Cupping/Feathering & Recommend New Tires

[blacstar]

kinda of an open question. cupping could be caused by tires being out of balance, worn shocks, or just plain junk tires. feathering could be just a toe adjustment.
is this the first set of tires this happened to? how/where was the frame hit? how bad is the alignment? sometimes the factory spec cause tire wear. I personally just read my tire and adjust accordingly if its excessive.(or tell the guy/girl that is doing the alignment to change it)

[bangbangskeetskeet]

If youre looking for better tires in the same size range I recommend Michelin Lattitude Tours. Have them on my truck and they ride SO nice. I had 285/60/18 BFG gForce TA's and they rode like ass compared to the Michelins. Plus the Michelin hooks WAY better than the BFG's and will last a hell of a lot longer.

[2Kchevy]

Thanks for all the replies. To answer all the questions and ask a few more....

It has been 15K since I last rotated and it was 12K before then, so not as often as I thought.

The last set of tires I replaced showed a similar wear pattern around the outer edges.

As far as the hubs, what is a quick and dirty way to check if they are loose?

Will running 285s on a 8" wide rim be too tight of a fit or bulge too much where the edges may not grab as well?

Frame was hit on the front passenger side and slightly pushed the frame more towards the driver side.

Here are the actual specs for the frame and alignment. Let me know if you see something I am missing. The written comments are from me. Thx!

Frame -->
Alignment -->

[kerrige]

Are any of the belts on the tires thrown? I have seen that cause odd and premature wear. Don't get the kuhmos they are cheap for a reason and hated mine. I love my hankooks but the 18's are hard to come by in good sizes. The nittos are quite often compared to hankooks and have some raving fans out there.

[blacstar]

are the tires cupping on the inside or outside? any pics of the tires? are the adjustments to the truck maxed out? how does the truck follow road crown at 75?

[5speedsilverado]

Will running 285s on a 8" wide rim be too tight of a fit or bulge too much where the edges may not grab as well?

just mounted some 285/60 r17 on my 8" wide wheels yesterday, the fit well on the wheel and dont bulge much at all

[RS/SS 4.8]

Is that 8 mm in by the suspension points. If this is after repairs than that can cause several problems. General tolerance is 3/-3 mm or less. Its been a while since I have measured a frame.

[MrHorsepowerLSx]

You already have 30k+ miles on them and they are a 50-60k mile tire. You are more then half way past their life expectancy, and if you are now just noticing "tire wear", I wouldn't worry about it, I would recommend rotating them more often to keep them more " square". And the alignment specs you posted were from 2008, has the truck been re-aligned or checked for worn parts. You should be rotating your tires every 3-5k ...well every oil change, and most people drive 12-15k a year, so if you are rotating your tires once a year, there is going to be a considerable amount of tire "wear". And a quick way to check the hubs is to jack up the truck one side at a time just enough to get the front tire off the ground and stick a large pry bar under the tire,and pry against the ground and "lift up and down in rapid succession" this up and down movement should transfer any "free play" through the pry bar into your hand and it will signify worn hubs. If it is tight and you don't feel anything, write down the mileage of the truck when you checked the hubs and then check them again in the next 15k miles. I hope this helps you out

[5speedsilverado]

And a quick way to check the hubs is to jack up the truck one side at a time just enough to get the front tire off the ground and stick a large pry bar under the tire,and pry against the ground and "lift up and down in rapid succession" this up and down movement should transfer any "free play" through the pry bar into your hand and it will signify worn hubs. If it is tight and you don't feel anything, write down the mileage of the truck when you checked the hubs and then check them again in the next 15k miles. I hope this helps you out

lower ball joint is what you just described, hub is grab the top of the tire with one hand and the bottom with the other and push/pull opposite of each other