I have a 1999 Ford Ranger XLT using the Futura GLS 225/70/R15 tires. The vehicle decal in the driver side door listed the recommended tire pressure to be 30 PSI. I have tried to maintain religiously along with proper balance and alignment. However, I've always had the experience of the tires wearing out more along the middle which seemed to indicate over inflation. The sections on either side of the center line seemed to wear out normally. For this reason I've had to turn in the tire prematurely as they become unsafe. These tires were made by Coopers Tire and distributed by Pep Boys. Have i been using poor quality tires all along? Do I need to lower my tire pressure below the 30 PSI recommended? If I do that wouldn't I be risking overheating and/or affecting my gas mileage? Any help will surely be appreciated.

 

I have not had a Cooper tire in 20 years because of poor quality, but they have obviously improved as they offer a 50K warranty now. How often do you rotate your tires? Do all four tires show the same wear problem or just the rear? I would assume the front would not show this problem because of outside edges wearing faster due to turning.

 

It seemed to be doing it in all four tires. I have the tires balanced every 6K miles. I wrote to the Cooper Tire people but I have not heard from them yet. The Pep Boys techs do not seem to be up on tire technology. You don't think deflating the tires a bit is the answer, do you? Cooper Tires may warranty their tires for 50K miles but my tires do not reach 2/3rd that mileage before the wear is bad enough to turn them in for replacement, pro-rated of course. But this phenomenon has to have some logical explanation to be happening.

 

My 03 calls for 26 psi and unless you are really going to load the little truck you better stay there or you can't keep it from hopping all over the place on wash board roads. I do not have tread wear issues. but I am running Michelin cross terrain 225-70-15's

 

There might be some difference in characteristics between and '03 and a '99 Ranger. 1999 Rangers call for 30 PSI tire pressure and that's what I've been adhering to. On the other hand you are using a different brand tire plus a lower tire pressure which could be factors why you are not experiencing tire wear problems.

 

BTW welcome to FTE.

I still have the 99 4dr 4.0L XLT in my signature & have always run the specified 30 psi in my tires.
The 225/70/15 OEM Firestone, nor the replacement Michelin LTX M&S 225/70/15, have shown any unusual center wear pattern while aired up to the specified 30psi.

I've not heard of others complaining of having center wear problems at the specified 30 psi.

I agree the center wear pattern sounds like an over inflation problem, so maybe have your air gauge calibration checked. If your air gauge calibration is ok, then maybe its a characteristic, or fault of that tire design.

 

I did a quick check online to see if this was a common issue with that particular tire. I didn't find anything about abnormal tire wear, but some folks have had issues with "bubbles", blowouts, and tread separation...

Also, I don't know if the GLS Super Sport and the GLS are the same tire...

Pep Boys Futura GLS Super Sport Tire Consumer Complaints

I've run Coopers for years and have never had any problem with them - currently running Kellys and like them also...

 

There's a "chalk test" that you can do to tell if you have the right inflation for the tire used on your vehicle.

 

I've tried different tire gauges, analogue and digital. All read +/- 1 PSI difference. What I'll do is drop the tire pressure from 30 to 25 PSI. That should ease of the load on the center section and allow some wear on the outside section. This is just temporary until I have to replace the tires. Then I'll go with a different brand tire. I don't know if this is true but what I've heard was that most tires are made by the same company in China. One question. Do radial and non-radial tires used on same type vehicle and pumped with 30 PSI tires show the same wear assuming that the tires were balanced and wheel alignment done?

 

Here is how to perform the "Chalk Test" to get an idea of the wear pattern at the specified inflation pressure. Tips for Proper Tire Inflation | Ford Trucks

 

The source of your problem is your granny driving habits. Try ripping around corners a bit faster. That will even the outer wear with the inner wear.

 

My 08' 3.0 Liter XLT ext. Cab Ranger came equipped with the Continental Contitrac tires that are nicknamed 'Conticrap'. My doorjamb says 30 PSI all-around, and I had even tire wear with minimal rotations, balances, etc. Also, I ran as high as 36/37 PSI with no issues and due to lack of funds and even tire wear, I didn't replace all 4 tires until I was down to the minimum 2/32nd's of tread and having gotten 69,000 miles out of them. My driving was mostly highway with a 22 mile one-way commute. I now run Mastercraft Avenger's, which are a division of Cooper. I have approx. 8,000 miles on them with no complaints. I also have them aired down to 35 PSI because I wanted to see about quality of ride. I, too, run stock 225 70 15 tires.

 

Here is a link that we can use to find out who made our tires. The DOT vendor code is molded into each tires sidewall, so write down the letter & number code & refer to the tables atop the page, to extract who made that particular tire. http://www.harriger.com/tires.htmhttp://www.harriger.com/tires.htm

 

I've never tried off brand Cooper tires or their street tires but I've now had three sets of Cooper Discover ATPs. It's an all terrain tire and I've never had any problems with them, I'm also using them on a Grand Cherokee and a F-250 so a bit different but still have been really good so far.