ONe21 Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 When I purchased my pathy, the tires that were on it had obvious tire wear issues - there was progressive wear from the inboard shoulder to the outboard like a sort of cone effect. The tires were otherwise at the end of their service life, so I got some used Dynapro ATMs mounted to hold me over until I could afford new tires. I didn't get an alignment because everything seemed to track straight and I wanted to wait until I got new tires mounted. I replaced the ball joints shortly after because there was some play in the driver's side wheel. A little time later I noticed that the tires were wearing in a similar pattern as before and I took it to a shop to get a front-end inspection. They said that the bearings were loose/needed replacing and that the shocks/struts were toast. They also said that the tire wear issue was due to the suspension. I replaced both - they were right about the shocks/struts, they had no life left at all. The ride was way better after and I continued to drive it without an alignment. The tires continued to wear as before. I ended up taking it in for an alignment, but I replaced the outter tie-rods before. They aligned it and the post-alignment specs were as follows: According to the tech, I didn't do too good of a job aligning it myself - I think he was just jealous . Well, after the alignment I finally broke down and got new tires. After 500 miles I noticed some light feathering on the outer shoulder of the driver's side after only 500 miles on the new tires. The passenger side has no signs of feathering though. I'm taking it back to get the alignment rechecked (lifetime alignment). After some internet research, it seems that the feathering is pretty normal for new tires. I've never noticed it with other tires, but maybe I wasn't as hyper-aware as I currently am. Here is website that I found regarding the issue: http://www.justanswer.com/chevy/5umzr-2003-chevrolet-silverado-aligned-times-bought-tires-weeks-ali.html My issue isn't even as bad as the pictures on the page, but I'm still going to monitor it. Anyone want to weigh in on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ONe21 Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 (edited) I just got my re-alignment. It looks like the toe changed a little, but it was always with-in spec. The tech said that the feathering is normal and it shouldn't cause any serious wear issues. Here are the new specs: Hopefully some of this is usefull information for somebody out there. Edited November 16, 2014 by ONe21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushnut Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 uniform tire wear is only accomplished by regular tire rotation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karmann Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 (edited) I've rotated extremely regularly, always keep it aligned, and have replaced several suspension components, yet still experience similar feathering. So if you find out something that fixes this, let us know. Edited November 17, 2014 by Karmann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5523Pathfinder Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Out of curiosity, what tire pressure are you running? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karmann Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 (edited) ^I was just going to mention tire pressure. I typically run between the factory recommended 30 psi and 35 depending on the conditions or if I try to eek out some fuel mileage. I know over or under inflation can cause issues with tire wear. Edited November 17, 2014 by Karmann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul.thoroughgood.3 Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 BFGoodrich AT's (which I run) are meant to be run at around 44psi for normal driving but with the light weight of the pathy I run about 35psi, they wear really good, the only "feathering" I'm pretty sure comes from the tight lock the pathy offers. For longer trips I would definitely boost to 40psi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karmann Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 BFGoodrich AT's (which I run) are meant to be run at around 44psi for normal driving but with the light weight of the pathy I run about 35psi, they wear really good, the only "feathering" I'm pretty sure comes from the tight lock the pathy offers. For longer trips I would definitely boost to 40psi I have Toyo AT-IIs, don't even bring up treadwear As much as they wobble the tread on them should last until the next millenium. 45k on them and still has tons of tread. Anyway, what exactly is "tight lock?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jyeager Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Toe in is necessary for stable tracking. Toe in results in wear on the outside edge of the tire. It's normal and is why you are supposed to rotate your tires at the proper intervals. You can ask for an alignment that places the toe in at the MINIMUM end of the recommended range to help with this. You can also make sure that your camber setting tips the tire to the inside slightly (standard alignment specs probably do this). But if that outside edge is feathering (meaning it's creating a cupping pattern of wear on that outside edge...or all the way across the tread), that implies your wheel balance is bad and/or your strut's damping isn't working right. Feathering or cupping only happens if the wheel is vibrating up and down at a very high frequency that shouldn't be allowed by the strut's damping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul.thoroughgood.3 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I have Toyo AT-IIs, don't even bring up treadwear As much as they wobble the tread on them should last until the next millenium. 45k on them and still has tons of tread. Anyway, what exactly is "tight lock?" Tight lock, referring to the turn radius, but the tighter the wheels are turned increases the positive camber. i.e top of tyre is laying out a bit.I have my alignment set at 0 deg, at full lock though, it probably hits 4 deg positive, you can hear the tyres clawing at the road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karmann Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Tight lock, referring to the turn radius, but the tighter the wheels are turned increases the positive camber. i.e top of tyre is laying out a bit. I have my alignment set at 0 deg, at full lock though, it probably hits 4 deg positive, you can hear the tyres clawing at the road Oh, that makes a lot more sense! Mine definitely angles out as well, that's a normal thing for pathys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul.thoroughgood.3 Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Yeah I know, but when I park and listen to the tyre grind, I'm like $5, $10, $15 of tread lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R3DN1CK Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 If there aren't any worn out bushings on the control arms or upper strut mounts, it could be a combination of driver input, driving pattern and road surface. If you take corners like a racecar, it's going to push and the tires will deflect and scrub. If you are in 4wd a lot or your hubs aren't disengaging, it's also going to wear funny. Seeing as it is a used tire were trying to diag, it could also be an inherited trait from the prior vehicle they were installed on. What's your normal drive? Asphalt (smooth/rough) Gravel Concrete Are you an agressive driver? What PSI? Have any extra weight riding around with you? Turn right a lot more than left? Rotate em? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdauria Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Looks like you went to a firestone? Thats the printout i always got from them. I had the 'lifetime alignment' on my wd21 and just a heads up they only did toe. I was way out of spec on caster i think and they told me they couldnt do anything about it and it would always be like that. I tried many times to explain that the fsm clearly shows procedure for adjusting it and I always got another excuse like oh you need SHIMS? Thats not an alignment that wouldnt be included if we could even do it. Also witnessed a tech take a torch to my tre to free up the lock nut and melted my cv boot a bit.. Sorry for the rant but just wanted to give a heads up on this. I had a couple other shops mention the 'toe and go' firestone shennanigans as well. Maybe i just had bad experiences by chance but figured it was worth mentioning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procrastinational Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Mine seems to wear a little more on the outside driver tire as well.Haven't noticed it on the passenger side. Based on what has been said in this thread so far about tight lock, my theory is that (in countries driving on the right), an average right turn tends to be tighter than most left turns, which would explain the drivers side wearing more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul.thoroughgood.3 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I'd agree with that, procastinational. Turning into car parks and driveways etc the radius is tighter when it's the same side of the road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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