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Firestones slightly cupped when new

1K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  GTyankee 
#1 ·
Had an oil change done at the dealer a couple of days ago, just hit 1,000 miles. While there, I asked them to check alignment, as the steering wheel was slightly off-centered, and both front tires seemed to be cupping slightly on the edge. (When running my hand one way on the edge, the tire feels smooth, go the other way and feels like little ridges) Got the truck back, they centered the wheel, I asked about what the alignment said, they said everything was within specs, they didn't notice anything with wear but keep an eye and let them know if anything gets bad. I thought to myself, great..... Yesterday, I was under the back of the truck messing with trailer wiring, and for the heck of it, felt the spare.... Same Firestone tire, brand new with the little nubbies on the tread, and it felt the same, smooth 1 way and ridged the other! So I guess that is the way they are just molded....lol... Learn something all the time! :smileup:
 
#4 ·
Radial Tire Rotation

RamTech

Five-tire rotation sounds like a good deal...get use out of the spare...however, I've always been told that 'radial' tires should remain on the same side of the vehicle, always rotating in one direction only...therefore, tire rotation should be back-to-front, and then next time, front-to-back. Crossing-over to the other side reverses the direction of tire rotation... unless you're remounting tires on wheels. And then there's terb's point about having to buy another wheel. Also, aren't the factory stock spares just a cheap inferior-grade tire designed for emergency/short-term use??

I assume you're talking about rotating-in the spare on one side only?? And if that's the case, I imagine the tires on one side will wear out before the other side...now you're buying 2 new tires at a time, instead of 4...or buying 4 and pre-maturely trashing 2 tires that still have some tread life??

I rotate my tires every 5-10K and they all wear fairly evenly and wear-out at about the same time. I've have never put the spare into the rotation for that reason.

Am I missing something??

Thanks
 
#5 ·
If the tires are directional then you do not rotate from side to side like 22" tires on a R/T. If they are not directional you can rotate from side to side. Look at your owners manual on page 546 (2014 manual) for recommendations on rotating.
 
#6 ·
I have a Temporary Spare tire, so i do a 4 tire rotation
That being said, if the tire does not have an ARROW imprinted on it, you can & should rotate using an modified X pattern

Modified Cross Rotation
The "Modified Cross Pattern" provides the best results and can be performed on any Front or Rear Wheel Drive vehicle equipped with 4 non-directional tires. (directional tires must be rotated front to rear only.)

Best patterns from the Tire Safety people
http://www.tiresafety.com/maint/maint_content.asp
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I found out that my particular dealership forgot that all 5 tires need airing up, not just the 4 tires that we have on the ground.
After my dealership did a particularly bad rotation, they knocked off weights somehow & the tire person couldn't get the tires balanced again :(
I went to Discount Tire & had them reverse the Rotation so that i could take a 7,000 mile trip & they told me that my spare tire only had 17 LBS. of air in it !!!

After the trip i again asked the dealership to do a full service, which includes a tire rotation & the shake came back, they still couldn't balance the tires
I then made a mistake, instead of suggesting that they pull off the weights & start again from scratch with a tire balance, i told them to do it & they charged me for a box of weights & labor :(
By the way, i no longer had any tire shake after they were done :)
 
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