Problem tire brands

MF1455v · Nov 8, 2004

There are a lot of posts on TBN for tire recommendations. After this weeks findings I wanted to start a thread about problem tire brands. Here is my post.

While rotating tires on my 2003 Dodge Ram 3500 dully I discovered the tires were weather cracking beyond belief, in a strange location. See the attached pictures. The tires are Good Year wranglers, 2 years old and have 27K miles on them. The tires are OEM tires that came on the truck. I have always kept them rotated and they have a lot of tread still left.

I have never had good luck with Good Year tires and usually replace them early for one reason on another. Thinking back, I've had 6 sets on new vehicles from GM, Dodge, and VW and all performed poorly. O.K. new vehicle, manufactures did not put a high quality tire on. Maybe, but not my experience, the VW had Good Year Eagles new, lasted barely 24k miles and were bald. Car had full size matching spare so to save money (mistake) put spare on the ground and only buy 3 tires matching Eagles. The 3 purchased made it 22k and original spare was in fair condition. So the one I bought lasted less time than the ones that came on the car.

So has anyone else had the same experience with Good Year or another tire brand.

MF1455v · Nov 8, 2004

Second picture!

MF1455v · Nov 8, 2004

Last picture!

GerardC · Nov 8, 2004

If it were me, I would contact Good Year and send them the photos. Maybe you can find some things out and with any luck, get something for your efforts. Gerard

KennyV · Nov 8, 2004

That is not weather cracked… that looks like heat failure /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif. What kind of load do you carry, and what tire pressure are you running? That looks bad. KennyV.

MF1455v · Nov 8, 2004

The 2 worst tires came off of the front. Only load they have seen for the last 7k miles is a Cummins Diesel engine. I keep 50 psi in them. Outer rears never get rotated due to white lettering showed signs of this. Keep same 50 psi in them and the most weight they see is 12,000 lbs on gooseneck trailer and that is only about a third of the time.

Did not think about heat but that would make sense given the location of the cracking. With the loads I mentioned that should n't be a problem, or will it? Thanks.

I am going to talk to Good Year, but don't want to put a set of these tires back on the truck.

goodoleboy · Nov 8, 2004

I know some small cracking on the outer wall is normal. But i think that last shot looks real deep. Did you rotate tires yourself or did you take it to the shop. If the shop did ask their opinion. Foward a few pictures to NSTB and to Goodyear maybe youll get some free tires. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Dargo · Nov 8, 2004

I'll have to look to see what tires are on my Cummins diesel Dodge. Right now it is in the shop getting a few more modifications. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Anyway, when I bought it it had some "off brand" tires on it. The tread was pretty decent, so I thought I'd drive them until they wore out. Dang! I've put 60K miles on these stinking tires and they don't seem to be wearing any!! Again, when I get the truck back this week I'll have to see what they are. It figures! If you loved the tires, they would wear out immediately. I didn't really like these, and it's sort of like they are made of steel!! I've even left four nice dark black lines in the pavement for over a hundred yards doing a nice burn out with them. They'll smoke like crazy! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif They just won't wear out!

Egon · Nov 8, 2004

As others have suggested the tires exhibit the same type of cracks one sees on tyres that have been run on very low air pressure and have gotten hot. There also seems to be a lot of brake pad dust on the tires and rims.

I keep 80 psi in the Goodyear tires on our 2500. On the third set in 100K miles but the truck does a lot of hauling and towing near or just over the load ratings.

Egon

Bird · Nov 8, 2004

What tire pressure is listed on the sidewall? If I'm not mistaken, it is 80 psi on those tires, and I know a few years ago, manufacturers (especially B.F. Goodrich, but others as well) said to never run them at less than 80% of the pressure listed on the sidewall; i.e., it would appear to me that you should not run those tires at less than 64 psi.

rdln · Nov 8, 2004

Goodyear eagles are very very soft allowing them to stick to the road and be a "performance" and have never been known as a high mileage tire especially in VW diameters.

My Goodyear Integrity tires on my little car have done well, over 50k now and will probably get me thru winter, but it is a light car.

Hambone · Nov 8, 2004

Tire dealers are like tractor dealers. You have to get a good one with the right people.
50 psi is low for that tire, especially pulling anything. That will build heat. My Goodyear dealer said 65 minimum in that tire that they put on 03 and 04 Dodge trucks. Dodge recommends minimum of 64 psi. He said they will probably adjust, but you would be getting same tire. You would be getting new tires, maybe prorated, but keep inflation up and should be lots better.

reb · Nov 8, 2004

Dargo, my experience with tires has been similar. I have had better luck with some off-brand tires than with the major brands. I put a set from Pep Boys on a '79 pickup that wore forever. I have the second set of Big O tires on my T-100 which have performed better than the Goodyears that came on it. I had a set of Goodriches on my '85 truck that couldn't be balanced and did not wear well. I have also had some cheap off-brand tires that wore out almost overnight. Is there a secret to selecting good tires?

Bird · Nov 8, 2004

( Is there a secret)

I don't know about a secret and of course "ratings" can sometimes be a little misleading, but each tire should have a Treadwear, Traction, and Temperature rating on it and I consider those to be a starting point, at least. You can read a little bit about those at this web site. It's hard to say a particular "brand" is good or bad since each brand usually makes several different quality tires with different ratings.

Gary_in_Indiana · Nov 8, 2004

Years and years ago, I worked in a tire manufacturing plant on the production floor. The redundant name of the area in which I worked was 'Final Finish' and it was the last stop before the tires left the plant.

It was also where you saw the final spec's on the tire for things like Total Harmonic Distortion (noise), etc. There was an interesting thing about tires I learned there and I'll share it here.

The tires that go to the manufacturers for OEM on new vehicles have the very tightest tolerances. The very same label tire that falls outside of that range but still in an acceptable range goes to the tire dealer. That's why OEM tires always seem to last longer and ride better than replacements.

As to the "off-brand" tires being appearing to be superior to the branded tires, the reason is simple - They are! Someone like Sears has such incredible clout as a customer that they can and do negotiate not only better pricing but also better tolerances on their tires as well.

I hope this insight explains some of the differences.

ronjhall · Nov 8, 2004

( The very same label tire that falls outside of that range but still in an acceptable range goes to the tire dealer. )
I thought I was the only one that knew that. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
You and I probably spent time in the same plant. The company I retired from made the machines that did the gaging. I got to install and service the machines.

Phred · Nov 8, 2004

I agree that the problem was the pressure.
50 is way to low. Now some dealers say run them low because it improves ride. Also somebody at a jiffy lub might think that 30 psi makes sense......but they would be wrong. Low pressure eats up tires very quickly.

I run mine (also goodyear E rated) at no less than 70 psi (cold pressure) even when empty.
Keep in mind that the front end on that truck is very heavy even when the truck is empty.

I had a set of bridgestones on a SUV years ago and the dealer convinced me to run the tires on the low end of pressure. I only got 30 K out of those tires.
The next set I ran near their max and they lasted much longer. Of course the ride was not as nice.

Fred

MF1455v · Nov 8, 2004

50 psi sounded low to me too. But the side wall and the Good Year pamphlet that came with the truck said between 45 and 60 psi. The size of these tires are 235/80/17. Most of the Dodge trucks the same year have 265/70/17. They call for the 60 to 80 psi. Anyone know why the difference in pressure, even with an E rating? My 99 Dodge had 265/70/16 and I always ran them at 70 psi.

Stopped by local tire center today and the owner has seen a few of these before. He could not tell me what was going on. He is however going to help get some credit that I can apply to any other tires he sells. Have never gotten over 30k on a set of Wranglers before, so this will be a plus.

Bird · Nov 9, 2004

The sidewall says 45 to 60? I've never seen that on a tire before. I'm accustomed to seeing only one number. In '91, I spent the summer working at my brother's B.F. Goodrich tire dealership in Anchorage. At that time there was no authorized Uniroyal dealership in town, but of course the B.F. Goodrich distributor was also the contact for Uniroyal. And during that 4 months, the only manufacturer's warranty situations we had were when the distributor sent a few customers to us who had OEM Uniroyal tires on 3/4 ton GM products (primarily Suburbans). The vehicles' owner's manuals showed the lower range of air pressures, just as you've said your pamphlet shows, but the tires had the higher number on the sidewall. Of course Uniroyal claimed it was an error on the part of GM, but did allow us to warranty the tires. However, the problem with those tires was cord/rubber separation (bubbles on the tires) rather than the cracking your tires show.

HickoryNut · Nov 9, 2004

Interesting statement about Sears buying clout. I've long suspected the models of tires available at Sears that you can't find anywhere else were extra value. Two recent personal experiences, the BFG Revelation economy passenger tire, decent tire with a good price. And the Michelin XC-LT which ain't cheap but after 15k miles on my dually they still look like new and are super performers. I've never seen either tire available anywhere else but Sears?