QuestionI have a 2007 Chevy Silverado ext cab on 26 inch lexani rims. The tires that I have are WANILI 305/30/26. I was drving and heard a whising sound comming from my tires. So I stoped and inspected them and saw my front two tires had cracks along the side walls. MY question is why did my tires get cracks? Is this normal for these kind of tires? Did air presre cause the cracks?
AnswerErick,
First, low profile are prone to cracks, so you have to make sure you have enough inflation pressure in them. Even then, there is so little sidewall to flex, they just do not like anything but absolutely smooth roads.
So let me do a calculation to see what inflation pressure you should have been using.
According to Tire Guides, your vehicle originally came with .... well, there are so many combinations, I can't really tell. But I can look at both ends of the spectrum and make some comments.
On the low end the tires coming on these trucks were P245/70R17 108S inflated to 35 psi. Your 26" tires have a load index of 109 or 110 plus they are Extra Load (XL)- and that means they are almost equivalent to the original tires but need to carry 41 psi to get the same load carrying capacity - and I usually recommend that low profile tires use 3 to 5 psi more to prevent damage to the rims.
On the high end, some versions of your truck (and I'm assuming you have a 1500) have tires as high as 113 load index - and that means that the 26" tires do not have enough load carrying capacity.
But there is good news. Perhaps Wanli will do a warranty on them. So find a Wanli dealer and see what comes out.
