New Tires Cupped in only 10,000 miles!
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Joined: Jun 2002
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New Tires Cupped in only 10,000 miles!
Moderators, please leave this in the 5th Gen forum as it may be a mechanical/lowering issue.
I replaced my original RE92s with Kumho KH11s about 10,000 miles ago and when I recently rotated the backs to front, my car sounds like a 4 X 4 at low speeds and loud tire noise at higher speed. I looked at my tires and the fronts, which were on the back, are "stairstepped" on the outer block of tread. I had been having noise before, and it is louder after rotation. This caused me to think it was a wheel bearing (I have had one go out before), but now I am not sure. The noise seems to "whump-whump" about once every tire rotation, but the stairstepping is repeated many times around the circumference of the tire. I have stock struts with Maxspeeds. I know the rear alignment is not adjustable, so I do not know what could have caused this. Any Ideas?
I replaced my original RE92s with Kumho KH11s about 10,000 miles ago and when I recently rotated the backs to front, my car sounds like a 4 X 4 at low speeds and loud tire noise at higher speed. I looked at my tires and the fronts, which were on the back, are "stairstepped" on the outer block of tread. I had been having noise before, and it is louder after rotation. This caused me to think it was a wheel bearing (I have had one go out before), but now I am not sure. The noise seems to "whump-whump" about once every tire rotation, but the stairstepping is repeated many times around the circumference of the tire. I have stock struts with Maxspeeds. I know the rear alignment is not adjustable, so I do not know what could have caused this. Any Ideas?
from the Haynes manual:
Cupping may be caused by:
1. Underinflation and/or mechanical irregularieites such as out of balance wheel and/or tire, and bent or damaged wheel.
2. Loose or worn steering tie-rod or steering idler arm
3. Loose, damaged, or worn front suspension parts.
as you can see, there are MANY things that can cause this. I'm sure eveyone and their mother will probably post their "theories" and "well, this is what happened to me..." stories, but save yourself frustration and incorrect diagnosis by taking the car to a shop that specializes in tires and wheels.
As for my 2 cents...Since this only happened since you rotated the tires, I suspect it has more to do with either a bent rim or improperly balanced wheels. Then again, if you're running stock struts with aftermarket springs (I also have maxspeeds, but with illuminas), it is possible that your rear struts are blown and therefor do not have the rebound rate to match the springs, which would be the most likely suspension-related cause in the back of the car (if it's not the wheels themselves).
So....a few things you should do:
1. inspect the rear struts for leakage and bounce the car up and down to see how the strut function is.
2. make sure your tire pressures are correct (should be around 30-32 in back)
3. have a shop check for bent rim and have wheels re-balanced.
**let an expert handle it. None of us here will be able to ACCURATELY diagnose the problem without being able to check out the car personally..
good luck
Cupping may be caused by:
1. Underinflation and/or mechanical irregularieites such as out of balance wheel and/or tire, and bent or damaged wheel.
2. Loose or worn steering tie-rod or steering idler arm
3. Loose, damaged, or worn front suspension parts.
as you can see, there are MANY things that can cause this. I'm sure eveyone and their mother will probably post their "theories" and "well, this is what happened to me..." stories, but save yourself frustration and incorrect diagnosis by taking the car to a shop that specializes in tires and wheels.
As for my 2 cents...Since this only happened since you rotated the tires, I suspect it has more to do with either a bent rim or improperly balanced wheels. Then again, if you're running stock struts with aftermarket springs (I also have maxspeeds, but with illuminas), it is possible that your rear struts are blown and therefor do not have the rebound rate to match the springs, which would be the most likely suspension-related cause in the back of the car (if it's not the wheels themselves).
So....a few things you should do:
1. inspect the rear struts for leakage and bounce the car up and down to see how the strut function is.
2. make sure your tire pressures are correct (should be around 30-32 in back)
3. have a shop check for bent rim and have wheels re-balanced.
**let an expert handle it. None of us here will be able to ACCURATELY diagnose the problem without being able to check out the car personally..
good luck
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