Need Advice - Uneven Tyre Wear

gooday ,
you wasted your money putting shockers on it , thats my opinion !!
have you checked the front wheel bearings ,, too lose , it was suggested to me
some time ago .
mechpete

Whoever said it was the shock absorbers "don't no nuffink" Definitely not the shocks.
The undue wear appears to be on the outside and inside tread sections and the middle portion is worn evenly. This points to UNDER inflation wear as the tread edges are taking more load and are squirming more on the road.

What pressure are you running?

If the inner edge/band of tread is worn more than the outside that indicates negative camber, slightly. Is the vehicle set by the "expert" and then you load the back or hitch up a van??
That will cause the front to rise and the camber to go negative all the time you drive. If so, the aligning "expert" isn't so expert and hasn't asked what conditions it is used under. He should set it accordingly and with a driver in the seat, because most vehicles have a driver while being driven.

Are the edges of all the tread blocks slightly but evenly rounded at the edges, as you move your hand across the tread?? If one side is sharper than the other you have a toe in or toe out problem. Be aware, the toe in will become toe out slightly if the riding height while travelling isn't the same as when set by the "expert".

Many front end aligners have no idea what aligning means. It is a dynamic thing not a static situation. Most of the "using" factors aren't ever allowed for by some aligners, they just set it as the instructions say without ever thinking about the problem.

Most tyres wear unevenly because of inflation reasons and incorrect alignment.

Bad shocks may cause scalloping of the tread IE hollows in patches.

Cheers

Ross M

John,

Could be something as simple as power steering. This may cause this sort of wear as the edges of the tyres are placed under extra stress without the whole wheel turning at the same time when at full lock.

John - I have just replaced the same Bridgestone tyres on my Jack (245/70/16 - now shod with 265 AT D697s). The 695s were slightly, but evenly, worn on the inside due to a minor wheel alignment issue. I suspect to get the sort of uneven scalloping you appear to have in the pictures it is more likely to be a function of your suspension as Alan said.

However I suspect you might also need to think about your tyre pressures - 40psi sounds high to me. Not sure about your Rodeo but my Jack's recommended pressures (cold) are 30F 35R ("up to maximum load") and the first comment my brother-in-law mechanic said when he saw my new boots was: 'they're over-inflated'. He was right. The tyre mob had put 38 psi all round. Higher pressure also puts extra load on your suspension.

Sandman
I can't see how power steering has anything to do with tyre wear.

A Colorado.Dmax and many other vehicles are designed with the steering arms facing forward and this causes the outside of the LHF tyre to wear at a faster rate than other designs.
It is because the outer tyre during the turn is effectively steered harder into the turn than the opposite wheel. Holden HQ etc, Landcruisers Hilux and lots more. Also happens to the RHS tyre when turning left but because we go round rh corners faster than left hand corners and we do U turns to the right here in Orstraya as Warne says, the left hand tyre is the one which cops the wear and has to be rotated frequently.
PS Some tyre designs do have a tendency to wear the outer ribs more than the centre ones though. This might be one of those tyres if it is even wear on both inner and outer ribs.
If even wear, it may be a fault of the tyre case construction causing the issue.

John, the picture would be better if seen square on from the front so the wear difference and angle of wear across the tread would be presented to the viewer..

Are those tyres rotated at least every 10.000km or even more often?

Thanks everyone for your informed input and advice, I really appreciate it!
I will definitely go and get the front end and suspension checked out!

Regards, John

Hi There,

As a person who works in the (earthmoving) tyre industry, the pressures the car tyre dealers often put in your tyres when you get them changed is often higher than you would normally run if you check them often as most people do not check their tyre pressure often (or ever) and the dealers account for this by putting a more pressure in them than car manufactures recommend.

There are multiple issues with this if you do infact check your tyre pressures often as the "higher than normal" pressure is what you assume your tyres should be at, therefore you continue the practice. This causes issues such as centre wearing in the tyre as when the tyre is over inflated the tyre is no longer "square or flat bottomed" on the road and is now slightly oval shaped. This means all contact is with the centre area of your tyre, wearing the centre much quicker. To see this in effect, look at your deflated tyre carefully or simply measure the tread depth difference from the shoulder area compared to the centre.

The other issue is underinflation. Underinflation causes the opposite effect to above. The shoulder will wear quicker than the centre. Depending on you load and wheel alignment (and everything mentioned above by others) etc, you may see uneven wear such as side loading on the tyre. Another sign of underinflation is "Heel / Toe Wear". This is within each lug. Someone described above the lug coming to a "point" front to back, this is classic underinflation. To fix this wear, rotate the tyre to run in the opposite direction (so run on the opposite hub) and increase your tyre pressures.

"Scalloping" however may be caused by constant heavy breaking or constant sharp quick cornering. Just be conscious of how you drive over the next few days and see if you find yourself pulling up hard or quickly at the traffic lights.

Another thing to check is your rim offset if you have aftermarket rims. Occasionally the incorrect rim offset may cause wear issues. Without physically looking at it, Due to the severity of your issue, it may be a bigger issue such as suspension.

40psi is what i was running in my 245/65R17 Bridgestone D697 on my work Prado constantly on the last set of tyres. It wasn't until i got a flat tyre on a worn tyre that i noticed the centre wear due to the over inflation. I dropped them down to 36 psi on the new set but admitadly i didnt like how they drove at the lower pressure. This may simply be because i am used to the harder tyre. I put them back upto 38 psi and it feels much better. My work car is usually empty so in hindsight 40psi was probably too high.

Your tyre pressures should reflect your load in your vehicle and your tow vehicle if applicable. It also should reflect the terrain you travel.

Slightly Higher pressures for distance highway driving with load but if you are just driving around town you can safely lower your pressures to the manufacturer pressure of the car and tyre (depending if you car is always fully loaded like ours e.g. draws, engel, rear wheel carrier etc.)

Talk to your tyre dealer and he should be able to give you approx pressures you should be running in your tyres for each application. Just play with it til you like how it drives.

Last of all, ensure you rotate your tyres to the diagonally adjacent position every 5000 to 10 000 km. This will help pickup uneven tyre wear more regularly and even any abnormal tyre wear out. If the side wearing is noticable and the tyres still have life in them, maybe even get the tyre dealer to strip and flip the tyre on the rim.

All pressure readings should be made cold, and the air in the tyre when inflating is measured cold on your guage as well. If you check your tyres hot, the reading is incorrect as hot air expands and gives you a false higher than actual reading. E.g. if you take a hot reading of 40psi your tyres cold are actually closer to 32 psi. This is when uneven tyre wear is caused. **I know this is common sense but i have to tell fitters on mine sites this every day i go to work and they still dont listen!**

Good Luck