[Shotimes] What is wrong?

[George Fourchy]

If it is a cupped wear pattern it is camber, if it is fairly even wear it is toe.

Paul Nimz 

On Tue, 6 Jul 2004 10:13:37 -0500, Paul L Fisher wrote:

>Isn't that backwards?

Actually it depends on a few factors.   A highway tread tire, with ribs instead of
lugs (like a Michelin Pilot), will not usually cup due to alignment problems.  It
will cup due to bad balance issues, where the tire bounces all the way off the road
at speed.  But it will just shear off if the toe is out, and it will wear faster on
the section that is harder against the road if camber is off.

A lugged tire, like an RE-730, or a snow tire (or the famous GY GT+4), will cup with
camber wear, whether it is balanced or not.  MOST OF THE TIME......toe will not, in
itself, cause cupping, for a lugged tire OR a ribbed tire.  The misalignment of the
tire with the road will shear off the rubber sideways, and this can be felt by
sliding your hand over the tire, 90 degrees to the tread, from inside to outside and
back.

With this bunch, I've learned NEVER to say NEVER!!!  ;-)

George