Getting The Most Out Of Your New Drive Tires

[Capt._Chaos]

Does anyone notice how a truck will shake at certain speeds when going down the road after a new set of drive tires are installed (especially if they're lug tires?

Well, to let the truth be known, lug tires (and even steer tires) are almost NEVER perfectly round when they're new. In fact, if you had your tire man mount one on a rim & put it on a speed balancer machine, what you see will probably blow your mind!

Well, guess what? There IS a way to correct this problem before it has a chance to shake & break any costly frame-mounted components on your tractor or cause an uneasy feeling in your stomach while you're on the road. It's commonly referred to as tire shaving & balancing, and it should be done whenever new drive tires are installed.

This may look & sound kind of cannibalistic at first, but it, in conjunction with a good alignment, will extend the life of your drive tires dramatically.

What happens is the drive axles are raised & put on jack stands, and the high spots are located in the tread. Then, the shaving machine is used to remove the high spots, thus truing the tire. The process is repeated for each of the eight tires.

After that, one axle shaft is removed from each drive axle to make it possible to speed balance the dual wheel assemblies while they're on the truck. This is also also a good time to be sure there's no play in the wheel bearings. If weights are required to get the duals to balance out, they are placed on the inside of the outer rim, out of sight.

Once you get back into the truck and on the road, you will notice how much smoother it is right away! Trust me, if you run team, it will make it easier to sleep in the bunk while the truck is in motion!

This is the website for the shop in San Antonio, Texas who did the shaving & balancing on my truck tires.

www.vibrationcorrectionsystems.com

By doing some research, you may be able to locate someone in your area that does this kind of work too.

[maxmiddle]

Capt.

I have not tried the shaving, but I do run Centra Matics on my drives as well as the steers. I get some "squirm" on new drives until they wear in a little, but have not experienced much in the way of "bounce".

Are the Centra Matics enough or should I sharpen up the ole razor?

[Capt._Chaos]

Maxmiddle, according to the paperwork that comes with CentraMatic balancers, they are designed to be used in conjunction with traditional balancing.

If you were to go get your drive tires "trued" (shaved), and balanced, it will undoubtedly make a difference, as well as make your drive tires last a lot longer.

I was only using CentraMatics on my steer tires, and once the people at VCS took care of my drive tires, I never made it a point to get CentraMatics for my drive axles because the ride was already so smooth.

My CentraMatics have worked great on my steer tires since I put them on while they were new and balanced. Great wear pattern, although I was still in the habit of switching the steers from one side to the other to compensate for "road crown wear".

Also a great idea to rotate drive tires as a pair off of the left rear once in awhile, as the tires in that position wear down the fastest due to the torque placed on them.

[Truckdobe]

Maybe we should post a list of places that still true tires. I want mine trued, but no one in my area does that anymore!!! I HATE ruining tires because of this.... also don't like getting the truck worked on in new places on the road. Know a good place in your area??? I can take a load going that way, it'd be worth it. New steers "walk" and desperately need trueing. Centramatics are nice for balancing (have them on 3 axles), but ain't worth a damn for out of round.

[David_Reed]

I had CentraMatics on all three axles and they worked very well.
Most effective on the steers.
I doubled my tread wear from 75K miles to 150K miles.

The ride, due to the rears, was better, bit still not as good as I wanted.

Had I known I could find a shop to true them I would have done it.

When I raced my Toyota LandCruiser in the mid 70's, I ran Armstrong TruTrac flotation tires on it. They whined something awful and you could not get them balanced.

So, up on N Main St, where I bought the tires, they had the gear to tru them.

After 500 miles have been put on the tires, take the truck for a ride and get the tires warm, go out about 50 miles and come back to the shop.

Shave them and then they did a spin balance on the truck. A major difference, whine was gone, almost, ride was smooth and the tread life was nearly doubled. Traction was greatly improved as well.

In the NorthWest, I knew guys who would "sipe" them as well after trueing and spin-balancing on the vehicle.

[sweet_whiskey]

Hey CC,

I have a question to ask you. I have two drive tires that's cuping on the inside, but I'm not noticing it as much now as when it was first happening.

It's the two left inside drives and I'm keeping air in them. In fact, I just had a 3 way alignment in September. I don't notice nothing else wrong with them. What could the problem be?

[Capt._Chaos]

Hey CC,

I have a question to ask you. I have two drive tires that's cuping on the inside, but I'm not noticing it as much now as when it was first happening.[

It's the two left inside drives and I'm keeping air in them. In fact, I just had a 3 way alignment in September. I don't notice nothing else wrong with them. What could the problem be?

I would try rotating the drive tires & see if the tires moved to that position end up with the cupping you describe. If so, the alignment and wheel bearing play on the left side drives needs to be checked.

I'm pretty picky about who does alignments for me- I had a favorite alignment specialist I used in San Antonio when I still had my truck. Don't have his phone number, but I'll post it asap.

[ROADHUGGER]

I get a 3 axle alignment and full tire rotation every 6 months when my trucks get a full safety and we do not have tire issues

[Big_Dave]

Hey CC,

I have a question to ask you. I have two drive tires that's cuping on the inside, but I'm not noticing it as much now as when it was first happening.

It's the two left inside drives and I'm keeping air in them. In fact, I just had a 3 way alignment in September. I don't notice nothing else wrong with them. What could the problem be?
Do you mean a 3 axle alignment?

One thing to remember, Freightliner has a wider variance in their alignment specs than a frame and suspension shop would.

When I first got my truck about 6 years ago, I had tire issuses. Took it to the Freightliner shop a couple times and they 'said' that it was within specs. (Note: The ONLY reason I took it there was because I didn't know of any other shops in the area that did 3 axle alignments.)

I got frustrated because the abnormal tire wear was costing me more $$$ than it should per year in tires. I finally took it to a frame and suspension shop and had them do a 3 axle alignment.

The difference between Freightliners spec and theirs was like the difference between night and day. :wow: :wtf:

[ROADHUGGER]

When I get new tractors delivered the 1st thing thats done as pre delivery is a 3 axle alignment and balancing by a NON DEALERSHIP shop.

You would be surprised at the range of OUT OF SPEC that is found some are close others are in left field

[Farmer_Joe]

Does anyone notice how a truck will shake at certain speeds when going down the road after a new set of drive tires are installed (especially if they're lug tires?

I found the opposite to be true. I use to start to notice a slight vibration @70mph and continually get worse if I went faster. I checked out my driveline thoroughly and made sure my air ride height was correct.

I put 10 new tires on it this Spring and absolutely no vibration @ 70-75mph. I threw a powder bag in each steer tire and did nothing to the drives. The drives are a heavy lug tire, have proven excellent traction in the mud and snow - no need for chaining up no more.

Do you think the gravel might "true up" tires quicker?

[Big_Dave]

Does anyone notice how a truck will shake at certain speeds when going down the road after a new set of drive tires are installed (especially if they're lug tires?
I know that I've had trucks feel 'squirrely' with brand new tires. Once the tires have about 5000 miles on them it settles down.

Closed shoulder tires don't seem to be as squirrely as open shoulder tires.

[Mark-the-Spark]

I have two drive tires that's cuping on the inside, but I'm not noticing it as much now as when it was first happening.

It's the two left inside drives and I'm keeping air in them. In fact, I just had a 3 way alignment in September. I don't notice nothing else wrong with them. What could the problem be?

If the wear is worse on the 'inside' treads of the inside tires, then the wheel / axle bearings are probably loose on that side. I think it is a relatively simple adjustment.

[K C Brau]

When I had a truck, Cross-Midwest in Kansas City and Lincoln NE both did me excellent work. Both occasions, I was getting new steers and alignment, moved old steers back.

Don't know anyone in Dallas area who trues, if I find one, will post.