Tire time need thoughts on slight size change

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mcarlo86

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A good tire place should have a machine that can machine the high spots of rubber off, but no one does. but tire manufacturers with tighter tolerances are less likely to have this problem,

Interesting that you mention this. I have never seen or heard of any tire shops that do this anymore, but my dad tells stories of back in the early 70's when he was working in an auto parts store that they had just such a machine and they used it to "make the tires round."
 

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Interesting that you mention this. I have never seen or heard of any tire shops that do this anymore, but my dad tells stories of back in the early 70's when he was working in an auto parts store that they had just such a machine and they used it to "make the tires round."

Yeah, shaving tires isn’t a thing anymore. Hasn’t been for many moons. Except in performance applications.
 

Grit dog

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And know that is very much a possibility, if that is the case I know it'll settle down. I've had the square 2 years and never had new tires on it. DOT codes on the old Toyo's show they were 15 years old, so you know those things where hard as well.

Oh yeah, they were crusty. Makes sense why you didn’t like them. Toyo AT 2 or AT3 are about the best all around tire for wet/snow traction, quiet ride and tire life. Hence why they’re so ‘spensive.
 

AuroraGirl

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Interesting that you mention this. I have never seen or heard of any tire shops that do this anymore, but my dad tells stories of back in the early 70's when he was working in an auto parts store that they had just such a machine and they used it to "make the tires round."
My service information talks about it is all o know about it. Buick does not recommend the removal of tire material to correct run out or variations but instead use match mounting and indexing to axle\knuckles, shims to jack up a rotor for brakes etc instead
 

SirRobyn0

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wider tread in front is gonna make steering harder unless in normal driving you break traction steering which is a dangerous case of understeer ooooo
My truck does it in winter but i dont like to use it in winter. its just not the best for it, esp since the brakes arent good yet. both of them

So far I have not seen any changes in steering on the road other than the before mentioned floatyness which I think we a pretty sure it's just tread squirm / new tires break in whatever you want to call it. We use to warn people of this sometimes when I worked at a tire store, but I've never personally experienced it before now. And the days of me working for Firestone feels so long ago now.....

date stamps on a 2000+ tire is{ DOT (wwyy) } while on older tires than 2000 it was DOT [wwy)

so a 1420 is 14th week of 2020 while a 319 could be 31st week of 1979, 1989, 1999

Yes that's right, I'm not at work so I don't know exactly what was on the tires but it was a 4 digit DOT. I left the tire business in the early 2000's so I remember all the hubbub when the 4 digit date codes came out.

@SirRobyn0 . that's NOT a lot of weight for that large of tire. Seems as tho you got a good set, some are not that easily balanced. I have always believed that it takes a few miles for the new tires to "seat" to the rims, hence the rebalance if you get a little "bounce". What kind of balancer do you use?...good for you on the wheels!!!

I agree with tires seating to the rim. Off hand I don't remember brand. It's super fancy with a computer monitor. You don't even have to measure the wheel or nothin' the thing does all that with Lasers and tells you where to put the weight. Stops the tire where you need it and shines a red laser where to hammer the weights. When I think of mounting tires I still think of coats 40/40 machines and bubble balancers....

Interesting that you mention this. I have never seen or heard of any tire shops that do this anymore, but my dad tells stories of back in the early 70's when he was working in an auto parts store that they had just such a machine and they used it to "make the tires round."

My service information talks about it is all o know about it. Buick does not recommend the removal of tire material to correct run out or variations but instead use match mounting and indexing to axle\knuckles, shims to jack up a rotor for brakes etc instead

I think that stuff has died thanks to radial tires and all the improvements in roundness and moldings.
 

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I had tire squirm in my truck after new tires, but i think its because the rear tires went from no traction to having a LOT esp compared to the HT up front. In addition, the truck has no sway bars its just base model f150, it has a **** load of worn parts in the front end, and its probably not aligned. add a little light rear and it wants to jive
 

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Oh yeah, they were crusty. Makes sense why you didn’t like them. Toyo AT 2 or AT3 are about the best all around tire for wet/snow traction, quiet ride and tire life. Hence why they’re so ‘spensive.

I don't know, I was thinking about this after I went outside. My Dodge had some kind of Toyo open country on it when I bought it in 2002, but I no longer remember much about them, and of course the square with the Toyo ATs. I was not impressed with either set. I would have had the Toyo's off the square sooner if it hadn't been for my reduced income this last year. They were quieter than the Grabber's are, that's about the only thing. Honestly I don't hear the grabbers until I roll the window down. My first drive in the rain with the grabber's was much better and the Toyo's seemed to want to float and spin on even a little mud at the farm. But I have to remember the Toyo's were old and hard so it's not really a fair comparison.
 

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^And I’m not considering tires that should already be aged out of service or whatever their tires were 20 years ago or more. Just my experience in recent years with new tires.
 

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Well I did my first tow with the trailer today since installing the tires. First had to get the trailer out of it's parking spot. Maneuvering it out involves getting the front tires of the truck off the turn around area into a bit of dirt / mud. With the old tires this usually caused some trouble getting it to turn. This morning it was no problem. The drive there and back was uneventful, a lot of hills, curves and varying of speed. I will say the wider tires definitely make a difference in stability. I've also got to get that re-gear done.... 3.41's just don't cut it in the hills.

And because we need pics.
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bucket

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^^^Yep, after my findings in recent years, I will never ever go back to the 235/85 size again.
 

bucket

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Hey could you do me a favor since you have those mounted on stock wheels? I'd love to run those on our van, but tire clearance may be an issue. An actual OD measurement and tread width measurement would be beneficial if it's not too much trouble.
 

SirRobyn0

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Hey could you do me a favor since you have those mounted on stock wheels? I'd love to run those on our van, but tire clearance may be an issue. An actual OD measurement and tread width measurement would be beneficial if it's not too much trouble.

You bet, I will do it tomorrow and post back. Thanks for the advice, specifically mentioning towing stability and front end plow on the soft stuff. 265's were never on my radar until then. Plus the wider AT tire sure looks good!

And thanks to everyone that gave advise, thoughts, posted pics ect. If you didn't know before I started managing the shop I'm at now I worked most of my carrier first for Firestone and later Goodyear. But knowing about tires does not replace real world use and experience on a particular vehicle. You all gave that and I appreciate it.
 
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SirRobyn0

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Hey could you do me a favor since you have those mounted on stock wheels? I'd love to run those on our van, but tire clearance may be an issue. An actual OD measurement and tread width measurement would be beneficial if it's not too much trouble.
I'm sorry Andy it was one thing after another at the farm today and I did not take the measurements. I'll be at work tomorrow with the truck so I'll get them for you then.
 

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I'm running Mastercraft Courser AXT LT265/75R16 on my 2wd 1980. Can't complain at all, takes the burnouts pretty good haha. When it's tire time though i'll most likely be going to @FireTruck1984 's BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A s. I've always thought those look sexy on Squares, especially 4wd

I don't know the size exactly on my project Jimmy, but i currently have the old dry-rotting Super Swampers on it, 35s, they will be replaced but kept in that ballpark. The look and stance is great. Below is the best picture i currently have of them/stance

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bucket

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I'm sorry Andy it was one thing after another at the farm today and I did not take the measurements. I'll be at work tomorrow with the truck so I'll get them for you then.

No rush!
 

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