| tsmith215 |
I'm new to the forum. Own a 2003 MO (SL FWD) and like it very much. I have one issue, or maybe it's more than one, and I'm hoping you here can help me out.
When I purchased the vehicle (2nd owner) it came with after factory Rims and new tires (255/55/18) Sumitomo HTR Sport H/P. The ride was pretty good when I got it, just a slight vibration like the tires needed balanced.
I found out later that 255/55/18 tires should not even be on my MO. Over time what seems to be an up and down vibration started getting worse (more noticeable on a hot day with the AC on. I live in Arizona). I also noticed a slight left/right shimmy in the steering wheel, but NOT ALL THE TIME. After a couple visits to different dealers and a couple useless alignments I still have this issue. Shocks are good, tires balanced, alignment good, tire pressure is where it should be. No one can pinpoint this problem. I've noticed in the past few months that my tires have a feathering wear. But not your typical toe or alignment wear (at least I don't think). My feathering doesn't go with the tread as you go around the tire, but actually goes against the direction of the tread. Not this way > |||| as you look at the tread, but this way ===. On the inside of the tread you can see road dirt on one patch of tread and on the very next tread patch it has no road dirt at all. Very strange. Like my MO is bouncing along very fast and slightly causing this strange (at least strange to me) tire wear.
I hope I've explained this well, if not I can try to get photos tomorrow.
So my questions are this, and sorry for the lengthy post;
1. Will having the incorrect tire size cause this?
2. What could be causing this and how can I fix it?
3. What else can I check or have checked?
4. Anyone else have these tires? Maybe not in the same size, but same type?
They are telling me at the dealer to get new tires. That mine are crap and really made for a car, not an SUV. Well the tires are actually made for a light truck/SUV according to Sumitomo's website. I had two different places do an alignment and both stated that the alignment was not off or hardly off before doing the alignment. Tire pressure is always around 30psi. They've been balanced and rotated numerous times. This tread wear is on all four tires, although I think the wear started in the rear at first. As I stated before, the tires were practically new when I bought the SUV and I've had it a little over a year. This strange wear (I think) also causes a nice woo woo woo sound as I go down the highway (great!!).
I want my nice comfortable, to be expected, MO ride back. Please help!!! :(:confused: |
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| ekaxel |
| I don't understand the alignment issue, but 30 PSI seems way too low for any tire on a MO.... |
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| Eric L. |
I doubt having that slight change in tire size will cause abnormal wear, *if* the alignment is correct and suspension is ok.
Your tire inflation is way too low though - the factory spec is 33psi and I think even that is on the soft side. DId you check to see if it was a wheel balance issue? |
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| njjoe |
ts-
Welcome to the forum.
The guys are right about the air pressure, I would bump it up a bit (32-34 psi) to improve the ride, but I don't think that is the root cause of your problem. My suspicions suggest you look at the struts and shocks. The wear pattern you indicate suggests they are bad.
-njjoe |
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| mgthe3 |
yeah, from the description of every other tread block being worn it sounds like "cupping", which is literally your tire bouncing because of a strut or shock.
It starts usually in two places on the tire and then works its way around to the rest of the tire.
The shimmy?
I had no shimmy or vibration whatsoever on my 04's original tires. I got new ones and it appeared in less than 1000 miles and got worse as time went on. I had them replaced for free and begged for road force balancing. Twice.
I turned in the lease with a slight shimmy.
My new Mo has a slight vibration from balance at 80, at 82 it goes away.
So I try to go 78 :D |
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| tsmith215 |
I will pump up my pressure, but around 34psi the tread doesn't touch from edge to edge like it should, especially in the rear. I asked if they could tell if anything was wrong with my shocks or struts and they said no. How can I visually check struts or shocks myself? The push down test doesn't produce excess bounce and the struts don't appear to be leaking, but what else can I check?
I will be looking for a road force balance to see if that makes a difference. Shouldn't the dealer have this type of balancer?
Thanks for the replies, keep them coming. |
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| UncaDanno |
Under-inflation strikes again.
Check the door sticker. Probably says 33PSI. Running for a while at 30 will cause too much wear on the shoulders. Add to that the too-wide shoes and you have a LOT of wear, and cupping, on the shoulders.
When you bump the pressure up to where it should be, the shoulders won't contact the pavement like they should since they are over-worn.
Basically, the tires aren't going to perform like they should from this point on.
A few on this forum have noticed that a "road force" balance is required for the MO. It's a bit more expensive, but the balance is a lot truer than the other methods. |
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| tsmith215 |
| Ok, but the pressure seems to be only part of the problem in my opinion. I'll give it a shot though. The dealer did mention today that they do in fact do a road force balance, so that's good to know. |
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| njjoe |
quote:
Originally posted by tsmith215
The dealer did mention today that they do in fact do a road force balance, so that's good to know.
The tire dealer or the Nissan dealer? I find it very hard to believe that your local Nissan dealer has a Road Force machine. It is possible, just not likely.
-njjoe |
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| tsmith215 |
| I believe they (Nissan dealer) send all the tire work out, but the service rep volunteered the information on the road force balance without me even asking. But you bring up a good point, I need to ask him where they send my MO to get that done. |
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| nissanlove |
| could the tires be faulty? the difference from stock tire size is 3.3 percent(at 60 your actually doing 58) the lower profile tire should be driven at a higher pressure i think. i have 265 60's on the murano for the summer and i ride them at 40psi front and 36 rear. have they checked your front links(lower control arm link and sway links)? |
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| tsmith215 |
| Well my ride is improved with the road force balance and more pressure. I still vibrate too much, especially at freeway speeds. I'm going to rough it until these tires need replaced and then go to 265/60/18 instead of 255/55/18. |
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