Tire cupping

[Mrnicks]

I have tire cupping on the driver side. I had the alignment checked by a friend and was able to see it on the machine in person and it was damn near perfect. I rotated the front tires and the driver side which was the passenger side is not cupping after about 400 miles. My friend says shocks, I haven't had the time to remove them to check. Has anyone experienced this before because of worn shocks. My shocks are ProComp ES3000 and are about 3-4 years old. Tire pressure is correct, all ball joints and bushings are new. Would tire balance do this? That tire is extremely loud, not quite sure if it's just the cupping or something else too. It's too loud to tell.

Here are a few pics.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Mrnicks/Tires#

 

[Slim]

I don't know how much shocks would contribute, but you're not rotating your tires properly. One a RWD vehicle you're supposed to keep the tires on the same side, and just swap from front and rear and vice versa. You don't swap left to right.

Check the date of manufacture and see if the tires were all produced around the same time. Perhaps that one tire is newer or older and has a minor difference in the tread?

 

[dangeranger01]

Shocks and lack of rotation cause tire cupping. Its from hitting a bump and the worn shocks allow the tire to bounce instead of controling it. If your shocks are 3-4 years old they should probly be replaced. Also you can swich tires side to side. When I rotate I do LF to RR and RF to LR. My tires wear nice and smooth.

 

[4x4junkie]

Yep, tire rotation is the key (and the correct procedure actually involves moving the rear tires straight up to the front, the front tires get crossed over when moving them to the rear).

Super-aggressive tires like that probably should be rotated every 3000 miles minimum (5000 for more-typical MTs).

 

[Slim]

Yep, tire rotation is the key (and the correct procedure actually involves moving the rear tires straight up to the front, the front tires get crossed over when moving them to the rear).

Super-aggressive tires like that probably should be rotated every 3000 miles minimum (5000 for more-typical MTs).

Is that a 4x4 thing or ..... ? I though rwd vehicles don't cross over?

 

[Captain Ledd]

Is that a 4x4 thing or ..... ? I though rwd vehicles don't cross over?

Actually I thought that was a bias/radial thing.

Bias ply's get moved front to back
Radial ply's get moved diagonally.

 

[Slim]

Actually I thought that was a bias/radial thing.

Bias ply's get moved front to back
Radial ply's get moved diagonally.

Hey! You callin' me OLD?!??!?!??!

 

[Captain Ledd]

Hey! You callin' me OLD?!??!?!??!

Why not at all! I'm just fairly certain it's not a RWD or Fwd thing, it deals with the construction of the tire. That's what I've always heard from everyone I've grown up around at least.

I've always done it that way and never had a problem. 197,000 miles and it's not quite done with it's 2nd set of tires ever. I might be able to get away with a little bit of driving early next spring (I have winter tires) but thats about it.

 

[4x4junkie]

When radials were in their infancy, you weren't supposed to rotate them side-to-side. That is not at all the case with modern radials however (probably about the last 25 years or so). Virtually all rotation diagrams for most vehicles nowadays (regardless of drive) have one end's tires getting crossed over while rotating them.