Chopping tires?

[mtnbike28]

I have the OME 2 inch lift on my 02 Tacoma DC and went with Geolander 235-85/16 tires. The second rotation, (~10K miles) I noticed the fronts were chopping badly so I visited the shop and they agreed to warranty the tires. I rotated the rears (unchopped) to the front.

I had them do an alignment and then 3 weeks later I had a Toyota dealership redo the alignment (to correct a steering wheel that wasn't straight)

Now the new tires are in, but the unchopped rotated tires are chopping too. The edges are hi/low/hi/low -

Questions, do I need more toe in for lift or tire height? Are these tires just too narrow for the truck?

The shop doesn't want to put on new tires till I figure it out.... they think I need wider tires.

TIA

 

[dnellans]

sounds a bit suspicious... what other tires have you had on with that amount of lift? similar problems?

'04 extended here - i've got donahoes up front at 2.25ish and have run 265/75 BFG AT and 255/85 Cooper ST now with no tire wear issues. alignment guys always just get it "in spec" nothing special required.

 

[mtnbike28]

31s

When I first put on the lift, I ran BFG ATs 31x10.5r15s are a couple of years and had no problems at all! That is why I was wondering what to do...

 

[Pikeman]

Watch this video it explains tire wear issues. If you have had the alignment done twice then it is more likely a balance issue. You do not change alignment specs for different size tires. The best thing to do is get it aligned back to factory specs or as close to factory specs as possible. Also a 235/85 is not that tall of a tire, I believe it is equiv. to a 31 inch tire and factory on your truck was a 30"


http://www.ehow.com/video_4757150_interpret-tire-wear.html

 

[alexrex20]

if you know your alignment is good, then chopping on the outer treads can only indicate you're driving too fast around the corners.

BFG ATs have stiff sidewalls and help prevent the tire from rolling onto the sidewall; your Geolanders have soft sidewalls. when the tire rolls over onto its side, it can/will cause abnormal wear. the tire shop is partly correct that those tires are too narrow for your truck.

you could warranty the tires again, but i would seriously consider changing your driving style and/or choice of tire and/or tire size.

 

[mtnbike28]

Load Range?

BFG ATs have stiff sidewalls and help prevent the tire from rolling onto the sidewall; your Geolanders have soft sidewalls. when the tire rolls over onto its side, it can/will cause abnormal wear. the tire shop is partly correct that those tires are too narrow for your truck.

I think the BFGs were load range D and the Geolanders are E... so could this help or hurt the sidewall questions?

 

[alexrex20]

BFG ATs have stiff sidewalls and help prevent the tire from rolling onto the sidewall; your Geolanders have soft sidewalls. when the tire rolls over onto its side, it can/will cause abnormal wear. the tire shop is partly correct that those tires are too narrow for your truck.

I think the BFGs were load range D and the Geolanders are E... so could this help or hurt the sidewall questions?

higher load capacity doesn't always mean stiffer sidewalls. the BFG ATs use a 3-ply sidewall for off-road protection and durability. i'm not sure what ply count the Geolanders are.

also, how wide are your wheels?

 

[mtnbike28]

Stock rims....

16x7 ?

 

[FLYFISHEXPERT]

if you know your alignment is good, then chopping on the outer treads can only indicate you're driving too fast around the corners.

X2...this is my problem!

 

[AmericaOverland]

Somebody help me here. I was having to lip-read a man about 5 inches tall. It sounds like this is what's happening.

Cupping is related to toe in or out, inside edge of tires from toe out, outside edge from toe in.

Smooth wear mainly on the outer edges is outward camber, on the inner edges inward camber.

Smooth wear on the middle of the tire is overinflation, whereas smooth wear on BOTH edges is underinflation. Right?

 

[mtnbike28]

Thanks...

I am not sure what the 5 inch tall man part is but... Thank you. The info about what causes what wear is what I was looking for. I will talk with the shop tonight.

 

[AmericaOverland]

Look at the video. If you were to pop the man out of the reality of the computer screen and set him on your desk in front of your computer, that's how big he would be and that hard to lip-read. Expanding the video to full-screen doesn't help because the resolution suffers.

 

[mtnbike28]

missed the link...

Thanks, sorry I missed the link!

In researching the internet:

Cupping
Cups or scalloped dips appearing around the edge of the tread on one side or the other, almost always indicate worn (sometimes bent) suspension parts. Adjustment of wheel alignment alone will seldom cure the problem. Any worn component that connects the wheel to the car (ball joint, wheel bearing, shock absorber, springs, bushings, etc.) can cause this condition. Worn components should be replaced with new ones. The worn tire should be balanced and possibly moved to a different location on the car. Occasionally, wheels that are out of balance will wear like this, but wheel imbalance usually shows up as bald spots between the outside edges and center of the tread.

 

[alexrex20]

a bad steering tie rod end would cause your tire problems, but i can't believe that it would be missed by the alignment shop AND the dealership. it's policy to verify the vehicle will accept an alignment (i.e. no defective suspension components), before actually starting the job.

 

[Rando]

I have the same problem with some Geolanders on my Taco. The edge treadblocks are worn down only at the leading edge of each treadblock on the front wheels only. The main symptom is that is makes the tires quite loud on the highway. I have a very mild lift (1" on bilstein adjustables) and have had the car aligned twice. I don't really know what caused it as the tires were on with about 10,000 miles on them when I bought the car. It doesn't seem to be getting any worse now that I have rotated the wheels to the back, and doesn't seem to be happening to my winter tires - so I am guessing what ever caused it has been resolved. Anyway, I am going to be glad to get rid of the geolanders next season.