uneven wear on cooper SSTs

[goodoldboy]

I'm running 265/70 R16s & have a vibration at 50-60MPH all the U.J.s are fine & the wheels have just been balanced but the tyreman pointed out that on the inside of the fronts the tread blocks were unevenly worn I.E each tread block is a different height to the next one.The tracking is also out and the front anti-roll bar bushes are shot.Now the tyreman puts this wear pattern down to the "fact" that coopers are an inferior product & the carcass is not as rigid as a BF Goodrich (which he sells of course!) any ideas?

 

[chriscolleman]

Coopers may be a little softer compound than the BFG.

Lift the vehicle up by the chassis and give everything on the front end a wobble and wiggle.

I wouldn't put it down to the rollbar bushings. Driveline is to heavy for that to be of influence.

 

[Graham]

tyreman puts this wear pattern down to the "fact" that coopers are an inferior product & the carcass is not as rigid as a BF Goodrich (which he sells of course!) any ideas?

.
This wouldn't surprise me.
I have, a set of Cooper Muds, and a set of BFG A/T, so not a 100% comparison.
The BFG are more steady, in so much as having less movement.
For example, if I have the MT's on, and inflated to eg, 36 psi, then when the LC is parked, you can push it, and lean hard on it, and see the flex in the side walls.
Then do the same with the BFG A/T.
Its only the suspension that moves then, no real movement in the sidewalls, like there was with the muds.

.

Sure, he has an interest to sell the BFG, but he may also be telling the truth.

Graham

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

The front drive shafts and both diff pinions are things I'd check for the source of that vibration. On the uneven wear, Simex tread blocks tend to wear into almost a saw tooth profile so the edge of one block is lower than the next but they're all the same profile, is that what you have? I put it down to a soft compound.

 

[goodoldboy]

Thanks for the tips , I've had look at the U.J.s but only on the ground , so up on the ramp at the garage asap.as for different tyres the tyreman suggested 235/55s is this a taller/narrower tyre? as for the pinions , do you mean the bearings or the pinion itself Jon?

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Yes I meant the pinion bearings - see if there's any up/down or side to side movement at the flange although play in the pinion bearings is usually noisy most of the time as well as causing a vibration. UJ's often don't show any signs of play with the wheels on the ground even when they do have play as they tend to be under load.