My tires aren't round?

[2K1Xplorer]

I have a 2001 X Sport. I got new wheels put on last week. The guy who put them on and balenced them said my tires aren't round. What the hell, I only have 2300 miles on them. He said something about them messing up the alignment or something. Did the 2001s ship with Firestones or Goodyears, I have Goodyears on mine thats why I ask. I have no warrenty infomation on my tires, shouldn't they still be covered? If not what's a good "on road" tire for a 15x7 wheel (nothing low profile or off road).

 

[section525]

This reminds me of a funny story. I just shipped off some tires I sold on eBay last week and when I went into the FedEx place with the tires, the lady behind the counter asked me,

"what is the height of the tire?"

"31 inches," I said.

"what is the length?" she asked.

I paused, cause I thought this was an awefully dumb question. She then realized just how dumb it was.

"nevermind.. what is the depth?" she continued.

But maybe in your case this wasnt such a dumb question.


Anyway.. sorry for the long post.. but get some BFG AT KOs. 30s or 31s would look awesome on your sport!

 

[410Fortune]

The stock Goodyears are junk.

Good luck finding a tire that is truly round. Usually to get it exactly round you have to have the tires professionally balanced and "shaved"


Good road tires that last (you actually get your moneys worth) are Michellins, or BFgoodrich) Of course there are so many dang tire brands and only really 3 companies that make them your choices are endless.

I have had Michellins on most of my cars, and baby do they outlast most the other brands and they perform great too! BFG's are good tires too.

Pirelli makes a really good tire for your Explorer, they are a little pricey though....

You can do a ton of research online once you find a tire you like at a good price, read all kinds of stuff from people who have already tried them, thats the best way to go.

Dont fall for the 4 tires for $99 gag, thats just a ploy to get you in the door and you can forget about tread wear warranties, they never honor them.

Your best bet is to do the "chalk test" with your new tires. Make sure your X is aligned (not just within specs but acutally aligned true) and then rotate, rotate, rotate. I rotate every 3 oil changes (9000 miles) and I always check my tire pressures. A tire wont last very long at all if it is not balanced correctly, doesnt stay balanced, if your alignment is a little off, or if the tire pressure is wrong. that is the key to gettting your $$$$ worth out of tires.............know you tires

 

[benj75]

can you tell that your tires aren't round?

if there is a vibration after only 2300 miles on your new EX, i'd definately take it back to the dealer, tell them what the guy at sears said, and have them check your alignment.

if the dealer can't find anything wrong or won't replace the tires, give the tires some time to wear a little more before thinking of buying new ones. if there is a vibration, it can only get better or worse.

 

[MyExpWork]

LOL LMAO !!!!!!! Section525 that was great

 

[james t]

if they are out of round enough to mess up an alignment or cause vibration then more than likely the belts have slipped. no tire is perfectly round but if you can see that one end is bigger than the other and there is vibration at highway speed than this is probably the problem. if the belts have slipped, get them off the truck NOW. you are living on borrowed time. how do i know this? i build tires for a living.

 

[2K1Xplorer]

The steel belts in the tires? The reason he said that they where not round was because he had to put alot of weight on them to get them to balance. He said it's more then just normal non round ness.

 

[james t]

ah... just the balance, then? how much weight a tire takes to balance it doesnt really mean it is out-of-round. if it was out of round that bad, then they wouldnt balance at all and he wouldnt have mounted them on your X. no big deal, just certain parts of the tire are heavier than others. maybe had long splices in it, or whatever. no need to worry, they are not out-of-round if it took more weight than usual to balance them.

 

[Maniak]

Don't forget that a bent rim will cause you to need more weight. 2 of our rims are slightly bent (15x8 steel chrome mods)

.. No biggie.. those 2 tires on 3 oz to balance when the others use 2-2.5 Oz.. they can still be balanced.