low quality. just remove one on the worst looking tire and feel how tough it is. the front one; you should barely be able to compress it depending if you are as huge as me.

bilsteins were the answer.

... Just a thought. Get the specs from the last allignment and go to 'different' shop for a new allignment, see if there is a change. .....The rears can be shaved;) ...although it might get a little smokey doing so.

Had all four tires balanced this morning. All four were out by as much as 2.0 oz. Now I don't know much about tire balancing, but he put on some good size weights. This is kind of frustrating because I just had them balanced 2,000 miles ago. I have an alignment appointment for next Tuesday, not sure if I still need it. I am also going to look into shocks. Should I do front or front and back? Which shocks have other people went with? Thanks for the replies thus far.

Greg

bilsteins front & back. you will wonder why you didnt do it sooner

I used to repair wheel balancers, and I can tell you that alot of them are out there being used everyday that are completely out of calibration. The typical guy balancing wheels doesn't give a rip.

Check out this site. http://www.mrtruck.net/centramatic.htm for balancing tires...

Seems like a nice item for keeping things in balance as your tires wear.

Not to hijack this thread, but has anyone here tried these? If so, how did/do you like them? I'm thinking on investing in a set.

See this thread.
http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28025&highlight=centramatic

Whats your tire pressure? Its hard to see what is going on from the pics

Tire pressure is 55 psi all around. What it looks like is a wavy pattern all around the tread on the inside. See the graphic. This is exaggerated to show what is going on. And it is only the inside, not the whole tread.

Greg

You aren't taking any medications for itchy watery eyes are you? because Jeff Foxworthy says Flora FlorŪ pills cause uneven tire wear along with a host of other side affects!