This is bullshit

**Fumunda** · 04-09-2009, 08:00 AM

I have to agree with Mr. Vert. You may or may not have strut rub, but that is not what happend to that tire and if you want good service out of your next set some habits need to be addressed. Please understand I'm not bashing on ya, just offering some friendly advise and observations that may help you enjoy your car more in the long run.

How a tire is worn (or wearing) at any given time is like a report card and almost undeniable evidence when trying to diagnose a suspension/tire issue.

Allow me to list a few things a technician is going to discern from that tire.

1. You have not had the alignment checked since you bought your car (should be done once every 12 months or 12-15k and your at 18k)
2. You don't rotate your tires enough if at all (minumum should be every other oil change)
3. Your tires are frequently under inflated (check them once a week, once a month min. and do it yourself, do not trust the jiffy lube guy to do it for you every three months)
4. You enjoy driving your car in an aggressive manor (not a bad thing it's why we bought them right?)
5. Chances are the other front tire looks alot like this one

You get the idea. That tire is just plain worn out and it did not happen over night. That wear pattern has been like that for thousands of miles so whomever is servicing your car for you is not doing you any favors and should have caught that a long time ago.

So get yourself some new skins, be a fanatic about your tire pressure and you will have much fewer issues down the road.

_

**cammed goat** · 04-09-2009, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by Fumunda

I have to agree with Mr. Vert. You may or may not have strut rub, but that is not what happend to that tire and if you want good service out of your next set some habits need to be addressed. Please understand I'm not bashing on ya, just offering some friendly advise and observations that may help you enjoy your car more in the long run.

How a tire is worn (or wearing) at any given time is like a report card and almost undeniable evidence when trying to diagnose a suspension/tire issue.

Allow me to list a few things a technician is going to discern from that tire.

1. You have not had the alignment checked since you bought you car (should be done once every 12 months or 12-15k and your at 18k)
2. You don't rotate your tires enough if at all (minumum should be every other oil change)
3. Your tires are frequently under inflated (check them once a week, once a month min. and do it yourself, do not trust the jiffy lube guy to do it for you every three months)
4. You enjoy driving your car in an aggressive manor (not a bad thing it's why we bought them right?)
5. Chances are the other front tire looks alot like this one

You get the idea. That tire is just plain worn out and it did not happen over night. That wear pattern has been like that for thousands of miles so whomever is servicing your car for you is not doing you any favors and should have caught that a long time ago.

So get yourself some new skins, be a fanatic about your tire pressure and you will have much fewer issues down the road.

_

Well stated. I check my air every weekend and I inspect the treadwear as well.

**GTO1_OHIO** · 04-09-2009, 09:27 AM

But I can't rotate my tires. They are directional and staggered.

**0rion** · 04-09-2009, 09:34 AM

I would still bet money that there are rub marks on his strut from that tire. Under inflated, not rotated enough, worn out or whatever issue you can think of isn't responsible for that tire popping. It's because it was rubbing the strut. How many other cars has anyone on this board owned in their entire lifetime that had the front tire rub on the strut from the factory?

**PatrizioD** · 04-09-2009, 09:34 AM

My air pressure is never below 32psi, although I try to keep it at 35-36. I bought the car with 12K on it, and had it aligned at about 25k, it now has 29k on it. I will NEVER bring this car back to Town Fair Tire. I do drive in a more aggressive manner than most, but certainly not as bad as I could. Ive never even brought the car above 4500RPM. Looking at the strut, I can SEE that it has rubbed the tire. Im not going to flat out say you're wrong, because you're not, all of those things you listed contribute to the problem I have. The only thing is, I HAVE had the car aligned and tires rotated (albeit not as frequently as I should).

Looking at the front radius rod bushings, I can see they're off. I check these at least twice a week, as Im paranoid about suspension failure. Normally they would be basically flat against the rail, but they're not pinched at the bottom and wider at the top. Looking at the car from the side, front end to the left, it looks like =\) instead of =|)

I agree that your points are well stated, and thanks for the advice. Im definitely going to keep a close eye on this all in the future.

***Ed Blown Vert*** · 04-09-2009, 09:36 AM

Side-to-side

**Fumunda** · 04-09-2009, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by PatrizioD

My air pressure is never below 32psi, although I try to keep it at 35-36. I bought the car with 12K on it, and had it aligned at about 25k, it now has 29k on it. I will NEVER bring this car back to Town Fair Tire. I do drive in a more aggressive manner than most, but certainly not as bad as I could. Ive never even brought the car above 4500RPM. Looking at the strut, I can SEE that it has rubbed the tire. Im not going to flat out say you're wrong, because you're not, all of those things you listed contribute to the problem I have. The only thing is, I HAVE had the car aligned and tires rotated (albeit not as frequently as I should).

Looking at the front radius rod bushings, I can see they're off. I check these at least twice a week, as Im paranoid about suspension failure. Normally they would be basically flat against the rail, but they're not pinched at the bottom and wider at the top. Looking at the car from the side, front end to the left, it looks like =\) instead of =|)

I agree that your points are well stated, and thanks for the advice. Im definitely going to keep a close eye on this all in the future.

Your welcome. Good job on the tire pressure and you definately need to find a new alignment tech. With 4k on an alignment they for sure did you no favors.

Originally Posted by 0rion

I would still bet money that there are rub marks on his strut from that tire. Under inflated, not rotated enough, worn out or whatever issue you can think of isn't responsible for that tire popping. It's because it was rubbing the strut. How many other cars has anyone on this board owned in their entire lifetime that had the front tire rub on the strut from the factory?

As I stated the tire may be touching the strut, however it did not wear a 2" wide strip of rubber off of the inside of the tire tread (that would cause a fair amount of smoke and possibly flames

). The tire "popped" because it was driven through the tread, through the carcass, through the cords and finally through the inner liner thus exposing the air in the tire to atmosphere

.

Originally Posted by GTO1_OHIO

But I can't rotate my tires. They are directional and staggered.

I have the same problem on my Supra, have to flip and cross 'em once in a while.

_

**0rion** · 04-09-2009, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by Fumunda

As I stated the tire may be touching the strut, however it did not wear a 2" wide strip of rubber off of the inside of the tire tread (that would cause a fair amount of smoke and possibly flames

). The tire "popped" because it was driven through the tread, through the carcass, through the cords and finally through the inner liner thus exposing the air in the tire to atmosphere

.

It most definitely will wear that much off the inside of the tire.
gto1's news report link
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/13339904/detail.html

**Smittro** · 04-09-2009, 11:51 AM

I have to agree with Ed on this one. There's probably no way they're going to replace a worn out tire with a new one. I dont think they'll even mess with the struts without at least good tires on it. Good luck though..

**Smittro** · 04-09-2009, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by 0rion

It most definitely will wear that much off the inside of the tire.
gto1's news report link
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/13339904/detail.html

Wow! Looks like a miscalculation from GM engineers on what rim should have been used!

**PatrizioD** · 04-09-2009, 12:54 PM

Jackasses at GM, thats what they are. We see now they cant run a business.
One thing I wanted to clear up: My tire is still holding air, it never popped or lost pressure. I only noticed the gouge because of the slapping sound i heard for a few moments on the highway, then I checked the tire once I was at my destination. 3 miles from my house to where I heard the sound, which lasted 2 miles, then another 2 miles to my destination.

**cammed goat** · 04-09-2009, 01:24 PM

Originally Posted by GTO1_OHIO

But I can't rotate my tires. They are directional and staggered.

+1. My car has rub marks on the struts as well. The prev. owner aligned it and took pretty good care of it...even though the GMVIS takes up the entire page, haha. He left NO stone unturned.

EDIT: PatrizioD, I see yer from Rhode Island. I know someone from up there. His name is Kurt aka Black Devil on LS1GT*cough*. He's good people. If ya know him, give him a yell. I call him the "MAD SCIENTIST" of Goats. He knows his sh1t. Built up his Goat himself.

**PatrizioD** · 04-09-2009, 01:32 PM

Alright, I've been giving this tons of thought and figured Id take these steps...
New tires for the front (rear tires still have plenty of tread, another testament to my taking-it-easy on the road)
Alignment with slightly positive adjustment to camber angle to around the 8.3 range

After that Ill drive it for a week or two and take it back to the alignment shop to see how well the adjustments held. If they;ve moved, Ill bring it to have the bushings and mounts replaced.

This should probably go into The Herd. And Where the Hell is Sarge??

**Smittro** · 04-09-2009, 01:33 PM

Directional tires can not be rotated side to side. Just front to back (same side) if they are not staggered. I have directional Kumho's with rotation arrows. If I was to switch sides the arrows would then face the wrong way. Just my 2 cents..

**cammed goat** · 04-09-2009, 01:34 PM

Dunno. Sarge went AWOL over 2 weeks ago. I hope he's alright.

**Smittro** · 04-09-2009, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by cammed goat

Dunno. Sarge went AWOL over 2 weeks ago. I hope he's alright.

Maybe him and Mama went on vacation?

**cammed goat** · 04-09-2009, 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by Smittro

Maybe him and Mama went on vacation?

He's wearin a studded collar and she's holdin the leash...maybe?

**Fumunda** · 04-09-2009, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by 0rion

It most definitely will wear that much off the inside of the tire.

I am not disagreeing with the fact that the tire can make contact with the strut. However if you look at both of the pictures you posted the tread is worn down on the inside 3" of the tread due to misalignment (more tread depth toward the outside half of the tire). The strut does not make contact with the tire at the vertical arrow or between the horizontal arrows as I point out so alignment IS the culprit. If the camber was not so negative (the top leaning in) the tire would not be so close to the strut and prone to make contact. (that strut even looks bent)

My point was that regular maint. would have caught this sooner. I would bet that in either case the alignment had never been checked and that the tires in the pictures had 15 to 20k on them at least. I see it every day. Nobody wants to take responsibility for their own situation, it has to be someone else's fault.

But, it's all good. Everyone's just here to share,learn and enjoy.

**Fumunda** · 04-09-2009, 01:54 PM

Originally Posted by Smittro

Directional tires can not be rotated side to side. Just front to back (same side) if they are not staggered. I have directional Kumho's with rotation arrows. If I was to switch sides the arrows would then face the wrong way. Just my 2 cents..

They have to be dismounted from the wheel and flipped the other way. It's a pain but when you start running 200-300 ea. dollar tires it's worth it.