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Front Tires Cupping

H

heyheyrca

Full Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2003
Messages
27
Noticed tonight that with 3200 miles on the truck that the front tires are cupping. I'm trying to find out if that means they need to be balanced, lined up or rotated. Rears are fine.

I would think that 3200 miles is nothing but we are talking about GoodYear's.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
alignment..............have dealer do for free tooo..
 
Cupping comes from lack of rotation and or tire balance issues - be sure to also check your tire pressure. You will not find alignment problems causing cupping. I am assuming the cupping is on the inside edges? If so rotate the tires and have them professionally balanced - and no this does not mean at Discount tire. Try and find a shop that has a Road Force balancer and knows how to use it!
 
I agree with ygmn....and don't let the dealer tell you it's not covered because it is, especially this early in the game! ;D

If it's really bad, have them give you a couple of tires as you could end up with vibration problems down the line, especially whenever those tires are back on the front. (Some dealers will rotate those tires to the back and say it's OK....but it's not!)

Good Luck!

Tex: I respectfully disagree...I have seen cupping problems caused by alignment...especially in the newer vehicles. And, I agree with your roadforce comment....but if there is no vibration I'm not sure that's a can of worms one wants to open...especially given the 'issues' I've seen come up with roadforce balancing (and dealers who shy away from dealing with them and trying to pass them off to the tire manufacturer..I know that Michelin, for one, will not accept claims due to roadforce issues...not sure about Goodyear as I manage a Michelin Store...)
 
The cupping is actually on the outside edges of the tires. I am not sure if that makes a difference.
 
Well then - it depends on the degree of cupping could be a toe problem but I am still inclined to think it is more balance related or tire pressure. If the steering wheel is straight across and the vehicle drives good without pulling or feeling like it oversteers - then I doubt alignment - however a slight toe in setting that is too far can result in outside tread wear. Do you have any vibrations at certain speeds?
 
I cant speak to your experience BBlueAV but I have not seen many cupped tires result from alignment without other tell tale issue either wear or driving issue - I have seen out of balance tires that were not apparent to the driver cause this - guess it is just a matter of opinion based on experience - I would prefer to have his AV in the shop were I could examine it and then it would end the speculation - I do however respect your opinion - I am sure it is based on your experience.
I have been a Tech for 25 years and am ASE Master L-1 certified - which doesnt really mean anything just wanted you to know I am not just guessing. I cant really argue with anyone on the actual cause as I have not seen the vehicle - you could be right!

Thanks for your input.
Richard
 
Ok dumb question.... >:D

What's Road Force Balacing? What kind of problems could it cause that Michelin won't accept claims due to road force issues? Why is it better that a normal tire balacing from Discount Tire?

Ok so it was 3 questions... Sorry never heard of this.
 
ShapeShifter updated topic link to go directly to pertinant post.

Lockout said:
Ok dumb question.... >:D

What's Road Force Balacing? What kind of problems could it cause that Michelin won't accept claims due to road force issues? Why is it better that a normal tire balacing from Discount Tire?

Ok so it was 3 questions... Sorry never heard of this.
Click to expand...


Hey Lockout - checkthisout >:D
http://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php?board=16;action=display;threadid=14459;start=msg234016#msg234016
 
I guess he needs to define cupping and show a pic...if the edges look feathered then it is alignment...if a worn spot occurs around the tire in certain spots but no pattern then this is balance...

Low Tire pressure causes the outer edges of tire to wear early and too high pressure cause the center wear early...........

HTH
 
ygmn said:
I guess he needs to define cupping and show a pic...if the edges look feathered then it is alignment...if a worn spot occurs around the tire in certain spots but no pattern then this is balance...

Low Tire pressure causes the outer edges of tire to wear early and too high pressure cause the center wear early...........

HTH
Click to expand...

There ya go - that's what I mean - maybe a pic would help. Anyway regardless he should take it to the dealer with those miles whatever it is should be handled. Warranty usually provides for at least one alignment! They should also cover a balance.
 
TexAVfan said:
...rotate the tires and have them professionally balanced - and no this does not mean at Discount tire. Try and find a shop that has a Road Force balancer and knows how to use it!
Click to expand...
One of the other balancing threads that had a link to the big-Kahuna balancing machine including road-force features. I followed their page to see where they were located in my area and low-and-behold every single Discount Tire in the area had one (So did all the GoodYear tire shops). That doesn't say anything about whether or not they know how to use it though.
 
No vibrations from what I can tell. Wheel looks straight. I just happened to look at the front tires and said WOW.. what's going on here. 3000 miles and this.

I'm going to bring it in next week.
 
BTW, I have a story about tire balancing. Although I don't think anyone would be interested in doing this to a truck.

When I was younger and didn't mind spending (wasting) money, I had the new tires on my BMW balanced by a garage that was heavily involved in the Long Beach Grand Prix.

First they put the wheel on a lathe where they trim down the surface of the tread so the tire is perfectly round. They used a nominal speed of 60 mph I believe because the tire changes shape at different rotational velocities.

Next they put the wheels back on the car and balance them on the vehicle. This balances the wheel AND rotor. They spin the tire at different speeds until everything is balanced at all speeds. They also put all of the weights on the inside of the rim so as not to mar the look of the mag wheels.

Finally they mark the rim, rotor, and tire with paint to ensure that you always put the wheel back in the position where it came from. (If you get a flat repaired you have to line the tire up with the mark on the rim. Also you have to install the wheel back on the rotor in the same position. No rotating the tires after that. Actually on my model BMW the manufacturer recommended not rotating the tires anyway.)

Suffice to say my car drove very smoothly afterwards. Too bad the service was $100 a wheel.
 
I have seen this happen on numerous brand new cars all with GOODYEAR tires. I beleive GY sells manufacturers lower quality tires than you buy in the store. GY will always says it's an alignement problem and will not take responsibility.

Make the dealer align and balance and utilize your Tire Warranty. Maybe go to a GY store because if they just give you tires off a new AV, you might have the same issue. Good luck
 
GM had a problem a while ago and may still have one. The car carrier would tie the vehicles to the trailer wrong and screw up the alignment before the dealer even received it. With 3200 miles the dealer should cover it, whatever the problem may be. If the air pressure is too low, and you are very agressive in cornering, the outside will cup.
 
Went to the dealer today. Showed the service writer the front tires and I informed him that since they were feathering that the alignment must be checked.

Asked if they would rotate them since the feathering needed to be moved to the rear. Asked how they would rotate and they informed me it was my decision. I told them to cross the fronts to the rear. At least that is what the manual states. He says ok.

They called me later in the afternoon to let me know it was done. I went to pick it up. Asked if they found anything. Nothing. Everything was perfect. Why are they wearing that way, I asked? Service writer states it's normal with heavy trucks like this. Nothing we can do about it. I then asked if they balanced the wheels and he states NO that's not covered. I have to say I hate GoodYear Tires. Never had any luck with them while I see other people getting 40,000 + on them. How they do it I'll never know.

Just wanted to update everyone on what the dealer said.
 
I had the same feathering with mine that I didn't catch until I had about 8000 miles on my Z71 AV. Took it to the dealership and they gave me the same BS that it was normal. (Made me wait for an hour for a mechanic to come out and eye-ball the tires w/o ever touching them or putting it on an alignment machine.) I went straight from there to a trusted shop that does all of my alignment work and they said the tow was out of spec plus recommended I go to 45lbs inflation in the front and 42 lbs in the rear. I've been rotating the tires every other oil change and now have 22,000 plus miles on it and I think I'll get another 22,000 miles easily on the Goodyears.

I think there is somewhere within the owners manual/warranty papers that does say alignment/balancing is covered but it's a rediculously low mileage period.
 
I am having the same problem, I noticed that the steering wheel is not dead center, the truck was pulling to the left, this happened at about 6500 miles.
Had the wheels rotated , alignment done for free ( free alignment covered under warrenty between 500 & 7500 miles )
the truck was fine for about another 1000 miles but it is starting to pull again , I am going back to the dealer this week. I will post a follow up report.
 
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