If my shiny new shocks didn't cup my expensive tires, I would have moved on. This is not an "Oops. Guess I'll try 'nother set." This is a substantial Buck$Zooka blast fail. A repeat would spin me up more than I am already.

 

Just got off the phone with the front end guys. The Camber is still flat, that's being addressed with Moog hardware. Toe is still zero, that's being pulled in 1/16". Caster is 3.5 degrees, not 5 as was indicated to me at the other shop - that's being left alone.

This is all I have to work with for tire wear, other than shocks and choosing a different tire... next winter. If that happens, it will be the fourth set I burn through since Oct 2010 - When I bought Stinky with new tires already on it.

All my other vehicles get 3-4 years per set (same miles per year, if not more).

 

How many miles across those 4 sets of tires? Just curious......

 

I roll mine about 65-70k per set. Rotate every 5k. I just put a new set on at 217.

 

With the way I presented the information, that count is a bit off. I am on my third set right now. I got 45K out of the first set - Generals... but they were cupped, noisy, and rough-riding for the last half of their life. Enter new shocks and the first replacement tires at a famous PNW tire store in winter of 2012. Those tires lasted until August 2014 (about 25K miles) - but they were rattling my teeth loose after the first 17K miles. This set has spent more time parked than on the road, so I only have about 8K or 9K on them - with sawtooth outside edges and scuffed inside edges. I am currently rotating every three thousand miles, and they have been balanced three times. If I were to replace this set next winter, that would be the fourth set.

Aside from the cost of the tires, I'm also grumpy about being forced to tolerate an unnecessarily rough/noisy ride once the tires are shredded. Maybe I'm naive to think that just because it's a truck, that doesn't mean I should forego freaking round tires.

 

Any pics of your tire wear? It's worth a thousand words.......

Rough riding? You mean rougher than an 8000lb truck with solid axles and tires at 65-80psi normally is? Or rougher than something else?

 

i'll throw the dart....since it hasnt been mentioned or asked......what "rated" tires, Tug?

 

Tire wear picture - all I can show you is what happened in the last 800 miles. It will look minor to everybody, but I stress it happened in 800 miles. Scotttahoe saw the tires before the damage - he'd be a good one to validate something went wrong fast. I'll get those pictures soon.

I have no real complaint about the ride before cupping. You know... round tires and all. Once the tires are carved into a meatball shape, then I'm not so content.

Here is the tire [LINK]. 265/75R16 load range E

 

Thank you for the follow-up. That was very helpful.

Not with this truck. Everything in my life is pretty reasonable, but this truck is cursed.

That's the answer. While I use the words "I", "me", "my", etc... in threads - it's not about me. It's about the truck. That's why most of us are here, we have about the same truck - and we all learn collectively from each others' experiences.

Tire wear is a topic. Ride is a topic. Tunes are a topic. Tuners are a topic with hair on it. If one were to open a single thread asking which shocks, tires, tuner, and tunes are best for one vehicle - the thread would be incomprehensible with the mishmash of responses.

If one asks why I have multiple threads on about the same topic - like the front end... here's my answer: It's about the truck. When the thread starts drifting into talking about me (like when there are too many "you"s in the responses), I dump the thread and try again. Chatter about me does nothing for the reader wanting to learn from someone else's truck experiences.

My friends here have shared a mix of experiences with Bilstiens. Hearing about $300 worth of shocks crapping out in 20K miles is not exactly a confidence builder. The thought of an adjustable shock is very appealing. All this input is being considered as it flows in slowly. I have time on this one.

Bang for the buck is not the only thing being considered. Repeat purchases and work are something I've been trying to avoid, with mixed results. One would hope I can be forgiven for being inquisitive after spending thousands of dollars on the nose, without sating its appetite for $1100 worth of tires.

 

Rich, I know you are having cupping on the front tires real quick. But do the back tires show any issues?

 

Zero. Zip. Nada. Tread wear is flat and even. The only reason my tires last as long as they do is because I rotate them frequently. If I left the fronts in place, I'd replace those two every 9 months to a year, and the rears would last 3 years.

 

When would issues with the leaf springs come in to play? I'm about where you are with the front end, and the leafs are the only place I have left to visit. Surely changing out the steering box wouldn't fix it? I have a Redhead waiting to go in, but don't want to damage it with my existing issue. (Bouncing, howling, grinding)

 

I wonder the same thing. When I replaced the stabilizer bar bushings, the posts didn't line up. I had to jack the frame up a little on the passenger side to install the passenger-side bushing. That tells me the spring on the passenger side has a little more sag. That might explain the difference in wear between the passenger and driver sides.

I found the correct terminology for the "feather" tire wear - it's "heel and toe".



I get that on the outside of the passenger side, the outside driver side isn't getting it near as much, and the inside of both tires look more like a camber issue with slight diagonal wear. At this point, I can't even swear to a consistent tire pressure - too many fingers have been in there and I just realized I haven't been diligent about checking pressure after every stranger reaches for my Stinky with black gloves.

Waiting for snickers to cease.

I'm going to chalk my immediate issues up to a slightly bad alignment and a possible underinflation issue between Reno and home. The wear was there before, but it got scary obvious quickly after I had the oil changed by a shop in Reno - I suspect they messed with my tire pressure. I had to retrace all my steps to come up with that one. The front tires are at 70 PSI since the most recent rotation last week.

After the alignment is done, I will pause and evaluate where Stinky's nose is. If I see something different than before - I suspect it may hint at the leaf springs. That should be a lot of miles from now.

 

I can see air pressure causing issues. I know Clux said the other day that 45psi is good enough. I find a hard time following that.

 

Its everything, every little thing...

It should not bug me, but every time I log on to FTE, there is at least 3-4 threads from Tug.

Should I start a thread every time I fuel up at a new fuel station? I noticed an oil leak today in the driveway, do I need a thread for that? My Oil Pressure gauge quit working, should I start a thread for that?

Not hating on ya Rich, but damn man.

I run military hummer tires, have not changed the shocks in 4-5 years, no alignment in 2-3 years, replace the unit bearings when the wheels start rocking...