I have a 4x4 screw with 1700 miles. Stock Goodyear Wrangler ATS 275-65R18. Running 40 psi per the manual.

Noticed lately that the tread wear on the rear tires is almost "pushing" the tread toward the rear. In other words, the leading edge of each tread is getting rounded off and you can actually feel the treads angled backward. This is only on the rear tires. Fronts are wearing perfectly.

Haven't been doing any burnouts and only occasional hard acceleration. Only very light towing on weekends (1100 lb. trailer). No off road either.

Anyone else having this problem? At the current rate, my tires will be toast before the first rotation!!

Could this be from wheel chatter/vibration? On smooth highway, there is only a slight wheel nibble, but on rough road, the rear end and bed chatter and rebounce very easily.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

 

This is a common problem on large over the road trucks that use a tire with an "open block" design tread. The treads are like little square ***** sticking up. All of the torque and weight are on these blocks and they "squirm" when force is applied.

After a while you get the heel to toe wear that results in roaring and vibiration. You have to rotate a lot to try to keep it even. When first rotated the noise and vibiration will be a little worse until the tread wears even, and then starts wearing in reverse.

As the tires go through several heat and cool cycles they will harden and not wear as easily.

What most trucking companies do is buy tires with a "closed shoulder", meaning the edges are mostly solid, with the knobbys in the middle of the tire. This is a much better tire, and a lot quiter and smoother. I have used both, and there is a noticable difference.

If you want to see an example of what I am talking about, go to any truck tire mfg. website and click on their commercial tire section. They will show pictures of tires with open and closed shoulders.

All terrain tires for light trucks have very aggressive edges for mud, snow, and water ejection, most are just not very good on the ride, noise, and longevity fronts.

Truth be told, most people do not need "LT" all terrain tires, they just like the looks of them, myself included. Most times you can find a "P" tire with enough speed and weight rating to get the job done without the noise and vibirations of an "LT", and still get good traction and a smoother ride in almost all conditions.

FWIW: It was all terrain tires that gave the problems a few years ago. Tire mfgs. want you to buy them because a specialized bigger tire = bigger profits.

Same with limited slip rears, 99% of people never need them. They cause rear tire wear when turning because the tires are scrubbing around corners and curves, while the front tires are wearing because the limited slip does not want the truck to turn, because its job is to keep both wheels locked together, so the front tires have to force the truck to turn. All of this scrubbing also uses more fuel in order to overcome the resistance of the tires not wanting to free wheel around turns.

Also, in ice and wet conditions, while under acceleration, both rear tires are more prone to break loose, and you could find yourself turning donuts. If I'm driving down the road and my wheels are going to spin, I want it to only be one so the other can keep me in a straight line.

 

Wow! Great info Yardbird. Thanks for the detailed explanation. Good to hear it's normal. Not so good about the "excessive" amount of wear I'm seeing at just 1700 miles. You've convinced me to rotate early to ensure even wear. I check air pressure weekly just to make sure.

Most of my experience has been on the Wrangler RTS. These have a less agressive tread and wear very evenly. On my AWD Mountaineer with LS rear end, I got 55,000 miles and still had some room to go.

Guess it's just the nature of the beast. Truck came with the ATs from the factory, and I probably would not have ordered them otherwise.

Thanks again.