Odd tire wear

Alexey · #1 05-17-2022, 02:55 PM

What could the reason for such tire wear? The tread is pitting both inside and outside...

Ken07AOVette · #2 05-17-2022, 02:59 PM

Paging Tirebob, white courtesy phone....

CBintheNorth · #3 05-17-2022, 03:00 PM

What kind of tires are they?
I don't think anything mechanical is your cause.

fishtank · #4 05-17-2022, 03:03 PM

Might just a quality control issue ? What the brand name and how old are they ?

tirebob · #5 05-17-2022, 03:04 PM

I would need to see them in person as pictures do not show the subtleties, but that is almost certainly chunking and not wear. Usually caused by slipping and/or spinning on some kind of rough/sharp edged surface like shale, gravel, caught a grate etc... It has smoothed a little with wear in after the fact.

Peace Meal Farm · #6 05-17-2022, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tirebob

I would need to see them in person as pictures do not show the subtleties, but that is almost certainly chunking and not wear. Usually caused by slipping and/or spinning on some kind of rough/sharp edged surface like shale, gravel, caught a grate etc... It has smoothed a little with wear in after the fact.

This, perhaps combined with a bit of underinflation?

Alexey · #7 05-17-2022, 05:22 PM

These were Continental Truecontact.

The vehicle is equipped with pressure monitoring system, so under inflation should not be a cause.

Rough roads? Possibly, but I've driven the same roads for many years (80/20 city/country split) and never had issues like that.

MyAlberta · #8 05-17-2022, 05:40 PM

Did some hunting in BCs Gold Bridge area. 4 flats over the week and all tires replaced after the trip. Sharp rocks used for road crush tore the heck out those tires. Thank heavens for Pioneer Pete’s tire machine.

tirebob · #9 05-17-2022, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexey

These were Continental Truecontact.

The vehicle is equipped with pressure monitoring system, so under inflation should not be a cause.

Rough roads? Possibly, but I've driven the same roads for many years (80/20 city/country split) and never had issues like that.

Not just rough roads... It could be gravel on a hill and slipping or spinning (think when it is snowy/icy etc). It could be locking up the brakes and sliding on crappy stuff. It could be bad roads.

Don't know what to say that will convince you but it happens and almost never does anyone realize it happened until they are taking off tires and see it. If it was a defect situation I would expect to see other small surface blisters still popping up and even then, the issues that end up showing wouldn't usually present as what looks like undercuts and chunks out.

Like I said though, I am only going by a pic off of a forum, so I won't go as far to say it is exactly what I am indicating. I will say, if it is defective compounding causing your issue, it would not be something that just presents in a single tire randomly but instead it would be an issue with an entire production batch and all the tires would be doing it from the same series.

You never know. It might be worth asking Can Tire if they have been experiencing it with other clients (the True Contact is not actually a Continental product. It is a product made by Conti for Can Tire. What we called a private label usually but their buying power is so huge Conti is willing to label it with their name to get the contracts) and if it is a known regular issue then you might be able to get some concession, but truthfully I have not heard of an issue with these before.

vinny · #10 05-17-2022, 07:47 PM

I have a set of Toyo Open Country AT’s that are doing that right across the tire. Only on the fronts. Like jagged pieces ripping out of the treads. Relatively new on an F 350.

amosfella · #11 05-17-2022, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinny

I have a set of Toyo Open Country AT’s that are doing that right across the tire. Only on the fronts. Like jagged pieces ripping out of the treads. Relatively new on an F 350.

death wobble??

fed · #12 05-17-2022, 08:04 PM

Sounds like toe is out to me. Bad piks to judge bye

Dewey Cox · #13 05-17-2022, 08:30 PM

Maybe a blue heeler was chewing on them.

Travco1 · #14 05-17-2022, 09:22 PM

ball joints or tie rod ends getting a little slop in them. Maybe.

RandyBoBandy · #15 05-17-2022, 09:23 PM

Pic's are inconclusive

vinny · #16 05-17-2022, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amosfella

death wobble??

Nope.

58thecat · #17 05-18-2022, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travco1

ball joints or tie rod ends getting a little slop in them. Maybe.

This was my fix a few years ago.

Alexey · #18 05-18-2022, 12:56 PM

Thanks all for the feedback.

I should've mentioned that the damage is more or less symmetrical on both front Conti tires and there is no chunking on the similar age winter set of Micheline's.

Tires are 3.5 y.o. and has seen 30,000 to 40,000 km.

Given that, are the Contie's just piece of junk or indication of suspension issues as some suggested? Just thinking what to do next...

tirebob · #19 05-18-2022, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexey

Thanks all for the feedback.

I should've mentioned that the damage is more or less symmetrical on both front Conti tires and there is no chunking on the similar age winter set of Micheline's.

Tires are 3.5 y.o. and has seen 30,000 to 40,000 km.

Given that, are the Contie's just piece of junk or indication of suspension issues as some suggested? Just thinking what to do next...

I don't know if you noted in one of my posts, but understand those are not an actual Conti. They are just a private build by Conti for CT so you can expect some design differences overall. That is not indicative of tires across the entire Conti line-up. Just as in anything, you have some models within a brand that are radically different from each other. Different compounds, cord structures, casing thicknesses, bead bundles etc will all affect how a tire performs and behaves in a variety of situations.

Think of it like a vehicle. You might be a guy who loves Chevy, but if you try and compared the quality of a Corvette to a Sonic, it isn't even possible. The only thing similar to each other is the bowtie on the grill. Every other aspect is radically different.

CBintheNorth · #20 05-18-2022, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexey

Thanks all for the feedback.

I should've mentioned that the damage is more or less symmetrical on both front Conti tires and there is no chunking on the similar age winter set of Micheline's.

Tires are 3.5 y.o. and has seen 30,000 to 40,000 km.

Given that, are the Contie's just piece of junk or indication of suspension issues as some suggested? Just thinking what to do next...

Given that your other tires aren't doing that on the same vehicle, I'd say it's not a suspension issue.
Being the front tires, I assume it is a front wheel drive vehicle?
Did you by chance have tire chains on at any point?

I agree with Bob, it looks like damage from a very jagged surface.

PS. I would never buy tires from CT. Even brand name tires. They seem to be sub-par.
I bought a set of Coopers there a long time ago and they lasted half as long as the identical tire bought previously, from a tire shop.
Almost like how tires on a brand new vehicle seem to last half as long as the same tire purchased somewhere else.

tirebob · #21 05-18-2022, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBintheNorth

Given that your other tires aren't doing that on the same vehicle, I'd say it's not a suspension issue.
Being the front tires, I assume it is a front wheel drive vehicle?
Did you by chance have tire chains on at any point?

I agree with Bob, it looks like damage from a very jagged surface.

Being just the front and not the rear it could actually be an issue in the front end somewhere contributing to it. Not saying the direct cause, but if things are flapping around up there under load (exaggerating for effect lol) it can certainly make a small problem worse...

There are a lot of variables here to be sure and the place to start is with a front end inspection by a mechanic you trust, but definitely talk to a tire expert on the tire itself. I know lots of mechanics who are amazing at what they do, but I have run into very few who are actually educated in the specialized area of tires and stay on top of what is always happening and changing in the technical areas of such (no knock on any mechanic, but it just isn't an area of focus for them).

CBintheNorth · #22 05-18-2022, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tirebob

Being just the front and not the rear it could actually be an issue in the front end somewhere contributing to it. Not saying the direct cause, but if things are flapping around up there under load (exaggerating for effect lol) it can certainly make a small problem worse...

There are a lot of variables here to be sure and the place to start is with a front end inspection by a mechanic you trust, but definitely talk to a tire expert on the tire itself. I know lots of mechanics who are amazing at what they do, but I have run into very few who are actually educated in the specialized area of tires and stay on top of what is always happening and changing in the technical areas of such (no knock on any mechanic, but it just isn't an area of focus for them).

But it's not doing it on this winter tires. If it was a suspension issue, in theory it should happen to any tire.
Granted, it could be an issue that just started, but the jagged parts have smoothed off and there are no new tears which leads me to believe it was a temporary issue.
Would be interesting to see if it continues to get worse on only those front tires.

tirebob · #23 05-18-2022, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBintheNorth

But it's not doing it on this winter tires. If it was a suspension issue, in theory it should happen to any tire.
Granted, it could be an issue that just started, but the jagged parts have smoothed off and there are no new tears which leads me to believe it was a temporary issue.
Would be interesting to see if it continues to get worse on only those front tires.

I do agree in principle for sure, but I am thinking more along the lines of the tires got chunked up, and the wagging around can contribute to increasing the after affect (scrubbing off the cut flaps and chunks etc). It can even contribute to increased heat build up in the tire and in turn making the compounding easier to chunk off, so even though the other tires didn't do it, that was more because they did not end up in the same situation that caused the damage.

I still think they experienced something physical just going by experience and knowing that is the most common issue, but I will be the first to say even though 20 times it is from one thing, that doesn't mean it can't be from something else once.

amosfella · #24 05-18-2022, 06:38 PM

It could be that the fronts were under inflated for that particular tire. Might not show up on the TPMS, but still be a problem do to compound and ply stiffness, etc.

Try driving 30 miles, and see how hot the tires are. If they're hot, or too hot to touch comfortable, there's not enough air in the tire. Add 5 PSI and try again. Each tire has a sweet spot pressure wise that it likes to run at.