Alignment req or under inflated at 25K miles?

consoleman · July 8, 2020

I have a 2015 Chevy Silverado 1500 that has 25,000 miles with the stock bridgestone dueler rh-s 285/45 R22 tires. I got a nail and saw the edges on both front tires are worn down to the point of needing to be replaced. Im replacing the bridgestone with michelin defender ltx m/s.

I have wear on the inside and outside edges of both front tires (rears are ok), leading me to think its just under inflated. I usually run at the recommended 35psi but at times it runs lower at 30 psi (I've been lazy). I think when the toe need adjusting you only get wear on one edge on the left tire and the opposite edge on the right tire. That is unless you also have your camber off and your toe is off.

My truck does not have any pull, so i don't think its a alignment issue, but I wanted your guys' opinion. I worry if i take it in to pay for a alignment check, they will print out a alignment inspection from another truck to make it seem like i need an alignment or try to align it and mess it up either way. I don't have a trusted shop in Houston that i know of.

Edited July 8, 2020 by consoleman

Snowcamo · July 8, 2020

Heavily under inflated.

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gearheadesw · July 8, 2020

Pump up your tires, man. That's the only thing that touches the ground, take care of them, they'll kill you if you let them.....

BlancoSilverado · July 8, 2020

Yes the picture is correct.

MaverickZ71 · July 8, 2020

Make sure you inflate them to 35psi COLD. That means 35psi at the coldest temp of the current season, before driving. Test and adjust tire inflations for each change of season. Rule of thumb for standard air (not nitrogen) is that each 10F rise in temperature adds approx 1 psi. So if they're at 35psi when it's hot out and you've been driving on the freeway, you may only be at 28psi cold, which is underinflated. If you run 35psi cold like you're supposed to, you may see 41-42 psi when it's hot and you've been driving on the freeway. Nothing at all wrong with that. Got 76K miles out of my last set of RH-S's (they wore even clear down to the inside tread treadwear indicators) by doing this and doing my own tire rotations (rears straight to front and fronts crossing over to rear) twice a year at oil changes. It's normal for the outside tread blocks on the front to get rounded off a little due to turning around corners, especially with the GM factory alignment settings, but then when you do a tire rotation, if properly inflated, 5000-8000 miles on the rear even out the treadwear again.

Edited July 8, 2020 by MaverickZ71

consoleman · July 8, 2020

4 hours ago, MaverickZ71 said:

Make sure you inflate them to 35psi COLD. That means 35psi at the coldest temp of the current season, before driving. Test and adjust tire inflations for each change of season. Rule of thumb for standard air (not nitrogen) is that each 10F rise in temperature adds approx 1 psi. So if they're at 35psi when it's hot out and you've been driving on the freeway, you may only be at 28psi cold, which is underinflated. If you run 35psi cold like you're supposed to, you may see 41-42 psi when it's hot and you've been driving on the freeway. Nothing at all wrong with that. Got 76K miles out of my last set of RH-S's (they wore even clear down to the inside tread treadwear indicators) by doing this and doing my own tire rotations (rears straight to front and fronts crossing over to rear) twice a year at oil changes. It's normal for the outside tread blocks on the front to get rounded off a little due to turning around corners, especially with the GM factory alignment settings, but then when you do a tire rotation, if properly inflated, 5000-8000 miles on the rear even out the treadwear again.

Thanks for your help. I will have to be sure and check the psi on a normal basis.

So, running my front tires underinflated, not rotating the tires in 18K miles, and turning wear all were the perfect recipe for wearing edges on my fronts. I don’t think the tire rotation had much to do with it but hey you never know.

Is there a reason my back tires are not showing signs of wear like the front? I know they’re fixed, but you would think that they would somewhat resemble the edge tread wear as my front tires. I ordered a tire depth guage and will keep a closer eye from now on.

Eddie 70 · July 8, 2020

Your rear tires have zero toe in, zero camber, zero caster. They run perfectly flat on the ground at all times. That is the reason they wear flat across the tread if reasonably inflated. The fronts have to have camber, caster and toe in or else your truck would wander all over the road and require constant driver input to maintain a straight line.