Tire wear questions

Weave

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Sep-01-01 AT 10:10PM (EDT)[/font][p]I have received many e-mails on questions related to truck tire wear, esp. front tire cupping on Freightliner FL's and GMC C/D units.
I had this problem on my own FL70. The solution, finally found through 2 years of trial and error, is indeed alignment.
Once the cupping starts, it's just about impossible to stop until the tires are replaced and the front end is aligned. It is not really a dangerous thing, it just looks bad.
My shop uses the "Beeline" computerized system which is excellent and gives a printout of the results. Have the front wheel bearings examined for excessive wear when getting your truck aligned. I am using BF Goodrich ST234 front tires and they have shown no signs of cupping after a year and a half.
I had centramatic balancers when I had the cupping problem so I can say they don't do anything to prevent it. Always replace your front shocks when getting new tires- they are cheap.
The other common question is the use of cat eyes on rears. I don't have them myself but my father has them on his D unit. Do they work? Well, sort of. They will keep both tires inflated evenly all the time, and make adding air and getting it to the proper pressure a snap. But they also add additional hoses and fittings that can be prone to leak more so than just having valve stems. Just about every time I look at the ones on my father's truck they indicate "severe underinflation". What would scare me the most is if something should happen to get up into the rear wheel and damage a cat eye hose. Both tires will go flat (never say never). I'm just going to continue with the good 'ol gauge.
--Weave--
(These comments were observations and personal opinions based on my experiences that I hope can be of help. :p )
 
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