Tire Cupping - Help Requested

[Ape Runner]

Just finished a 2750 mi road trip and came back noticing my front tires were cupped a decent amount. Tires have about 20k miles on them. BFG Mud Terrain KM3

Checked the ball joints and other control arm bushings for play and also the CV joints for any slip. All feels normal to me and no torn boots or anything.

Vehicle has 72k miles. It’s a 2016 TE. I have done a fair bit of off-roading; I’ve definitely used my 4runner for its intended use and some.

Knowing that cupping is commonly a suspension issue and ive somewhat ruled out bushings and joints, is the only thing left shocks? I’m on the stock originals.

I also have a bit of a metal on metal rubbing noise while moving. I checked brake dust shields and looked all around for signs of rubbing. Nothing looks abnormal or out of place. The sound is more pronounced while braking and turning.

Thanks for your suggestions. Wanted to post here before buying parts.

 

[Salvo Jimmy]

Similar problem at about 30k and it was alignment

 

[cmilviper]

Just finished a 2750 mi road trip and came back noticing my front tires were cupped a decent amount. Tires have about 20k miles on them. BFG Mud Terrain KM3

Checked the ball joints and other control arm bushings for play and also the CV joints for any slip. All feels normal to me and no torn boots or anything.

Vehicle has 72k miles. It’s a 2016 TE. I have done a fair bit of off-roading; I’ve definitely used my 4runner for its intended use and some.

Knowing that cupping is commonly a suspension issue and ive somewhat ruled out bushings and joints, is the only thing left shocks? I’m on the stock originals.

I also have a bit of a metal on metal rubbing noise while moving. I checked brake dust shields and looked all around for signs of rubbing. Nothing looks abnormal or out of place. The sound is more pronounced while braking and turning.

Thanks for your suggestions. Wanted to post here before buying parts.

How often have the tires been rotated (especially with mud terrains)?

 

[Twilghtzone]

Inflation pressure ? Off road or on ?
Cupping on front ? Back ? Both ?
Tire type (Passenger or Truck) ?
Cupping on inside ? Outside ?
Tire wear even or mostly worn on sides, center ?
Lots of braking ?

Could be alignment (1)... or tire pressure (2)... or the design of the tire (3).

For design, lots of mud tires show cupping. Tall tread deforms usually due to braking, cornering.
Tread bends over, contacts the pavement, wears = cupping.

 

[LandCruiser]

My Destination MTs showed SEVERE cupping at about 30k miles to the point I had to trash them. The alignment was dead on and the truck has a brand new lift. New BFGs are showing no abnormal wear.

 

[Ape Runner]

Inflation pressure ? 35 Psi cold.
Off road or on ? On.
Cupping on front ? Back ? Both ? Front only. Rears are perfectly even.
Tire type (Passenger or Truck) ? Load Range C.
Cupping on inside ? Outside ? Across entire width.
Tire wear even or mostly worn on sides, center ? Even.
Lots of braking ? Normal braking.

Could be alignment (1)... or tire pressure (2)... or the design of the tire (3). Car tracks straight.

For design, lots of mud tires show cupping. Tall tread deforms usually due to braking, cornering.
Tread bends over, contacts the pavement, wears = cupping.[/QUOTE]

Answers above. Thanks. What makes me think something is wrong is that 1) rears don’t show it, 2) tires are rotated every 5k miles, 3) previous 2 sets of mud terrains didn’t have an issue.

Confirmed the noise I’m hearing is coming from the rear. Still investigating but not related to the front tire cupping.

 

[honda250xtitan]

align it. rotate more often.

 

[mo_mo]

Inflation pressure ? 35 Psi cold.

Stock is P265/70R17 at 32 PSI.
Per Load Inflation Index Table, that tire has a 2425 lbs rating. Taking the 10% load reduction for it being on a 'truck', that P tire is rated at 2182.5 lbs.

In an LT255/75R17 at 2182.5 lbs puts you between 40 and 45 psi (43.6 psi). That seems a bit high, and I would suspect upper 30s to low 40s (38-41 psi) is probably more optimal, but every tire mfg and sidewall stiffness may require a bit more or less.

Probably not your cupping culprit, but food for thought.

 

[fbksurferjoe]

I dont run your tire but I have had cupping issues on previous vehicles usually from under inflation. The bummer is that once they start to cup i have never been able to get them to start wearing normal again. I am currently running st Maxx and run them at 45 and am religious about rotations. They are wearing perfectly so far.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

 

[Ape Runner]

Thanks for the tips guys. I rotated the cupped tires to the rear and I’ll try bumping up the Psi to 40, get an alignment, and see how we do.

Now to figure out this noise from the rear...

 

[honda250xtitan]

ive heard the same thing regarding cupping, once it starts youre too late. i'm assuming you did a google of what causes cupping and if MT's are affected more so etc. you could be doing the right things regarding alignment and PSI, sometimes its just the nature of the tire.