Michelin's Unusual Tire Wear?

[Fitz98]

I have a set of Michelin Defender LTX MS on my 03 Suburban 1500. Not sure of the mileage, I am guessing somewhere around 10k.
I had some cupping (choppy) wear on my inner front tires at my first tire rotation interval around 5k miles.
The wear had a low spot on the front edge of each inner tread block and the opposite side of the tread block was high.
I put new shocks on the front and adjusted torsion bars.
The tires were rotated to the rear, which also has relatively new shocks.
Now at another 5k miles, the outside of those same tires on the rear are cupping. The middle tread wear is good, even and still pretty deep.
Could this type of wear be a tire issue? I can't imagine any suspension related issue on the rear that would cause outside tread wear.
Perhaps my outer tread blocks are cupping because of the bounce created by the choppy inner tread wear?
They are starting to get noisy as well on highway.

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

Have you had an alignment check since these tires were put on?

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted by FordBroncoVWJeta
Have you had an alignment check since these tires were put on?



BINGO!

 

[Rand]

sometimes once tires start wearing badly there is no fixing it.. no smoothing the wear out in the rear of the vehicle tire position.. etc.

Sounds like alignment.. although my 2002 ranger liked to eat front tires with good alignment.

 

[wdn]

I have the Sam's Club version of the same tire the Michelin X® LT A/S with a little over 12,000 miles on mine and they are round and flat, even tread wear all around with over 10/32" left. Did you get the tires installed before or after the Michelins. I too have had new shocks but I always do the alignment after a new set of tires or suspension work. I believe Michelin guarantees ride for the first 2/32" but you may want to check. What does the tire store say? I rotate and rebalance mine every 5,000. Agree with others this sounds like an alignment issue on the vehicle. Negative camber will wear the inside edge of tires. Outside edges could be underinflation.

 

[Lyman]

I had a 1999 Ford Ranger with the same tires and was having the same wear issues.

 

[14Accent]

Sure sounds like a tire issue...

Buddy of mine had a set of Continental LX20's on his '04 Suburban 1500 Z71, and they wore perfectly. Original shocks and front end parts at 225k. He's not easy on vehicles, either.

 

[Duffyjr]

I have Cooper AT3's on my 89 Sierra and both front tires on the outside did this, I caught it at about 4k. Took it to a different place and had an alignment done and rotated and 5k later the fronts are wearing fine and rears have worked almost all the cupping out. I did have an alignment when I bought the tires but they obviously didn't know what they were doing.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by Fitz98
I have a set of Michelin Defender LTX MS on my 03 Suburban 1500. Not sure of the mileage, I am guessing somewhere around 10k.
I had some cupping (choppy) wear on my inner front tires at my first tire rotation interval around 5k miles.
The wear had a low spot on the front edge of each inner tread block and the opposite side of the tread block was high.
I put new shocks on the front and adjusted torsion bars.
The tires were rotated to the rear, which also has relatively new shocks.
Now at another 5k miles, the outside of those same tires on the rear are cupping. The middle tread wear is good, even and still pretty deep.
Could this type of wear be a tire issue? I can't imagine any suspension related issue on the rear that would cause outside tread wear.
Perhaps my outer tread blocks are cupping because of the bounce created by the choppy inner tread wear?
They are starting to get noisy as well on highway.


Sounds like too much toe in and aggravated by frequent turns.

So get an alignment and have them pay close attention to toe. Then drive gently. No hard acceleration, particularly when turning.

It just might be that those tires are too far gone and will continue to get worse.

 

[ejes]

I have had experience with the RT43's on a Rav4 and a Jeep Cherokee and they were good for the money, but not great. I liked them and they did fine in KS winters for daily commuting, etc. Fairly quiet, no change in MPG. The sidewalls were little weak for my liking however. I would recommend them if needing to save a little money.

I am not a Goodyear fan, but the Assurance WeatherReady is a good tire. I had them on a work car. They're more expensive than the Generals, but beat them hands down in every category IMO. However, I didn't have to pay for them.

The Firestone you mention I've never had. It does look like more of a dedicated winter tire, but it is listed as an all season. The rubber is a little softer, like a dedicated winter tire,so it will probably wear faster. With the wear factor, the tread design looks like it would get noisier as it wears. It is a little pricier than some as well. However, if I were concerned about snow, ice, and wet weather traction a little more than most drivers (and I would be if I lived where you do) I would be willing to take a chance on them. They look like a pretty decent tire to me.

 

[Gebo]

Regarding cupping, if both the outer tread and inner tread are cupping on the same tires, would that be a tire pressure issue?

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted by Gebo
Regarding cupping, if both the outer tread and inner tread are cupping on the same tires, would that be a tire pressure issue?


More Info what's your tire pressure and what does the door sticker call for and what is the tire rated at?

 

[Cujet]

Also:

Tire tread blocks tend to wear at the "leading edge" due to braking action.

A lot of stop n go driving can cause tread blocks to wear very unevenly.

The only "fix" is to swap tires left to right.


EDIT: many modern vehicles have significantly higher use of the rear brakes under light braking conditions. This gives a better feel and improves stability. It can tend to wear the leading edges of rear tire tread blocks.