Good Year Eagles on 98 Ranger Truck

[olddog]

My truck came with the Firestone tires. It had about 60K mile on it, when about 8" of tread started to peal off. Other than that the tires wore evenly, and sound was minimal. There was no vibration. I never even rotated them or had them ballanced. Ford replaced the tires, at no charge, and put Good Year Wranglers on it. They were fine, but a little more noise. The right rear looses about 10 - 15 psi of air a month, from the start (the rest loose 3 psi/mth). After about a year, I started getting a thump thump sound at about 20 MPH and reaches its maximum roar at about 45 MPH. It smooths out about 60 MPH.

Well I am a procrastinator (SP), and after a couple years, I finally got it to the local Good Year dealer. They could find no leak on the leaky tire, which reminds me I never owned a set of Good Year tires that didn't loose air and they could never fix them (These are the first Good Year tires I have owned, since I switched to Ford in 1989). I was certain that there was a belt broken, but there wasn't. All they did was switch the front and back tires, after ballancing them. They showed me that the front tires were cupped badly on the inside. They said I should get it aligned and have the front end check out. Truth is it rides smooth and quit again.

Well these tires have about 35K miles on them and they're cupped. The Firestones had more than 60K on them and the wear was even. I know things wear out on trucks, but since this started when there was only 10K on these tires, I kinda think it's the tires not the truck. Long ago after many sets of Good Year tires I swore I would never buy another set, as I think all the money goes to a racing program and we get junk tires. Well I could be wrong, too.

SO WHAT DO ALL YOU EXPERTS THINK?

[Racerock]

Here is what I think -

The Firestone recall was a bunch of B. S. and they took the hit for what I consider driver ignorance and laziness. Neither Ford, nor Firestone should have paid for many, many tires. My brother in law, like you got around 70K on a set of tires, and just when he needed a new set, the recall came out.

I asked him if he felt guilty accepting a new set for F. R. double E. No, and I'd have to admit, that I'd probably take them as well.

But, I know a guy that owns and operates a local high perf. tire place. Talked to him when it was going on, and he saw no problems in the tires.

Back to your original question - if you had a good set of tires, that somehow you amazingly got that kind of wear, and were happy with the compound in the conditions you have, then why go anywhere else?

Many of us are unhappy with a hard compound that lasts a zillion miles on vehicles in certain cars. I match the expected life (compound) with what I want in the car. If you want to get more mileage, design a tire made of a compund made of the hardest rubber, steel, and concrete...

[TNcarguy]

I had the opposite thing happen on the 99 Grand Prix I had. The car came with Goodyears that had a very good, smooth feel to them. They felt like they stuck better in turns. I kept it aligned (mostly) and rotated the tires (sometimes) and got about 55K out of them before they were close to the wear bars.

I looked at tire ratings on line and compared prices and ended up buying a set of Bridgestone (Firestone) Protenzas. They just didn't have that Goodyear feel to them. They felt square (very bumpy) when they were cold, untill I had driven 2 or 3 miles. They just didn't give me the confident feel that I could plant them in a turn and accelerate out of it, like the Goodyears did. I put about 20-25K on them before trading the car. The Protenzas were OK, but I wouldn't buy another set.

[olddog]

As usual, I rambled on and on. Do you think the tires cupped because there is an alignment problem with the truck? Perhaps its because I put 35 K miles and never rotated them. Perhaps the tires are prone to cupping. I don't want to waste money having it aligned if it doesn't need it. Is there a good way to tell?

[olddog]

[QUOTE=Racerock]. I asked him if he felt guilty accepting a new set for F. R. double E. No, and I'd have to admit, that I'd probably take them as well./QUOTE]

Actually at the time I thought it would have been fair to prorate the tires based on the tread left, provided it was an otherwise good tire. From Ford’s perspective, if they had done that, some people would have decided not to change the tires. Then the liability problem was still there.

One of mine did have 8"(in circumference) of tread (full tread width) you could lift up and see the cord. The tire was not ran under-inflated. Who knows why, but the scary thing is that the tire never made a sound. I would have thought it would have to had made noise, but it didn't. Apparently the tread was stiff enough that it could hold its shape against the centrifugal forces from rotation.

[TNcarguy]

Originally Posted by olddog

As usual, I rambled on and on. Do you think the tires cupped because there is an alignment problem with the truck? Perhaps its because I put 35 K miles and never rotated them. Perhaps the tires are prone to cupping. I don't want to waste money having it aligned if it doesn't need it. Is there a good way to tell?

If the tires cupped, there's an alignment problem. I'd get it checked. Not rotating them will wear the fronts out first, but won't cause them to cup.

[Racerock]

Originally Posted by TNcarguy

If the tires cupped, there's an alignment problem. I'd get it checked. Not rotating them will wear the fronts out first, but won't cause them to cup.

I'd agree here, and add one thing, confirmed by the same friend in the business.

By not rotating them, they will wear faster. I've experienced this myself in a vehicle that was FWD. Figured I'd just change two fronts to one rear. Well, overall, I'd say that I got about 75% (estimate) of the wear on average. They get a set in them, and just go faster - especially the fronts on FWD. Rotating them around prevents a wear pattern to build, and keeps em more even.

[danny]

what condition are your shocks in? shocks usually wear slowly and we don't think about them until we have an unsafe condition.

[olddog]

Originally Posted by danny

what condition are your shocks in? shocks usually wear slowly and we don't think about them until we have an unsafe condition.

Good question. Truck has 98K miles on it. I've changed the battery. Still has origonal plugs, wires, and anti-freeze (I gotta get that changed).

[olddog]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll get the Grand Marqui aligned, too. I guess I will replace the shocks too.

Should I change the shocks myself or just let the shop change them? Any opinions on what shocks to buy? It is 4x4. I drive it to work. I rarely haul a heavy load. I drive off the road when hunting once in a while. Nothing hard... More like Grandma drives.