Outside edge of front tires stairstepping

Like I said, we have no idea what year her 'runner is, and what tires she is using so we are all, to some extent, "shooting in the dark" The KPI and SAI are EXTREMELY UNLIKELY to be the problem - that front end is one of the toughest in the industry. If we know what year it is, and exactly what tires are on it, we (those who know these things) can tell her for sure what she needs to address.

It will likely outlast the $100 tire almost 2:1, even with the difference in driving conditions too - - -

and the cheap screwdriver will mabee drive 20 screws before it strips out the head of the cheap chinese screws, while a better screwdriver might do 200 - and if you use better screws, you might do 2000 without having even one stripped head - and the screwdriver is good for another 2000 or 5000 good screws - - - -

Well I did. Like I said elsewhere, I was told by GM engineers that certain tires, and certain vehicles have this sort of problem. You did say that you hear a scrubbing sound even at low speeds. I remember that Broughams from the 90's, and some early Excalades had this issue because of the steering geometry and some other forces that I can't remember. And it's been some years, but when I saw tires with certain issues, I knew without looking what brand they were. And that is also why people are saying that $100 tires are not such a good idea. Tires with identical specs can vary wildly in quality. You don't necessarily get more when you spend more, but in general, if you want higher quality and especially durability, you need to pay more. The wear ratings on tires are just that - the rate of *normal* wear. They don't take into account any tendency of the tires to lose chunks of rubber, or to distort, or to wear in odd patterns, or to start cracking prematurely.

Brain fart?...

If, as you are indicating, the tires are NOT DOING THE JOB, it doesn't make any differnce WHAT you paid for the tires, you are NOT getting value for your pennies - much less your dollars. The changes in specs that you have decided on,may well not have bought you ANY improvement over the OEM tires. Did the OEM tires wear the same way???? as quickly? My guess is NO.

Better yet, the good ones have a no-questions lifetime warranty, so they'll do infinite screws.

Not necessarily - if you never drive thevehicle faster than the rating of a T rated tire.

Not necessatilly - it means the tire will not overheat under the heavier load and kighr speeds - but it does not imply the sidewall is eny stiffer - or that the cargass is more suitable for your application AT ALL.

You will have tire wear problems - no ifs, ands, or buts.

Definitely better than max toe out and max pos camber - but going slightly to the neg camber side of the range, and possibly slight toe IN. Tell me what year your 'runner is and I'll tell you where you should be starting.

And yours is doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for you in this case. You need a qualified automotive mechanic - and a Toyota specialist with alignment experience definitely wouldn't hurt - yet you refuse to listen to me. You are getting $95 per hour information for FREE - yet you don't listen - you don't answer the basic questions. You sadly are the kind of "customer" that can NOT be helped.

One last choice, then PLONK.

EXACTLY what happens when you go to your opthamologist

You have all the theory, yet no wisdom.

I can see why they'd kick you out.

It also suggests she has either an alignment or pressure issue or both - and quite possibly tires that are not suitable for the task. She has yet to say what year her 'runner is, and what tires she is using, other than they are 225 section tires

She thinks she is "smart" - mabee even smarter than the rest of us - but will not give us the basic information required to answer her question intelligently - because she "knows" she has the best tires she can buy for her application - the price doesn't come into it, and branding is just "marketing BS" - my words, not hers - but it is strongly implied.

Tires ARE a Commodity in some ways - but not like Propane or Pork Bellies, or Soy Beans. There are SIGNIFICANT differences between one tire and another - not necessarilly "brand to brand" but definitely "model to model" There is (can be) a lot of difference between 2 tires of the same speed, weight, and traction rating of the same size.

One distributor's propane is virtually identical to anothers if it meets the same sulpher specs etc.(and likely comes out of the same pipeline "slug", the ame railcar, and the same distribution tank.

I have suggested SEVERAL times it mat be wrong tires for the application and have asked for the make, model and size of the tire, as well as the year of youe 2 wheel drive 4 Runner.

OEM on a 4 runner can be 225, 245, or 265 - they can be 16, 17, 18, or even 20 inch. They can be 60, 65, 70, or 75 profile tires, and they can be any of several trad patterns.

As stated, the load range does not NECESSARILY mean a heavier sidewall

It's JUST a marketing number - and you are the "marketing expert" - the nuber REALLY doesn't mean it's a better tire. Tell us what kind of crap you are running on, and we will tell you if it is likely to be a large or small part of the problem.

I , for one, most definitely have, from YEARS of working with Toyotas in particular, and vehicles and tires in general.

No you didn't if rhey are not doing the job. Going by the "marketing BS" you bought the cheapest tire that met what you, a marketing major, thought were your requirements. You have NO IDEA what the requirements are, and if the tires you bought ACTUALLY meet your requirements.

Tire prices change more between one supplier and another than they do between brands and models in many cases.

You would very possibly end up with a stack of tires that do not meet your requirements - and there is NO VALUE in having something that does not do the job - regardless of price.

Uninformed research, from the appearances so far.

And I buy it when he's finished with it. If he's taken care of it I get FANTASTIC value. I'm buying the same car, but I'm not buying the most expensive.

You are lokking at the world through the very jaded eyes of a marketing expert.

When I worked at the dealership we found we made a LOT more monet sellig 30 corollas than one supra - and it was a lot easier to sell the "hamburgers" than the "T-Bomes" The dealership could not exist on selling only the limitted number of highend cars - we THRIVED on moving quantity at low margin

And you claim tires are commodities - one h rated 150 load rated tire is the same as the next - the spec, or catalog number, says it all. So you are buying by price. Sure - you set your "search parameters" by what you have already stated is "marketinf BS", then you buy the cheapest that meets those totally arbitrary specifications.

You have not given us ANY reason to believe you are getting "quality"

Don't need an IN.

Which are "marketing BS" lik all the rest of it.

If you KNOW what needs improvement, and what improvements constitute "value" - It appears you may not.

And you don't listen to the answers given by expers because "you know"

You buy the cheaoest that meats your arbitrary at best, requirements. You refuse to give the information required for an EXPERT to give you a qualified, intelligent answer as to what your problem really is. Just because your marketing degree trumps an auto mechanic, no matter how qualified and experienced?????

You give the educated consumer a lot less credit than they are due. The "educated consumer" doesn't need a degree in marketing.

Particularly in today's automotive market, where there really are very few "options" if you want, say, a sunroof on a car, you need to buy a minimum trim level that is NOT base. And if you want, say, the high end infortainment system with navigation, you need to buy the next level up - which ONLY comes with the sun roof. Gone are the days, to a great extent, of ordering from the "menu" where you could order the big motor on the "stripper" and get a "sleeper" - with eithe bench or bucket seats, in any colour you wanted, with any colour pait you wanted - and any tire and wheel combo, and any gear ratio the company made, with or without Posi. You have 3 choices, Base, Medium, and high content - or L, GL, or GLX

No, you are playing on consumer's WANTS. They WANT the sunroof and the navigation system and high end audio - so they buy the GLX

No, that's why you have a chevy, a cadillac, a BMW and a Mercedes. THAT is where pride and emotion make people do stupid things. Mer bought homself a loaded Kia or Hyundai for less money than a "base" BMW or Merc or Caddy, that will cost him WAY less in maintenance and repairs, where he will get WAY more for it at resale, in percentage terms than either of the options, or a lower contented car - meaning he got VALUE for for his money. REal value, not based on "marketing BS" It's "marketing BS" that sells Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, Caddy, Lincoln, Lamborgini, and Ferarri et al.

That is very true. On my previous Toyota, the OEM tyres were done in at

60,000 kilometres. I replaced them with Michelins of the same spec and, after another 60,000 kilometres, were only 50% worn. What's more, the Michelins were cheaper than the OEM replacements by $50 a wheel. To top it off, the Michelins had better grip and handling than the OEMs. No way would I even be thinking of a $100 tyre, especially so on an SUV.

Yes and a regular wheel alignment should be seen as *preventative maintenance*.

Counting threads is a WOFTAM unless you are refitting the original back into place. You would be better advised to measure lengths from the swivel axis, much more so if the parts are not factory OEM originals.

>

Hey, it happens! ;-)

If that's what I wrote - yes. Top out is positive CAMBER - and the car will pull to the highest positive CAMBER or least negative.. Caster is opposite. Positive CASTER is top back and it will pull to the side with the least positive, or most negative.

Easy to do. I had to think about it before I replied.