After rotating my tires, I am having trouble getting a thumping sound out of my front two tires. The tire store told me they had a very high number on road friction so they marked highs and lows, broke the beads and moved the tires on the rim but still could not get the number down. Therefore, they put them on the back of my car, which is where they were for the first 10000 miles. I now feel like I can never drive with them on the front of the car which means I can never rotate my tires...then they even charged me for the balancing after telling me basically the tires just do not match up with the rim.
2006-08-31 14:19:03 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
I believe what you're talking about is called Road Force balancing. It's not bull crap...it's for real. It's usually just an issue with brand new tires, but it could be with used as well. Did they tell you what the #'s were? Cars should be below 16 and trucks below 22, to be considered acceptable. The lower the # is, the better the balancing. What it does is it measures the radial runout of both the tire and the wheel, and then matches the high point to the low point so the end result is the tire/ wheel assembly is as close to a perfect circle as possible when measured from dead center to the outer circumference.
Your problem however could be caused by chopped tires due to lack of rotation. I'll bet you vehicle is either front wheel drive, all wheel drive or a 4x4...right? Tire rotation is real critical on those vehicles. Even if they could dial the Road force #'s down to 2 or 3, it won't correct the thumping noise. The tires are spent(junk) and best you can do is leave them on the rear until they get worse or you decide to replace them.
This should be a valuable lesson to you and anyone else that reads this...Todays vehicles require you to rotate your tires every other oil change or about 6K miles. 10K miles is only about 25% of what an average tire should get.
Sorry to say it...those tires are junk now.
2006-08-31 16:13:16 · answer #1 · answered by Imerc 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no such thing as a Road Friction Number (boy o boy,the things people try to get away with), although I gotta credit your tire guy with coming up with something that sounds "Official".
Tires are graded, by the RMA (Rubber Manufacturer's Association), by the UTQG (UniformTire Quality Grade) for 4 criteria:
Tread longevity, usually given as a number, i.e. 310.This indicates how long a tire's tread could be expected to last, given a base of 100. WARNING: This one is up to the MFG of the tire, and is not Govt tested.
Traction rating: This is either AA, A, B or C. This is Govt tested. The tire is tested on a Govt mandated test surface, with wet stopping power (straight ahead, no turns) being judged. The baseline for this test is C.
Temperature rating: this is either A, B or C. A test tire is spun on a Govt mandated wheel, under controlled test circumstances, until it reaches a high enough temperature that it disintegrates. The baseline for this test is C.
Hydroplaning resistance: this is a measure of the tire's tendency to stay in contact with the road during very wet conditions. When there is a lot of water on the road, there is a Bow Wave phenomenon that can occur. Simply put, the water that your tire meets can cause the tire to lift off the road surface. Obviously, without traction, a tire cannot guide the car. Tire MFGs try to avoid this. It is not (yet) Govt mandated
Rolling resistance(aka friction), is not tested, and, I say again, there is no such thing as a Road Friction Number.
Your tire shop attempted to Match Mount your tires, which is equalizing the harmonic high and low points on your existing rims and your new tires. This is a standard industry practice.
Your problem can be solved by a competent tire balance, preferably by a computer balancer. Everything else is just smoke and mirrors.
If your tires "thump", and they are correctly balanced, you may have a belt separation under the tread problem. This is that rarest of creatures, an actually "defective" tire. Replace it immediately, at the MFG's expense.
You may also have suspension-related problems.
Have your vehicle inspected by a ...Qualified......tech.
Sorry to be so long-winded, but this is important. Good luck.
.
2006-08-31 19:09:12 · answer #2 · answered by d_cider1 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think the place you got the tires from blew smoke up your ***.
The tires sound like they have a defect in them. Broken cords/belts or even slight flat spots in tread. Do they still make noise in the rear? If so, take them back..they are defective. Are the tires made by a reputable company or a fly-by-night NO NAME company? You get what you pay for.
As far as the 'road friction' number....again, another blast of smoke. And charging you again for balancing? That should be included with the mounting and balancing charge done from the start...not an additional balance charge after the first one. Rip off in my opinion.
Good luck in this situation. I hoped you learned something with this situation.
2006-08-31 14:29:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
silverstang is right on the money. bad shocks (or struts) on the rear can quickly put a wear pattern on tires that will make them noisy. Also poor alignment on the rear wheels could cause this problem. By the way, once the abnormal wear is on the tire it almost never goes away even if you correct the problem or move the tire to another position.
2006-08-31 14:32:26 · answer #4 · answered by Jason z 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well,,its normal for them to charge you for balancing them,,they did spend the time to do it,,but i agree with you,,now you cant ever rotate them and make them right,,i bought a set like that one time,,that if you tried to rotate them,,they would make the whole car shake,,i own a repair shop,,and i have seen a lot of tires that will do this if you don't rotate them in the first 2000 miles,,and after that you have to rotate them every few thousand to keep them wearing even,,if i was you id just drive them the way they are,,and get all the use i could out of them,,at least this way you get your money,s worth out of them,,that's about all you can do,,,good luck with them,,i hope this help,s.
2006-08-31 14:33:00 · answer #5 · answered by dodge man 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A thumping sound? Maybe shocks had worn a slight pattern in your rear tires, causing that noise. I'm surprised they didn't see that with the old tires they had removed when you bought those. Good luck.
2006-08-31 14:24:27 · answer #6 · answered by Silverstang 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What the hell???
The 'Tire Store' would have put two NEW tires on my rims.
What good are tires that can't be balanced.
PS -- they are balanced to a speed factor, NOT friction.
2006-08-31 14:27:36 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
actually 'lowering friction utilising wheels ability lowering the touch b/w the physique donning merchandise and the exterior of the line , subsequently friction could be decreased. diameter of the wheel have not got any relation with friction. increasing diameter is merely meant for overlaying greater distance in one turn.additionally the top of the vehicle could be greater desirable thereby. now, approximately variety........ style of wheels too have not got any direct relation with friction. if the burden is broader/heavier the vehicle could be able to grant it sufficient help.for this if we use something unlike wheels, friction would be greater desirable. so as to dodge it wheels are used perfect success!
2016-09-30 05:33:56 · answer #8 · answered by boland 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
did you go tires plus ???
they do have a machine that does what your talking about but they story you said they said is a bunch of sh*t. the tires, your shocks or both are bad.
i do this everyday as i manage a tire shop
2006-08-31 15:08:17 · answer #9 · answered by Christian 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the tire store is dishonest
2006-08-31 16:00:15 · answer #10 · answered by Pete D 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋