You guys are all full of shit. Couldn't possibly be bad tire, OH NO! You must have been mesmerized by the huge colored poster in the tire shops that Pictured the various problems with tires, not one problem was caused by a badly made tire, they were all your fault for not taking better care of your car. An honest dealer will replace the tire at no cost. I had flat spots on my Goodyear Polyglas tires on my 70 442 in the early 70's. Switched to the first BF Goodrich radail TA's, problem solved. Bought a 74 Olds Cutlass with almost new Goodyear radials from Sears that showed cupping. Went to Sears tire store, they said it needed shocks, showed them receipt for shocks from Sears with only 15,000 miles on them, was he embarresed. Bob Zawarski
----- Original Message ----- From: "Lon Stowell" Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2003 3:53 PM Subject: Re: What makes rear tires "cupped"
Approximately 8/14/03 06:29, M.Burns uttered for posterity:
>
> > What makes rear tires "cupped" on outside or inside edge?
> > (I believe they've been on the rear the entire time)
> > They are on a Dodge minivan with a solid rear axle, so I wouldn't think
> > there would be any alignment to deal with. Rear doesn't bounce, so don't
> > believe it would be shocks.
>
> Unless you are built like "Refrigerator" Perry, it is impossible
> to properly test shocks with a simple bounce test. You just
> don't weigh enough to put enough force on them to even begin to
> simulate the weight shift of your vehicle.
>
> Try backing up in an open area then hit the brakes hard to check > rear shocks.
>
> > They tread is still good, but they are so noisy I've got to replace them.
>
> Worn suspension, worn shocks usual cause, severely out of balance
> another. Shocks highest on suspicion list, but also check for
> excessive play in the rear suspension. It usually also takes
> poor alignement to cup the inner or outer edge, if the alignment
> is good but the shocks [or similar] are bad, the cupping tends
> to be along the middle. Have a tire guy take a look to see if
> they are more feathered than cupped... that would be alignment. >
>
People like you should be embarrased for telling people it is never a manufacturing defect. In that case Sears exchanged the tires for a set of BF Goodrich TA's (plus upcharge) drove them 38,000 smooth miles with the same shocks. In the case of the 442, I drove the car 20,000 more with the original shocks and then changed to Bilstein gas charged, What great shocks. I haven't seen anyone definitely prove cupping is caused be worn anything. Just because manufacturers and Experts (read trying to sell you repairs [that is not to say the customer doesn't need the repairs]) say cupping is due to poor mechanical maintenance does not make it so. Along with the repairs you sell the customer new tires and the manufacturer is absolved. They will never take responsibility for anything! Bob Zawarski
Why not? I went through the same thing with a set of Borbet alloys on my old Scirocco, I calmly explained to the guy that if i had to choose between driving under 60 MPH and having a few sticky weights show on the outside of the wheel it was a no brainer, and I couldn't be happier with the results.
I had the shop I bought the tires from check the balance the following day. They were a bit snooty about it acting like I was asking them to recheck their work (which I was). They said they couldn't properly balance the tire because it didn't have a lip to install outer weights. But never offered to install stick on weights.
I wasn't satisfied with the tire shop I bought my tires from so I took it to another shop to see if they could do anything with them. I purchased the rims three years prior from another shop and they have never been right.
As you can tell, I've had allot of problems with tire shops and just bee bop around until I find someone who I think is not screwing me around.
The second shop puts stick-on weights toward the outside but it's still not right. They said they had to install 3 oz of weights to get it "balanced".
The thing is outer edge of the wheel is so wide, the weights are actually 4" from the outside of the rim. They are almost in the center of the wheel. If this was a front wheel drive wheel, then perhaps stick-on wheel weights might work.
It was also suggested that the reason the wheels are causing problems is because it's not the right wheel for the car. It's a 68 Ford. The bolt pattern is correct but the size of the hub is smaller on earlier Fords. Later model Fords have larger hubs so the wheel actaully rests on the hub instead of the wheel studs. I'll buy that because my Jeep used a Ford bolt patten and were allot larger. Yet it was a 4X4 it had automatic hubs. I don't know if that makes a difference.
This might make sense on the fronts but there is nothing other than studs on the rear for the wheel to rest on. I think..
I'm emailed the company "Pacer" and explained my problem but they have yet to reply. I will call them directly. Their website doesn't list a number but I'm sure I can find it.
The bottom line is there is allot to consider when purchasing aftermarket rims if you want the car to drive like it's not falling apart.
OK what is the problem with using adhesive weights and placing them midway between the sides of the wheel? With as many alloy wheels as there are out there rolling around surely there must be ways to keep 'em stuck in place. I use NAPA weights and sand a clean spot on the wheel where the weight is going to be, then clean it thoroughly with lacquer thinner , shape the weight to match the radius of the wheel and press it in place. Is there a better way? TIA Clint
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