Ring around my tires

[Willard]

Alright, so I have this ring around my tires. It appears that when I corner, I ride on the side of the tire. They are properly inflated, and the only thing wrong with the suspension is that I badly need four new shocks. The rings are worse on the back tires. Could bad shocks be putting too much stress on the tire for cornering, or is there something else I should be looking at? Is this even a problem?

 

[IZwack]

This depends on a few things.

First and foremost is the tire construction.. not all radial constructions are the same, and the sidewall thickness from tire to tire is of course different too -- which overall determines how "stiff" the sidewalls are. From what I've seen, Goodyear tires actually has somewhat of a "thin" sidewall compared to say BF Goodrich tires (All Terrain and Mud Terrain).

Second, age does make the sidewalls a little more "flimsy" after a while as a section of the sidewall is squeezed everytime it is at the bottom of the rotation. You might not see it but sun-baked tires also generate very tiny cracks as the compound is no longer as flexible so the only way it can deform is to crack. Somewhat related is the actual compound used, some are stiff, some are flimsy, some are grippy while others are very slippery.

Thirdly, slow down during those turns

And finally, don't park so close to the curb


Lets hope james t chimes in, he's the expert with tires.

 

[Willard]

well, yea goodyear's aren't my first choice, but the wallet was talking and they were cheap. they are fairly new, only about 5,000 miles on them tops. your probably right about the turns. i tend to push the limit there . so is it something i should be worried about, or just nothing more than an ugly ring?

 

[hunterdan]

Get some Westley's Bleche White, it will remove a lot of the dirt and make them look brand new. What air pressure are you running? Try bumping the pressure up a few pounds and see what that does.

Dan

 

[Willard]

i'm already at 35 psi, the max pressure its says on the tire.

 

[toypaseo]

So, the dark ring on the tire is from the sidewall rubbing on the ground...?

or is it just sidewall discolorization...?

 

[Willard]

anybody else?

 

[302Xplorer]

Spray simple green on it, wait 15 min. then rinse. Repeat if ness.

 

[Explorer93RDB]

Like the Man says Stay off the Curb !

 

[MountaineerGreen]

It doesn't look like a problem to me- I see it often. I don't know how to explain it, but it just occurs naturally while driving. Buy some white wall cleaner from an automotive detail supplier, spray it on, scrub your tires with a brush, and the ring will be gone.

 

[pumpkin]

I thought all "LT" tires were 40 p.s.i or greater

 

[MountaineerGreen]

Those aren't LT's- They are P rated tires.

 

[badge49]

Like the Man says Stay off the Curb !

Do much parallel parking?

 

[Willard]

nope, never parallel park, actually. just making sure my sometimes wild driving isn't messing up my tires :

 

[Anime]

I corner pretty hard with LT Michelin LTX M/S's, and never see any wear or marks outside of the tread, running 35-45 psi, so if hard cornering at max psi is still making your sidewalls meet the road, it may indeed just be flimsy sidewalls. Your best bet to check whats actually happening would be to get a tire crayon, and make a few lines on the outside shoulder of the tire, then take it out for a few corners, and see where the crayon is worn off. If it is indeed worn off on the sidewall, I'd say double check that alignment, you may have positive camber or something. A degree or two of negative camber and slight toe-in might help a bunch.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

Unless the tires are poorly made or severely under inflated, the sidewalls should never touch the ground. I doubt they are touching in this case. Road dust and grime will stick to sidewalls differently based on tire construction. I have detailed cars for years, scrubbed many a tire. I saw this many, many times- never on vehicles that were driven hard.