Uneven Tire Wear. Alingment or something else? (1 Viewer)

[LXMUTT]

Hello all, I've been getting some uneven tire wear on all 4 tires. They are cupping on both inside and outside edges, as shown in the pictures. I have a 1.5" Medium OME lift (installed last spring) , 32" ko2's(60,000 miles on them,) and alignment in spec. Could this be something with the alignment, tire inflation(40psi) , cornering too fast, or something with the suspension?

Thanks for the help.

 

[jhrrld]

How often do you rotate your tires? I've seen the same when I don't rotate my tires on the reg, like every 5k.

 

[LXMUTT]

How often do you rotate your tires? I've seen the same when I don't rotate my tires on the reg, like every 5k.

The last two times have been 7k and 8k between rotations. I put around 30k last year.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

5k miles should be max rotation interval for AT and MT tires; 7-8k is too long. With that said, have your tires re-balanced and check your front upper and lower control arm bushings. Worn bushings can result in enough movement to cause odd tire wire while still getting alignment in specs...

 

[Hokie LX]

do you like to go fast around corners?

In all seriousness, outside scrubbing like that can be from excess cornering speed. Especially if the wear is only on that outer/inner shoulder and doesn't extend into the tread. Usually if there's excessive toe-in on one wheel, the inner won't be as worn as the outer and the outer wear will extend into the meat of the tread. Simlarly, if there is excess toe-out, you'll see more inner wear than outer wear.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

@Hokie LX Though I agree about speed, look closer at the photos. The tires have alternate-lug cupping on both inside and outside treads (inside looks worse), in which every other lug is worn lower than both neighboring lugs. That's typically indicative of worn steering and/or suspension components.

 

[Mike NXP]

What load range are the KO2's. Sounds crazy but if you calculate load range and the weight of our rigs, BFgoodrich tech said we should be around 54psi in the rear and 50 up front on the D range tires
>> Although I suppose your wear on the outside edge would be more about under inflated

 

[LXMUTT]

5k miles should be max rotation interval for AT and MT tires; 7-8k is too long. With that said, have your tires re-balanced and check your front upper and lower control arm bushings. Worn bushings can result in enough movement to cause odd tire wire while still getting alignment in specs...

I'll make sure to rotate my tire for frequently, and check the Upper and Lower control arm bushings. My LX has 221,000 miles on it so its a good bet that those could be going out.

do you like to go fast around corners?

In all seriousness, outside scrubbing like that can be from excess cornering speed. Especially if the wear is only on that outer/inner shoulder and doesn't extend into the tread. Usually if there's excessive toe-in on one wheel, the inner won't be as worn as the outer and the outer wear will extend into the meat of the tread. Simlarly, if there is excess toe-out, you'll see more inner wear than outer wear.

I guess in my opinion I'm not going fast around corners, but I don't go slow either... seems like my alignment is in spec, unless I'm missing something. Thoughts?

What load range are the KO2's. Sounds crazy but if you calculate load range and the weight of our rigs, BFgoodrich tech said we should be around 54psi in the rear and 50 up front on the D range tires
>> Although I suppose your wear on the outside edge would be more about under inflated

I'm running load range E and 40-43psi is usually where I set them. I've got a ARB front bumper but other than that it doesn't have any other added weight.

 

[DTCsk8er]

I still don't understand why the 100 series seems to require tight rotation schedules, but it seems this is pretty common (I have the same thing). Rig rides pretty smooth up to 85mph, and it's been aligned and balanced.

I would chalk test the tires, just to make sure your PSI is optimal.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

I still don't understand why the 100 series seems to require tight rotation schedules

It's the tires combined with full-time AWD. Street tires can go longer without rotation, but once you throw any knobby ATs or MTs on, that Discount Tire lifetime free rotation and balance comes in handy. Every vehicle I've ever put ATs or MTs on required increasing the intensity of the rotation interval to prevent uneven wear...

 

[Tres Toys]

If the tire balance checks out and the shocks are good, then consider checking the ties rods. When the tie rods start getting loose the toe setting can wander. It might be worth jacking up one of the front wheels and checking whether it has side to side play. In my experience the inner tie rods wear out faster than the outer ones.