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Old 06-27-2017, 09:52 AM   #1
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Question for tire wear experts....

Here's my situation:

I have a 1993 Sportsmobile(2wd) that I bought 4 years ago. I put new tires on about 3 years ago. When I put the tires on( Cooper Discover) the suspension was completely stock and the ball joints were fairly worn as well. Over the last few years I've noticed that the tires have a strange wear pattern. Basically the edge knobs alternate in height, almost like a saw blade. I tried to capture this in the photo below but it's a little hard to see. If you run your hand around the circumference of the tire you can easily feel the height difference.

I recently replaced the springs/shocks(front and rear) and the upper/lower ball joints. I'm getting ready to buy new tires(wanting to go up a size) but want to make sure I've corrected whatever problem was creating this wear pattern in the first place.

Other than shocks/springs/ball joints/alignment is there anything else I should be looking at to make sure I don't start wearing the new tires in this same manner?
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Old 06-27-2017, 10:56 AM   #2
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Are you saying that each tread-block's trailing edge is at a different height than the next tread-block's leading edge? Like, if you run your hand around the tire on the tread blocks, following the direction of the circumference, in one direction you are feeling a sharp edge sticking up as your hand encounters each tread block?

If so --I believe what you are noticing on your tires is refered to as "feather-edging," and it's pretty common occurrence on more aggressive-treaded tires if they don't get regular rotation. Something to do with (basically) the leading edge of each tread block getting more wear/deformation as it hits against the pavement/compresses/releases with each tire rotation. Left ignored (as in, if the tires don't regularly get rotated), those bad-boys will be pretty damn noisy when you finally rotate them and get them spinning in the opposite direction.

How many miles have you put on those tires...and how regularly have you rotated them? Opinions will vary, but I think rotation every 5000 miles is around the current longest recommended span.
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Old 06-27-2017, 11:04 AM   #3
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Hey Mike, don't I rotate my tires every time I take the van for a drive though?

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Old 06-27-2017, 11:11 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by capnkurt View Post
Hey Mike, don't I rotate my tires every time I take the van for a drive though?

capn
YES! Several million times.
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Old 06-27-2017, 11:16 AM   #5
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Fairly normal cupping from any number of potential things, but looks like you've fixed most of them.. worn suspension linkages, ball joints, worn shocks, etc. . I'd also check tie rods.
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Old 06-27-2017, 02:05 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MountainBikeRoamer View Post

How many miles have you put on those tires...and how regularly have you rotated them? Opinions will vary, but I think rotation every 5000 miles is around the current longest recommended span.
I agree. Around these parts we call this cupping. It's very common on tires, especially off-road tires that don't get rotated regularly. Sometimes you can flip em/rotate em or whatever and drive the cupping out to get rid of the noise but that's an annoying waiting game. However, new tires aren't cheap.
So, tell us about your rotation habits...

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Old 06-27-2017, 02:36 PM   #7
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So, tell us about your rotation habits...

Haha, when you put it that way, lol....was my question anout tire rotation a bit too personal in nature? I could see that.

Brian. Honestly don't mean to pry. You don't have to share anything that you're not comfortable with.

But you're among friends. This is a safe place.
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Old 06-27-2017, 02:52 PM   #8
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Sheesh, you guys just jump right into it. I feel like I'm at the dentist: "how often do you floss?" Me: "uhh....almost every day....."

I've tried to rotate the tires at regular 3-5k intervals but I am sure I've missed or gone way over once or twice. The tires have about 30k on them. I'm not the best record keeper, clearly.

When I had the ball joints done they were absolutely shot. I'm hoping that was part of the problem as I'd really hate to repeat this wear pattern on a new set of tires.

FYI, a set of 265/75/16 Cooper Discover AT is only $370 right now after rebates. Pretty incredible deal.

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Old 06-27-2017, 05:15 PM   #9
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I've seen that same pattern on the front tires my van. I rotated them back to front. The same pattern repeated it's self on the fronts again. That was before I replaced worn, but not horrible, ball joints and very bad wheel bearings on the Dana 60 4x4 front axle.

Will your parts replacement on your van fix your issue? Probably
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Old 06-28-2017, 05:04 PM   #10
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I had the same cupping on my front tires. My problem was the caster and toe being out of wack. Once I got an alignment done that fixed my problem. Then some miles and the tires are back to normal.
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