QuestionHi,
I believe my Wrangler mud tires have worn irregularly in "heel and toe" fashion. Each knob looks like a ramp now. I have tried to research online but to know avial, how do I correct this?? I have already moved the front (heal/toe tires) to the back and the back (normal) tires to the front. I didn't cross them when I rotated them. Was that good? Thanks for you help.
Parker
AnswerParker,
Your first step would be to get at the source of the problem.
Irregular wear is caused by misalignment and aggravated by insufficient inflation pressure and insufficient rotation practices.
My experience says that the published alignment tolerances are too wide. Not the target value, but the allowable deviation from that value. I think it ought to be half of what is published.
Put another way, the alignment should be within the inner half of the spec.
You should be aware that even vehicles that do not have a pull can be out of alignment. There are settings where one out of spec condition is offset by another out of spec condition – typically camber vs toe.
Rotating the tires will help develop a new wear pattern - and on 4X4's the preferred patterns involves cross rotation (switching sides as well as front to rear).
But you should be aware that a slight amount of heel and toe wear is to be expected. It is the natural result of a one side of the lug entering the footprint and the other side exiting. Those motions are different and the result is heel and toe wear. But if a tires stays in one position too long - or the alignment is off - then the amount becomes excessive.
Also, the need that vehicles have for a bit of front toe in (for stability) means the front tires will show heel and toe wear first.
But it is possible that the wear has gone too far, and even fixing the alignment and rotating the tires will not result in a new wear pattern that eliminates the old wear pattern. Only time will tell. Needless to say, replacing the tires will always "fix" the problem.
