What's causing my Duratracs to cup

[sandcrawler]

Yep thats cupping alright. A friend of mine has the same tires and they are cupping also. While rotations and alignments are a main factor when it comes to reducing this issue, some tire designs are just more prone to cupping.

my Duratracs were cupped to beat the band when i replaced them. i definitely didn't keep up on rotations, but this issue seems common enough to suggest that their design is simply prone to it.

that said, i got 42k out of them.

 

[T4RGold]

Yeah I'm thinking a combo of not rotating enough, and my alignment must be off. I'll bring it to a new shop to get the alignment checked out. Running stock springs on Billy 5100s on the 3 ring so not a terrible amount of preload. I'm looking at new shock/spring combo in the future. It alignment and rotations for now.

Has anyone suggested aftermarket UCA's? I didn't see them in your signature.
I'm running a similar lift, however, I invested in the UCA's and have had no issues. From all of my research on this forum, it seemed like a good investment.
The round trip to my off-roading is almost 900 miles, so I wanted the ride to be right. I would go that route before I bought a new set of tires. Also, rotate often! Good luck Brother!

 

[nevada]

yep, they are cupped. assuming the alignment is good, and I expect its at least close, otherwise the wear pattern would be different, the problem is not rotating often enough.

the more aggressive the tire, the more often it needs rotated. rather, the more aggressive the outer tread blocks are, the more susceptible they are to cupping.

also, I agree with the above, you want to cross rotate them to the back. this will help flatten them out, and keep them flat.

 

[sandcrawler]

to be clearer for all, please be specific re: rotation patterns you're recommending... rearward cross or x-pattern?

The Tire & Rim Association has identified three traditional rotation patterns covering most vehicles (equipped with non-directional tires and wheels which are the same size and offset). The first being the "Rearward Cross" (Figure A); the second being the "Forward Cross" (Figure C); and the third is the "X-Pattern" (Figure B). The X-Pattern can be used as an alternative to A or C.​

 

[guitarsail]

Thanks for the advice guys. I was suspecting rotations all along. I'll confirm when I get the alignment checked. good advice in here on rotations for sure.

 

[nevada]

to be clearer for all, please be specific re: rotation patterns you're recommending... rearward cross or x-pattern?

The Tire & Rim Association has identified three traditional rotation patterns covering most vehicles (equipped with non-directional tires and wheels which are the same size and offset). The first being the "Rearward Cross" (Figure A); the second being the "Forward Cross" (Figure C); and the third is the "X-Pattern" (Figure B). The X-Pattern can be used as an alternative to A or C.​

I was taught to use A, and is what I was suggesting.
cross the fronts to the rear, and bring the rears straight forward.

 

[manofsteele2003]

My Duratracs did the same exact thing right around 15k miles. I kept up with rotations, alignment was good and I had them rebalanced. Still howled horribly so I sold them and bought BFG KO2s, much better now and seem to be less rolling resistance.

 

[RAD4Runner]

My Duratracs are badly-cupped, too. I neglected balance-rotation for a couple of periods.

Rotation, Rotation, Rotation

No rotation and lots of cornering will do it every time.

Including balancing, of course.
Also check your shocks. Bouncy shocks could cause that, too. Ever driven alongside another vehicle where the wheels bounce up and down on the freeway? That will cause cupping.

 

[DEERUNNER]

Might be a combo of things, but cupping usually is caused by bad shocks. You seem set on it being not enough rotations but, before purchasing new tires, look into your suspension.

 

[guitarsail]

They are Billy 5100s, only 15k on the shocks, I've noticed no bouncing or shock fatigue going on. I have been thinking about upgrading though

 

[3wbdriver]

They are Billy 5100s, only 15k on the shocks, I've noticed no bouncing or shock fatigue going on. I have been thinking about upgrading though

I've got 60K on my 5100's with no noticeable difference in performance. I did have some cupping on my last set of tires, but it was likely because I had a Virginia dealer not bother rotating them during an 8100 mile highway trip. The reason I know this is I had driven 150 miles from the dealer before I realized they never asked my about my lug nut keys, which I had forgotten to set out for them. No note on the service ticket and I got charged for a rotation anyway. It's happened one more time since at another dealer but I caught it later that day, because one tire had an obvious mark on it and it had not been moved. You need to remember A/T or M/T tires usually have a slightly softer compound to help them perform better off road. So they will be more susceptible to abnormal wear off they aren't rotated regularly.

 

[nevada]

Might be a combo of things, but cupping usually is caused by bad shocks. You seem set on it being not enough rotations but, before purchasing new tires, look into your suspension.

shock wear is something different. similar, but looks different. cupping happens from lack of rotations.

 

[guitarsail]

Ridge grapplers installed. Amazing how much quieter. Then again the Duratracs were quiet at first too