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jberger Samba Member
Joined: November 17, 2003 Posts: 2476
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Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 5:25 pm Post subject: |
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I didn't see where you stated what kind of tire pressures your running.
In my experience, every aggressively lugged type tire I have ever seen on awd\4wd vans and trucks wear on the trailing edge of each lug. This is why they are cross rotated. The reason I ask of tire pressures is if the carcase of the tire is flexing more while rotating the cupping may be more pronounced over a shorter period of time. |
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scubabrian Samba Member
Joined: June 11, 2008 Posts: 117 Location: San Diego, CA
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Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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I've had these same tires on my van as well as on a couple of other Toyota 4x4's over the years. They have all cupped. I think the best you can do is make sure the alignment is good and rotate them frequently. _________________ Brian
85 Westfalia with 2.2L Subaru
brian-mchugh-uwphoto.com |
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Terry Kay Banned
Joined: June 22, 2003 Posts: 13331
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Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 9:57 pm Post subject: |
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Two reasons for front tire cupping, if all of your front end parts are guten tite.
Front end alignment, tire balancing.
If the front end is all good, have somebody with an alignment rack & tire balancer check this out. _________________ T.K. |
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0to60in6min Samba Member
Joined: November 27, 2006 Posts: 3414 Location: OR & CA (Oregon/California)
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Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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when I bought my 89' syncro it came with an almost new (about 300 miles) set of BFG. After about 1000 miles the front tires started to show some cupping.
So.. I said ... aaargh...time for new shocks ...! ! (also they are kind of soft for my liking)
I put in a set of O.M.EMU + new tie rods + new ball joints + balance + alignment... and they are OK now...
hope this help |
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rsbones Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2012 Posts: 35 Location: United States
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:39 am Post subject: |
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As mentioned, I wonder if tire pressure may play a role. I think a lot of people run these tires too low. They support 1720 lbs. at 65psi so if you calculate it out, to get the 1323 and 1433 lbs. front and rear of a vanagon, you need 50 psi and 55 psi. (Personally I'm running 45 and 50 in a usually empty carat model. But don't have enough miles yet to report tire wear success or failure). |
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OrganicMechanic Samba Member
Joined: September 07, 2009 Posts: 93 Location: St Louis MO
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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Bilsteins are rebuildable... _________________ Check Out the Bus Luv fB fan page...
click here to check out Bus Luv
for the love of all rear engine VW busses...bagged to beat, rusted to restored, we luv them all...
tell your friends and share the luv... |
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boof1306 Samba Member
Joined: July 10, 2010 Posts: 304 Location: MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 2:02 pm Post subject: |
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The shockabsorbers would have to be rediculously bad to effect tyre wear. Your problem is all about alignment. It may be that you have worn suspension components that don't allow the van to hold its alignment. What I don't understand is how can your tech make a call on the shockers causing the wear without putting the van on the wheel alignment rig and checking it? If it were a balance problem you would feel a vibration at speed.
In short, check all ball joints, bearings and bushes. Align all four wheels and rotate regularly. A feathered edge is unavoidable with a tyre like a BFG on a vanagon but it will be a lot better if you do the above. |
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davevickery Samba Member
Joined: July 16, 2005 Posts: 2887 Location: Fort Collins, CO
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 2:40 pm Post subject: |
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It isn't the tire or something inherent in the van, except that they are now old and often a little beaten up. As I mentioned, I had very minimal cupping on my syncro, just enough to wonder about it and I looked at other vans/trucks with this tire, some had it, some didn't. After seeing it bad on other vans I felt better about mine and didn't take it any further.
I just checked my 14" BFGs that I have driven on for a while. They are 9.5/32 vs 16 new, so they would have cupped by now and they couldn't be straighter. That is a 2wd van in good condition. |
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Terry Kay Banned
Joined: June 22, 2003 Posts: 13331
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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Alignment / balancing--and last but not the least is prudent rotation of the lugger's or they have a preponerance of cupping out.
FOMCO twin I-Beam front ends are terrible on lugged tires-
Looking at one van that may be the same as your's and finding that some are cupped out & some are not, means one thing.
A few may have a tight & aligned front ends--and a few may not.
If the front end is plowing at all--just a hair--it'll eat them tires strange. _________________ T.K. |
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bobhill8 Samba Member
Joined: June 09, 2017 Posts: 734 Location: MA
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 7:02 am Post subject: Re: BFG AT tread cupping.. source? New shocks needed? |
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My van was making a rotational wump, wump wump sound, and as usual, I didn't know what was causing it. I figured it was tire related though, so I took one of my BFG AT2's off - passenger front. Felt and saw the wear pattern on the outer edge. Hopefully you can see it in the pic toward the bottom.
Soon learned it was called feathering. Each individual tread was sloped dramatically. Did some more reading and decided the short term course of action was tire rotation. Should have been done long ago. Did the diagonal swap of all four and it is much quieter now - at least Vanagon quiet. I don't think I'm going to rush out and get an alignment - I've got some suspension work to do. Already have new Bilstien HD's. I'm sure it's old ball joints, bushings, etc. |
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vanatic Samba Member
Joined: November 17, 2007 Posts: 82 Location: Norman, OK
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 10:46 am Post subject: Re: BFG AT tread cupping.. source? New shocks needed? |
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Hmm. I've recently experienced feathering on the front, too. It began after I installed a new steering rack and alignment. All of my suspension components are new except for the springs and OMEs. I'm installing Fox adjustables so I'll be getting another alignment. Hopefully that solves it. |
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