right rear tire gone wrong

[Kyle Keller]

Ok so the last two times that I have made long trips on the interstate, my right rear tire has lost a quarter of its tread without me even noticing it. It first started out at a little under 50% and I drove 250 miles, picked up miraculously 2 nails:angry:, got them plugged, made sure it was at 37 psi (where i keep the rears, 35 in front) and then drove 250 miles again today and I get back and the tire is a drag slick on the outside tread but the tire is inflated. There is no noticeable vibration or any harshness of any kind. what the heck has gone wrong? has my rear axle somehow come unaligned? or something else? I need to get new tires soon because its getting to be that time and I am looking at getting BFG A/T's but i wont put them on there until I get whatever is wrong fixed because those tires will get chopped up in 10 minutes. thanks for any help



kyle

 

[Gavin Allan]

Do you have a large heavy wife?

 

[Kyle Keller]

haha nope I am just an 18 year old college student. i make sure i evenly balance my beer in my truck for maximum performance:haveabeer:

 

[scott degroot]

First thing you need to do is get it on an alignment machine adn see where the rear thrust angle is.

 

[Kyle Keller]

is it normal for the thrust angle to change suddenly? I haven't hit anything that could have knocked it out besides maybe going over a curb slowly or something.

 

[Don Pertz]

Not very accurate , but you could try measuring the distance from the center of the front wheel to the center of the rear , on both sides, and see if they are different. Easy check...Then you could check from front of left rear to front of right rear and back of each..to see if the wheel is cocked at an angle.

 

[scott degroot]

Kyle ,4/2/2010 21:41 MT



is it normal for the thrust angle to change suddenly? I haven't hit anything that could have knocked it out besides maybe going over a curb slowly or something.

No it isn't and even more odd that it is only wearing the tire on one side of the rear. I would suspect that if rear thrust angle was off then the whole rear axle shifted and therefore both rear tires should be wearing but if you had an axle tube that was bent that could very well explain the tire wear on one side only. The alignment machine numbers won't lie adn will tell you exactly where to look according to the readings.

 

[EddieS'04]

If the edge tread wear is choppy looking. It might be a bad shock...

Causing to much oscilation. Can be harder to feel on the rear than the front.

 

[Frederick Figlock]

First of all, the BFGs are the wrong way to go. They're to expensive and too noisy. And unless your truck is lifted they don't make a decent size for it. What I would do is look into Nitto Terra Grapplers. A 265/70-16 if you have 16" wheels or a 265/65-17 if you have 17" wheels. The tires are quieter, wear better, and perform better. They're also cheaper as far as the abnormal wearing I'm not too sure on what it is. Maybe some bad suspension?

 

[Jerry Medlin]

It's not impossible, but you could also have a wheel that is out of round or doesnt roll true? Just jack it up and jack stand it. Set something that will stay solid beside the tire and start it up and put it in gear and observe its rolling trueness to the solid object. The very technical way would be to set up a micrometer dial gage against the wheel and observe the amount of roll out or out of round.

 

[Kyle Keller]

Thanks for all y'alls responses. I don't think that is the thrust angle but my tire gone bad. There is a bulge in it and there is about a 8x4 inch spot where the tread is completely flat and bulged out. I think with the 2 nails, plus I found another one upon closer inspection! That the tire has just gotten weak. All other 3 tires are wearing evenly and normally. I went and bought a used tire (just to get me to summer so I can get new tires) and had it mounted and when I make another trip if it has not worn down in that same spot, then it must have been the tire. If it does then I guess I will just need to check the thrust angle.



Fred: why are the BFG's bad? I've heard great reviews on them as long as the alignment is fine and they wear evenly and get regular rotation. I'm 18, noise and comfort isn't a huge deal breaker for me. I like them the best as far as an aggressive look and know that they will fit without any rubbing by measuring specs and hearing what other people are able to fit with no rubbing. I thought about the Hankook DynaPro ATM and Toyo Open Country A/T but they aren't as aggressive and are just as expensive. I have found a set of BFGoodrich 31's for $600 shipped which is a great price I think.

 

[EddieS'04]

Sounds as if air got in between the tread and iner liner. That can happen with a plug. It is best to repair with a patch plug.

BFG Long Trail T/A's are great tires for the street. With a good price and made by michelin.