2008 ST Tire Wear

[Mike Henning]

I have a 2008 ST with 15K miles. Noticed both front tires have wear on the outermost tread of the tire. Truck has pulled to the right ever since I purchased. Dealer ran alignment test and found nothing out of spec. Tire pressure good. Has anyone else seen this issue. I have looked up tire issues on the web and most point towards incorrect camber setting's. Dealer is refusing to replace tires and now having a go around with Michelin. Any help would be appreciated.



Mike

 

[scott degroot]

If you had the alignment readings I could tell you if it is an alignment issue that is causing the pull/tire wear issue. Have you been rotating the tires every oil change? Have you taken it to the dealer for this issue multiple times and if so do you have documentation?

 

[Mike Henning]

Don't have the numbers on me but will get them on here tonight. I rotated tires once at around 4k but not since then. I have had it into the dealer only once. It is documented at that time for the pulling

 

[Mike Henning]

Here are the alignment numbers Ford gave me 12/1/09. Right tire has the most wear.



Front Left Right Front



Actual Before Spec. Range Actual Before Spec. Range



-.03 -.04 -1.3 - 0.3 Camber -.04 -.08 -1.3 - - 0.3

5.0 4.9 3.8 - 5.3 Caster 4.9 4.8 4.0 - 5.5

0.12 0.5 0 - 0.20 Toe .07 .12 0 - .20



Actual Before Spec. Range

Cross Camber .1 .5 -.8 - .8

Cross Caster .1 .1 -1 - .6

Total Toe .18 .17 0 - .40

 

[scott degroot]

I'm having a hard time understanding the numbers the way you posted them...they all kind of run together but I think I got it figured out. Nothing on your alignment screams tire wear problem so I am gonna chalk that up to your lack of tire rotation. If the tires aren't rotated every oil change...5000 miles... you will start seeing very uneven edge wear on the outside. As far as your pulling issue goes that's easy...while the caster numbers match from left to right anyone who knows alignments knows that you always need more caster on the right vs the left, this is to offset the affect of road crown so the vehicle doesn't drift to the right while driving. On cars I like to set the caster about 1/2 degree more on the right, on trucks I like to go at least 1 degree. The thing about caster is that no matter where it is set at it will never cause tire wear but will cause a pull in a heartbeat. So my recomendation to you is to have the tires rotated and get the alignment redone so that you have 1 degree more caster on the right vs the left and I bet you problem will be solved...as long as you keep rotating those tires

 

[Johnny O]

Sometimes the tires themselves will cause a pull, even when the alignment is in spec. If you rotate the tires and the pull goes away, then you'll know. Front tires will normally wear on the outside edge simply from turning. This is partly why you rotate tires in order to minimize that.

anyone who knows alignments knows that you always need more caster on the right vs the left, this is to offset the affect of road crown so the vehicle doesn't drift to the right while driving.

I think you mean more caster on the left.

to offset the affect of road crown

Explain this "road crown". Living in Pennsylvania, it's something I've heard of but never witnessed personally. I'm lucky to drive ten miles on any major highway without my fillings falling out and my kidneys bleeding. :lol:

 

[scott degroot]

I have been doing alignments for 20 + years...I meant more caster on the right. Why do you think it should be the left side?? The vehicle will lead to the side with the least amount of caster.



Road crown is the natural way roads are built, they all have a very slight slope to the right to allow for water runoff, putting more caster in the right side...or taking it out of the left side...however you want to do it will compensate for the vehicle wanting to travel in the direction of the road slope

 

[Rod Helstad]

I had the Michelins on my 08 ST ltd and they were a POS. I had them rotated every 5-6000 miles and they were still wore out at 20K. Neither Ford nor Michelin stood behind them one bit. I replaced them with Yokohama tires and they still looked new when I sold the ST at 36K. My 2010 STA came with Pirelli tires, but I only have 300 miles on it. They seen to ride good and are quiet.



Rod

 

[Jim parnell]

everyone bit$#'s about GY tires, I have the 41K on my 07 with GY Fortera's and the tires are still decent. Can't complain about this set anyway

 

[scott degroot]

jimp,12/4/2009 05:48 MT



everyone bit$#'s about GY tires, I have the 41K on my 07 with GY Fortera's and the tires are still decent. Can't complain about this set anyway

The stock GY Forteras on my 08 were worn out @ 22k, the were worn perfectly even just worn out. I rotated and balanced them every oil change and even checked the alignment at 10k just too make sure everything was ok...it was. I'm hoping the new Michelins will serve me better.

 

[Dave Niederhauser]

2008- had the GY Foreras.... Wear was even, but front was cupping......Just took them off with 53,000......Just put on 4 Yokohama tires . We shall see how they are....

 

[Mike Henning]

Sorry about the numbers being all squeezed together. They did not look that way when entered in the message window.... thanks for taking a look. Am taking it down to an alignment specialist for a second opinion (free of course).



The person with the 08 ST Limited who changed out his Michelins for Yokohama's did the Michelins wear on the outer sides?



thanks



Mike

 

[P M]

I'm coming up on 50k with my GY Forteras (08 ST). They are getting pretty thin but can go a bit more. I've found that ST tires (Had an '02, now an '08) wear much more evenly at higher pressures than typically recommended. When I've kept them consistently at 40psi they do pretty well. In the low 30s I have experienced heavy wear on the outer edges.

 

[Johnny O]

The stock GY Forteras on my 08 were worn out @ 22k, the were worn perfectly even just worn out. I rotated and balanced them every oil change and even checked the alignment at 10k just too make sure everything was ok...it was. I'm hoping the new Michelins will serve me better.

Exactly the same with mine. Rotated every 5k and I check the pressure weekly. Not only did they wear out fast but they were horrible in snow even when new, to the point of being downright dangerous and making the ABS work overtime. In a way it was good that they did wear out fast because I got Firestone Destination A/T's at 24k and they're supposed to be real good in snow.

 

[Mike Henning]

Michelin said they would give me 25% credit towards the purchase of new tires. But have to be Michelin or affiliated tires. Has anyone run the BF Goodriche Long Trail T/A tourings? How are they in the snow? Tire dealer also said that the OE Michelin Cross Terrain SUV tires that came with the truck are not the same compound as if you would buy the same tire from a Tire store. Said they don't warranty OE tires. Is this true?



Mike

 

[Johnny O]

Has anyone run the BF Goodriche Long Trail T/A tourings?

Not myself but people on other boards have said they are good in snow.

Tire dealer also said that the OE Michelin Cross Terrain SUV tires that came with the truck are not the same compound as if you would buy the same tire from a Tire store.

I have been told this by a friend who owns an independent tire shop as well as by my cousin who is a manager at a national chain tire shop. They sorta cheap out on the OE tires no matter who makes them.

Said they don't warranty OE tires. Is this true?

No. A few trucks ago I had a warranty claim on ONE tire that wore out really quickly. It being a Firestone tire I had to go to an official Firestone store. I'd say wave the tire warranty pamphlet that came with your truck at somebody and not back down until you got it. That said, when they pro-rate the treadwear against list price for the new tires, especially Michelins, it's not like you save much in the end. In my case it's not like I wanted Goodyears again anyway, so I said screw it and got Firestones from the aforementioned independent tire shop.

 

[Doug S]

I just replaced the stock Michelins that were worn out at about 12,600 miles on my '08 Limited. The Ford dealer told me that I had to go to an independent Michelin dealer as the warranty is through Michelin and not Ford.



The independent tire dealer I used was great to work with, he took measurments of the tread depth, and agreed that they were gone. He got Michelin to pay 80% of the cost to replace, (of course that was 80% of MSRP). The new Cross Terrains that were put on are different than the factory tires. The tread looks the same, but the sidewall has different lettering on it.