Question about uneven tire wear

[Alex K]

So as the title states I need some help with my uneven tire wear. I have a 2005 explorer xlt and roughly a year or year and a half ago I put mud terrain tires on it.. Kind of a dumb idea, but it looked so good with the leveling kit and all. Anyways over time I've replaced both upper and lower ball joint. Sway bar bushings and endlink, shocks/struts. Now the two front tires the closest thing I can compare it to is cupping or scalloping? It's weird because it's on every other tread on both the inside and outside of the tire. So they are torn up. Now when it started I rotated them to the back and those straightened out, but then the other two did it when I put them on the front. Took it to a mechanic, and he said it was the inner and outer tie rods, on both the front and back and a wheel bearing. Wanted $600 bucks to do it all. Took it to another shop for a second opinion. This one I know is ASE certified. He looked and he checked everything, said it was all tight and said that in his opinion, the tires I put on there are so heavy that on the front they bounce a bit from highway speed that it made those pockets that just deepened over time, and he couldn't find one suspension part that was loose or needed attention. He did mention he doesn't do alignments so it could be that as well. He recommended going back to regular all season tires and that's all. Just wondering it that sounded right? I don't want to blow $600 bucks, but I don't want to buy new tires again just to have it keep happening. Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

 

[MrPulldown]

When was the last time you had an alignment done. Mudders always wear funny. kind of like the lugs on a motocross tire if ridden on the pavement. The back of each lug gets worn down more than the front. What is your tire pressure. The fact that only the edges are worn funny (and both edges) suggest that you might be under inflated. Put some tape on the tire. Drive around a little look at the tape. If the edges are worn your under inflated. If the center is worn you are over inflated.

 

[Alex K]

I'll be honest it's been a while on the alignment, but I have one set up for tomorrow, tire pressure was on point as well. Maybe I wasn't super clear but the wear is all across the tire, not just on the outside.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I think you’ll find your toe is set incorrectly. Anytime you change front suspension parts you need an alignment or this is almost sure to happen.

 

[Alex K]

Just went to get an alignment, this shop said everything the first shop did. Rear tie rod ends, one front inner tie rod, and a wheel bearing.. So I guess I'll just go ahead and get it done since 2 different shops are saying these exact items need fixed.