Thumper

Why don't you try calling them and saying: "I'm hearing a thumping, not very loud, have to listen for it, probably left front. It started after rotating the tires and I think it's a tire" and see what they say?

Ted

Good idea. I'm going to do that. I tend to talk too much so your suggestion is right on the mark here!

I've had this happen after rotating tires. Was a belt that failed. I was told that on certain tires, once the tire was set on rotating a certain direction and then rotated (reversing that direction) it fails. (His guess was that that tire had suffered an injury (pothole) and the belt had been weakened and failed when forced to rotate in the reverse direction.) I don't rotate my tires any more (several years now) and find that the usually wear out about the same.

That was true several years ago (1970's) with radials (and certain non-radial constructions), but not anymore. There are what are called directional tires that are not supposed to be cross-rotated, but I think it has to do with tread design (shedding water/anti-hydroplaning) rather than a structural issue.

It may be, though, that a tire that has been bruised could come apart easier if it were cross-rotated.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my adddress with the letter 'x')