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Alignment and poor tire wear - 37's

Wilder

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Hi, I have a question about alignment after putting larger tires on. This tire wear happened on my Ram, but I also observed the same thing on my previous truck - a GM 1500. I am assuming it isn't a solid axle thing.

Earlier this year, I installed a thuren 2" level, had these 37x12.5r17 Kenda Klever put on, and brought it to the dealer for alignment. I printed the Thuren alignment specs, taped one copy to the steering wheel, and handed a 2nd copy to the service adviser, asking them to please follow them. They did the alignment, but didn't have an alignment report for me when i picked it up.

Now, ~30k miles later, I have plenty of tread depth left, but the outside edge of the tire has worn much faster than the inside edge, and the tires have become unbearably loud - to the point where i just ordered some new tires to regain peace and quiet on the road. I've been rotating the tires regularly, and the tires on the back axle have the same wear pattern. (it appears that the wear is happening when the tires are on the front, though)

Any idea what I am doing wrong to keep seeing this wear pattern? As I mentioned, I saw the same wear pattern on my previous GMC running 35x12.5r17. I have tried various tire pressures, but i am running 45F, 38R. The folks at CJC originally recommended lower, but I was thinking this was contributing to the wear I was seeing, so i raised it a bit. It looks like either too much positive camber or possibly a toe issue. I've looked at other trucks with large tire setups i've seen out in the wild, and this seems like a common wear pattern, but is there anything I can do to prevent this?
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LateToTheParty

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Is the wear consistent around the entire outside of the tire? If so, I would agree that the possibility of too much positive camber and/or too low of tire pressure could be at fault.

If it is not consistent and only shows the significant wear in more of a patchy pattern, that sounds more like an out of balance situation.

By "quite regularly", at what frequency do you rotate?
 

Crusty old shellback

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That looks like normal wear. It's called scrub from turning. I have the same and I know mine is aligned to Thuren specs, I helped with the alignment at my buddies shop. ;) We just did a little less castor, like 3.5 instead of 4.
And I'm surprised you have that much tread left at 30K miles on the tires. I'm running BFGs and have about 24K miles on them and not near as much tread depth left as yours.

I run 45/37 on my truck. And yes, you can go lower if you are not hauling anything. I wouldn't go higher as then you would start to wear only the middle as they would be over inflated. I know at 50 PSI, I could see daylight under the outer treads on the tires.

Camber and toe should be zero. castor should be around 4 degrees. Toe and castor are the only 2 adjustments you can do on a solid axe, unless you get special upper ball joints to adjust camber.
 

Wilder

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I try to rotate every 5-6k miles. Once per oil change and once or twice inbetween intervals (admittedly less in the winter when it's cold)

This wear pattern is consistent around the outside of the tire, i don't think it's a balance issue.

And yes, there is alot of tread left. These kenda klever's wear like iron despite having a soft-feeling compound and great winter traction. No complaints about the overall wear amount. the only reason i am suspecting something may be off is the amount of road noise. Most reviews of these tires have remarked how silent they are even after thousands of miles of wear, but I think they are LOUD. Much worse noise than Goodyear duratracks or several Nitto tires have tried in the past.
 

Wilder

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That looks like normal wear. It's called scrub from turning. I have the same and I know mine is aligned to Thuren specs, I helped with the alignment at my buddies shop. ;) We just did a little less castor, like 3.5 instead of 4.
does it make sense to at some point remove the tire from the wheel and re-mount it flipped so the scrubbed edge is now towards the inside?
 

Crusty old shellback

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Lot of work, but it can be done.
I had to do that on a car I had that had directional tires, so they couldn't be rotated as they were also a staggered size. But the alignment was out so it wore on the edge.

I run balance beads in my large tires. And I rotate every 5K miles when I do my oil changes.
 

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