Advice on Tire wear.

[Newsa]

Bought some slightly used tires mounted tires on 18 in rims.

My 2013 Tradesman with the .chrome upgrade had 17 inch rims and that was not offered until 2014.

Got an OK deal on them. Just took shipment of them and 2 of the tires have about 70-75% tread left. And the other 2 have 85-90% tread left. So apparently they weren't rotated. Do the front tires get more wear? Or the rear tires?

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

It depends on how some one drives just as much as alignment issues. If it's perfectly aligned and balanced and there are no tire manufacturing issues, then it's the driver. If you spin your tires a lot, the backs will wear faster. If you tend to drive too fast around tight corners, the fronts will wear faster. Just my opinion.

 

[jgillott]

My rear tires always seem to wear faster than the fronts.

 

[Newsa]

I have been rotating mine every 5k. So mine are wearing perfectly evenly.

But I suspect the previous owner was doing a lot of harsh braking.

I realize the brakes are designed to apply more brake to the front where the majority of the unloaded truck weight is.

But I use my exhaust brake and coast alot. And sometimes I will call on all 600+ ft lbs of torque to get me going.

So I think I will put the less worn tires on the rear to even them out a bit.

I tow about 1/4 of the time.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Newsa]

Anyone want some slightly used 17 Inch chrome on steel rims? In late december, I'll be traveling from Miami to St. Simons island, Georgia.

I can give them to you if you meet me on the road. PM me your cell # if you live in East Fl. Or East GA.

Don't want them cluttering my garage

 

[SnoKing]

#ad

 

[Newsa]

#ad

Ok, just ignore it then and I'll donate the rims to the Ag school I work at.

 

[SnoKing]

Ok, just ignore it then and I'll donate the rims to the Ag school I work at.

NO NO, we want to see YOUR truck with the 18" Rims and Tires. Snoking

 

[Newsa]

NO NO, we want to see YOUR truck with the 18" Rims and Tires. Snoking

Oh,

I am waiting for the centramatics to arrive before installing the 18 inch rims. I only have pics of the truck with the 17 inch rims. But the 18 inch rims are identical, just an inch bigger and the same 8" width. Both chrome on steel. Didn't want to go with the aluminum rims, because the steel ones are stronger and tolerate pot holes under a heavy load as well as off roading. Considered going with some brand new Rickson's but they were an expensive option and add alot more weight. Plus, I don't put enough miles on the truck to install F or G rated tires.

Here are pics of the truck with the 17 in rims. It has some small dents which I am fine with. A truck should gather some scars during it's service life. Just like my hands.

 

[crispyboy]

So why did you change from 17" wheels to 18" wheels?

 

[Tuesdak]

You put the best tread on the rear always. When you hit water the lowest tread depth looses traction first. It's much safer to loose front wheel traction first. Otherwise the more worn tires on the rear steps out on you first typically in a corner causing a spin.

If the wear doesn't catch up - just run the used tires out without rotation. A set of new or used tires is cheaper than a bent up truck and broken bodies.

Link: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=52

 

[Newsa]

So why did you change from 17" wheels to 18" wheels?

Well, I practically got the rims free on ebay. Someone was practically giving away good tires mounted on rims because they wanted an aftermarket rim or different look.

Crisp, I guess the answer is personal preference and maybe the hope that if my engine turns a bit slower at 70 mph, I will get slightly better fuel mileage.

I don't know that I will see any appreciable fuel mileage bump, but I am going from 245 70 17's Firestone HT's to 275 70 18's Firestone AT's

Both are transforce model. I've noticed the HT's don't grip well in rain, and will be driving north for the winter holidays.

Wanted a better tire in case we get cold precipitation.

And I think a beefier tire (wider as well as taller) looks better.

 

[Newsa]

You put the best tread on the rear always. When you hit water the lowest tread depth looses traction first. It's much safer to loose front wheel traction first. Otherwise the more worn tires on the rear steps out on you first typically in a corner causing a spin.

If the wear doesn't catch up - just run the used tires out without rotation. A set of new or used tires is cheaper than a bent up truck and broken bodies.

Link: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=52

Thanks JD! Great reading! Much appreciated.

 

[jus2shy]

With our trucks, running at OEM pressures, I notice the shoulders wear more on the front and the center wears more on the rear. I rotate every 7.5k on my truck. Take a tread depth and measure the tread across the face. If one set of tires has more center tread, it was probably run on the front axle more often. If it has more should tread, then it was most likely ran on the rear axle. Of course, this is assuming that the previous owner of the tire ran an empty truck a majority of the time.

To expand, I still notice this same trend running 60 or 65 psi on the fronts and 50 or 55 psi on the rears.