[WildC70]

so i took my car to put my summer tires on and the guy at discount tire told me that both of my front tires are worn bad due to weak suspension. my car only has 74,000 miles on it could my socks be bad? what should i look for up front to be worn out b.t.w the car tracks straight as an arrow doing 80mhp. when i got the car the rims where a little bent and i had them straightened., the tries have 45000~ miles on them. when you run your hand on the tire they feel like a wave just on the inside of the tire. could some one please explain in detail how bad suspension can wear tires ? thanks

 

[LloydDobler]

Well, any dips in the tire indicate soft shocks, they allow the wheel to bounce up and down just a tiny bit, and once the tires get a slight bit of a dip in them, the shocks can't smooth it out and it gets worse. The dip actually causes the wheel to move up and down without the shock controlling it. At least, that's what the tire shops all say so they can sell you shocks.<p>Yes, it's quite possible that at 74k your shocks are getting worn out, but if the tires made it 45k with no major wear, just a minor feathering, then they're just trying to sell you new shocks and labor to put them in. I wouldn't worry about it one bit. On the other hand, don't be afraid to get the alignment checked every year, as it can go out slightly and also cause tire feathering even though the car still drives straight.<p>Also, you're kinda nearing end of life for many of the front suspension bushings and stuff. I would expect to need to change control arms and tie rods and things like that sometime in the next two years, but if the car drives straight and doesn't bounce, make noise, or feel squishy, don't worry about it too much.

 

[Chilled Man]

? bad socks ? <p><IMG SRC="http://estrip.org/elmwood/users/paul/images/1005/mattSocks5933.jpg" BORDER="0"><p><IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://www.vwvortex.com/vwbb/tongue.gif" BORDER="0">

 

[WildC70]

Re: (LloydDobler)

i would not say its minor feathering the dips are quite noticeable, when i bought the car in july the wheels where bent i had then straightened and balanced, i did not notice any wear but the car got driven 2500+ miles on the highway i got home to fort Collins then put snow tires on in January and yesterday had discount tire put my normal wheels and summer tires back on, and they noticed the wear was pretty bad. the dips are probably a couple of mm deep and only on the inside of the tire. and it is both front tires not the rear.

 

[Chilled Man]

I would of said your alignement was out more then anything else

 

[WildC70]

Re: (Chilled Man)

if the wheels were out of round or not balanced correctly could i cause this effect of dips? i really dont know the life on the tire i was just guessing the miles so i could be way off.

 

[Token]

Bad tires = bad alignment, bad bearings, bad tyres.<p>Bad socks = lack of detergent, lack of new socks, lack of washing machine, lack of wife.

 

[flat_six]

Re: (Token)

Bad socks is certainly preferable to no socks at all - an unhealthy condition which may be driven by aforementioned lack of wife. <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://www.vwvortex.com/vwbb/eek.gif" BORDER="0"> <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://www.vwvortex.com/vwbb/biggrin.gif" BORDER="0">

 

[MKC70]

Re: (Chilled Man)

That's what you get when you do not rotate your socks properly.