I'm guilty on charge 1, now what?

[scenic-seeker]

Yes I failed to rotate my tires and my mid-life Cross Terrain Michelins cupped on the inside. I am guilty! I put them on the back, put on new Bilsteins, alignment and balance and now after 10,000 miles, the front has feathered on the outside!

Since I need to replace all 5 tires, I intentionly ran up the miles to see if the cupping was corrected. So the new wear pattern has me all confused. And since I've been running 36psi without wheel spacers, the inside/outside wear was unexpected. My mechanic says the ball joints are good. "If it ain't broke......", but with 95k miles should I at least replace the lower ball joints before buying new tires?

If not, how would I know when to replace the ball joints? Other than the tire wear, I have no complaints with my runner's front end. I'm considering 255/70/17's for my next set of tires. Thanks guys

 

[scenic-seeker]

Well I just read everything I could about LBJ from the search. I have decided not to change them out since I havent done any hard offroading. When the time comes, I'll just go to the stealership for original Toyota parts. I hope I don't have to buy the complete lower arm, but time will tell.

As for the tire wear patterns, I believe my cupping problem was resolved and the feathering was just due to not rotating the tires. With my upcomming tire purchase, I'll get another alignment and "gsp road force" balancing.

I'm not crazy talkin to myself, just wanted to let everyone know what I decided and my little experiment with tire wear. :nerd:

 

[S p a r k y]

really curious to see how well you like the 255/70/17 size

 

[scenic-seeker]

Gotta wait till the first of the month so I'll reply in a few weeks. Anyway I'm hoping for better gas milage and the taller size always looks better. I'm afraid the wife will complain about the even taller 255/75/17s

width 10.43 to 10.03
diameter 30.56 to 31.05 (32.05)
Revolution/mile 680.6 to 669.8

So I'm guessing less contact = less resistance = MPG
less revolutions = longer life w/o compromising final drive ratios

In the 60's I put a set of drag slicks on the family's 289 Fairlane, they fit but the car didn't have enough power to get moving. Lesson learned about oversize tires and how they affect the drive ratio.

I'm favoring the Firestone Destination A/T's

 

[scenic-seeker]

really curious to see how well you like the 255/70/17 size

I settled on the Firestone Destination A/T 255/70/17 -No noise and an aggressive look. (blackwalls showing)
The taller 75's would be a tight fit and I know many say they didn't have rubbing problems but I'm happy with the 70s.
Other than having the 265 and 255 side by side, I find the difference in width is not noticable.
I will use the 5 tire rotatation every 7500 miles.