Redline
Likes to Drive and Ride
Pending 'Tire Pull' Test
After a 'road-force' test, rebalance, and rotation a few days ago, the Toyo MTs still pull to the right on 4Runner while the Maxxis Bighorns and Coopers STs do not. I assume the fancy software for the the Hunter balancer that Hoser suggests I locate could help diagnose or cure the problem, but the dealer where I purchased the tires doesn't have the software/ability and I'm not going to pay another retailer to fix a problem that is covered under warranty from a different company.
Today I was going to drop off my Toyota TRD tires/wheels at my tire dealer (a Les Schwab) and have the Toyo MTs replaced under warranty. They are essentially new with only 1,357-miles on them and 18/32+ of tread. They were going to make the swap, but before I have them replace four almost new tires for another set we are going to try something else.
Friday we are going to pull the Toyo MT 255s from my Toyota wheels and mount, balance, road-force them on the stock F350 wheels to see if they pull on the F350. If they do, I'll get a new set of 255s anyway. If there’s no 'radial tire pull' on the F350 then I will have to decide if I don't mind keeping them on the F350.
Because of the very firm/stiff construction of these Toyo MTs (which I knew about from prior experience with Toyo MTs) I was already considering swapping the tires from the TRD wheels to the F350. The other sets of 255/85R16 D-range tires I have all ride softer/better and are more flexible which I prefer, particularly on my nice, smooth Crawlin' 4Runner. Currently I have a set of very aggressive and noisy 285/75s on the F350 that I want to remove anyway. Depending on the results of the tire swapping test on Friday, I may just get a few sets of tires moved to different wheels, something that would have cost be over $100.00 if I was paying for the work.
I have don't really have a long history of sidewall failures or tread punctures that justify the extreme construction of the Toyo MTs. I had a sidewall puncture that was repairable in 1994 on a ‘93 Dodge/Cummins W350 with the stock Michelin all-terrain LT235/85R16E tires. More recently within the past five years I have had a couple of sidewall problems on the F350. One sidewall split/separation after 47,000-miles, and another puncture at the edge of the tread/sidewall, both with different sets of Multi-Mile TXRs in 255/85R16D (a tire I used to love but Les Schwab no longer sells, that’s probably not really rugged enough for the F350 anyway). Though the 4Runner is my primary off-highway vehicle, the F350 is my hunting truck, which usually pulls a heavy travel trailer into the Nevada outback, then runs around solo with the air drained from the tires. The truck is heavy and gets used, so much so that I have been considering adding a rear locker.
After a 'road-force' test, rebalance, and rotation a few days ago, the Toyo MTs still pull to the right on 4Runner while the Maxxis Bighorns and Coopers STs do not. I assume the fancy software for the the Hunter balancer that Hoser suggests I locate could help diagnose or cure the problem, but the dealer where I purchased the tires doesn't have the software/ability and I'm not going to pay another retailer to fix a problem that is covered under warranty from a different company.
Today I was going to drop off my Toyota TRD tires/wheels at my tire dealer (a Les Schwab) and have the Toyo MTs replaced under warranty. They are essentially new with only 1,357-miles on them and 18/32+ of tread. They were going to make the swap, but before I have them replace four almost new tires for another set we are going to try something else.
Friday we are going to pull the Toyo MT 255s from my Toyota wheels and mount, balance, road-force them on the stock F350 wheels to see if they pull on the F350. If they do, I'll get a new set of 255s anyway. If there’s no 'radial tire pull' on the F350 then I will have to decide if I don't mind keeping them on the F350.
Because of the very firm/stiff construction of these Toyo MTs (which I knew about from prior experience with Toyo MTs) I was already considering swapping the tires from the TRD wheels to the F350. The other sets of 255/85R16 D-range tires I have all ride softer/better and are more flexible which I prefer, particularly on my nice, smooth Crawlin' 4Runner. Currently I have a set of very aggressive and noisy 285/75s on the F350 that I want to remove anyway. Depending on the results of the tire swapping test on Friday, I may just get a few sets of tires moved to different wheels, something that would have cost be over $100.00 if I was paying for the work.
I have don't really have a long history of sidewall failures or tread punctures that justify the extreme construction of the Toyo MTs. I had a sidewall puncture that was repairable in 1994 on a ‘93 Dodge/Cummins W350 with the stock Michelin all-terrain LT235/85R16E tires. More recently within the past five years I have had a couple of sidewall problems on the F350. One sidewall split/separation after 47,000-miles, and another puncture at the edge of the tread/sidewall, both with different sets of Multi-Mile TXRs in 255/85R16D (a tire I used to love but Les Schwab no longer sells, that’s probably not really rugged enough for the F350 anyway). Though the 4Runner is my primary off-highway vehicle, the F350 is my hunting truck, which usually pulls a heavy travel trailer into the Nevada outback, then runs around solo with the air drained from the tires. The truck is heavy and gets used, so much so that I have been considering adding a rear locker.
Redline said:New Toyo LT255/85R16 causing tire pull
I knew when I purchased my new Toyo MT 255/85R16 tires that one feature I didn't care for was the firm ride. These tires are super rugged, 7-ply tread and 3-ply sidewalls, all quite stiff, more so than other E-range tires. I prefer a softer, more flexible tire on and off-highway. But tough tires have their positives and I like the relatively quiet tread and overall quality.
I have made recent changes to my gearing (4.88s) and upper A-Arms/ball joints that could have been causing the pulling to the right I have been experiencing. I was blaming the gears/torque steer. Wrong. It was my Toyo MT tires.
Not looking to improve the pulling to the right, a few days a go I did a tire rotation with the Toyos because they were scrubbed unevenly for several miles driving to the alignment shop after new A-Arms were installed. I did my normal, front tires crossed to the rear & rears straight forward on the same side rotation. Car still pulled to the right but I didn't suspect the tires so no improvement was expected.
Then I decided I wanted to experience the softer sidewall of one of my other sets of tires, both on and off-highway. We are leaving on a camping trip on Monday and I had planned to put the Toyos to the test, but... I put my Maxxis Bighorn MTs on and the ride over small bumps was again much better, even plush compared to the Toyos. And the pulling to the right was GONE. The car drives excellent, just like the perfect/recent alignment specs suggest it should.
It will take some more diagnosing in a few weeks to find the problem, which I suspect is one bad/heavy tire. When/if I isolate the tire and problem I can have it replaced, but the Maxxis Bighorns again look good. The Bighorns are louder, but offer good grip for the $$$, about $100.00 less per tire.