Uneven tyre wair..... and unscrupulous? tyre dealers

I don't know if my local tyre/ exhaust mechanic shop i use on occasion is doing dirty deeds !!

Every time one of my vehicles is there for a tyre change or a difficult bush..... my tyres seem to get over inflated.
As an example, the Challenger was in there recently (yes Cranky, I didn't want to do that job myself.... lazy.... warranty....etc) and when I checked the tyre pressures after a few weeks of the job being done, they were all exactly 39 psi.
(checked because the sterring was all over the place)
Recommended is 26 psi.
Also noticed at the same time the middle track on the tread is worn alot more than other tracks. Worn nearly to the wear limit cuts.
NOT HAPPY

The tyres were over inflated when i bought the thing, same tyres so i am not going to complain too hard. But i will say something to the boss/ owner who is a good bloke. I assume it is not him pumping them up, but one of his 2 workers.
It happened on the VY Holden as well on the 2 new tyres they just put on the car.

A random tyre shop elsewhere ALSO over inflated 2 tyres by a significant amount.

What do people think. Are they doing it intentionally to get me back quicker for more tyres ???

I have found the same !! 40 psi on a Santa Fe!! It's a SOFTroader lol! Recommended 32 psi , it happens every time I get it serviced and at 40 psi it rides like a truck!!!!

As long as you are in the habit of checking your pressures regularly you should not have any dramas with over or under inflation.

I used to have the opposite problem on my Mitsu Express van where the guy who did the service used to drop the tyres to 28psi when they should have been at around 36 - 40 (Light truck tyres) At first used to wonder why the bloody steering was so heavy when parking.

I run the radials on my Ford sedan at 32 - 34psi and run the Light truck Desert Duelers on the Patrol at around 40psi or just over.

I get dead even wear across the tread on both vehicles and got 89,000 off the last set of Duelers and a bit under 70,000 from the Perelli's on the Ford. Pretty happy with that.

Cheers Ric

Best to buy a tyre pressure guage and do a double check. Think tyre places just pump them up hard just to be on the safe side, or so they think.

Don't start me on tightning of wheel nuts....the joys of rattle guns.

I bought a full set of Coopers, (Shite tyres...) and after one trip in and out of the lease, I noticed the wear and damage...
Took them back, 1100 k's on the clock, 9 days later, 9% on one and 12% on the other side wear they reckon....
Guess what, they said it was my fault........over inflation......
This didnt sit well and went even to Coopers themselves, but nup.....my fault....
As a gesture of 'goodwill' they gave me a....pamphlet.....indicating tyre pressures....
Guess what, I didnt put the air in the crap coopers, tyrepower did....
I didnt see the need to check the pressures because $1300 worth of crapcoopers were fitted by supposed professionals....tyrepower...NOT!

GM mate to say that would give ya the chits would be an understatement. I know what your saying mate been there too. cheers James

mullockgrubber wrote:Best to buy a tyre pressure guage and do a double check. Think tyre places just pump them up hard just to be on the safe side, or so they think.

Don't start me on tightning of wheel nuts....the joys of rattle guns.

You are absolutely right mate. I have watched two tyre fitters pump tyres with a direct line(no gauge) Both well know companies too. When I checked them at home both tyres were far from correct pressure Grrrrr.

I got told once by a tyre fitter that one of my wheel nuts was cross threaded I said No its not it was fine when I came in, It's you blokes using the rattle gun. I demand nowadays that they do mine by hand.

Got to hand it to local Bridgestone tyre centre. Without asking, All wheel nuts were hand fitted and then tightened to correct torque with a torque wrench I was most impressed.

Digger

G'day

40psi seems to be the standard initial fill for all soft-roaders, SUVs and off-roaders these days. Either laziness or *****-proofing I guess. The last sets of tyres i've had fitted to my Disco have all come back around 40psi and from three different fitters (I import my tyres from OS). This is despite the door placard stating 33/36. I run 35/38 on road as you will find many car manufacturers are sacrificing optimal pressure to a bit of low pressure for a more comfortable ride.

Cheers

Chimpy

My reckoning of this problems goes like this; when replacing a tyre, to settle the bead properly on the rim, it's advantageous to over-inflate the tyre to ensure a proper seal, then, drop the tyre pressure down to the required tyre pressure.
Maybe the tyre fellas aren't dropping down the pressure after placing the wheel back on the vehicle.

mmmm some obviouse problems--

I never let a tyre go out of my tyre shop with more than 36psi on 4x4.
coz we have a small town most passenger tyres are inflated to 32-36psi
My taxi tyres on my hiace commutter buses are inflated to 50psi
my taxi tyres on my Falcon wagons are inflated to 40psi..

its horses for courses.

U will not get over 40k out of a set of tyres up here in the Pilbara of WA--its too hot--the road base comprises some of the hardest rock on earth.
If u think otherwise then stay on the east coast. Cool climate and hot mix roads..

Cooper tyres give u a warranty that is only stead fast in the metro areas.

At the end of the day--check ya tyres--check that u have a wheel brace and yes check the wheel nuts and adjust ya tyre pressure to suit conditions.

regards
oneday69

Digger824 wrote:

mullockgrubber wrote:Best to buy a tyre pressure guage and do a double check. Think tyre places just pump them up hard just to be on the safe side, or so they think.

Don't start me on tightning of wheel nuts....the joys of rattle guns.

You are absolutely right mate. I have watched two tyre fitters pump tyres with a direct line(no gauge) Both well know companies too. When I checked them at home both tyres were far from correct pressure Grrrrr.

I got told once by a tyre fitter that one of my wheel nuts was cross threaded I said No its not it was fine when I came in, It's you blokes using the rattle gun. I demand nowadays that they do mine by hand.

Got to hand it to local Bridgestone tyre centre. Without asking, All wheel nuts were hand fitted and then tightened to correct torque with a torque wrench I was most impressed.

Digger

I had a flat tyre and the wheel nuts were so tightly done up bent the tyre brace trying to get it off. Luckily I carry a 12 volt air pump and was able to get home and the next day took the car into the tyre place.

They had fitted the tyres so showed the manager. He could not undo the wheel nuts by hand despite his best efforts.

So demanded they undo all the wheel nuts and then do them up by hand.

Never went back there.....in conversations with others this is a common occurence.

oneday69 wrote:mmmm some obviouse problems--

I never let a tyre go out of my tyre shop with more than 36psi on 4x4.
coz we have a small town most passenger tyres are inflated to 32-36psi
My taxi tyres on my hiace commutter buses are inflated to 50psi
my taxi tyres on my Falcon wagons are inflated to 40psi..

its horses for courses.

U will not get over 40k out of a set of tyres up here in the Pilbara of WA--its too hot--the road base comprises some of the hardest rock on earth.
If u think otherwise then stay on the east coast. Cool climate and hot mix roads..

Cooper tyres give u a warranty that is only stead fast in the metro areas.

At the end of the day--check ya tyres--check that u have a wheel brace and yes check the wheel nuts and adjust ya tyre pressure to suit conditions.

regards
oneday69

Hi oneday69
I am aware from reading a few of your posts over the years that you have your own tyre business so I'm not questioning your expertise but just a bit confused.
By "taxi tyres" on your Hiace, do you mean Light Truck tyres?
Do you mean light truck tyres for your ford too?

Hmm the old tyre pressure thing yup theres lots of people swearing they run the right pressures but seems to be lot of complaints for instance
My brother driving from Darwin to Brisbane in a crappy daewo thingy got his tyres done before his trip & bang bang bang had 3 blowouts between Darwin & Mt Isa. He rang me to see if I knew whats happening as I know how he drives n knew he would definitly have a car full of gear as he was moving I said to him "what tyre pressures are you running ?" & he said what the tyre fitter said & same as placard in glovebox & I said cause of your load try bumping pressures up by 4psi. Bingo he made it the rest of the way with not even a puncture.

So basically if your running in totaly stock form with no weight yeah the placard pressure probably is comfortable & pressures are great for wet weather.

If your constantly got full car of people I'd say chuck in extra 2 to 4 psi.

If your going on a big trip & full car & trailer extra 4psi minimum,
but what I do is drive 50km's then don't be shy jump out & check the temperatures with your hand of both the tyres & hubs, if your tyres & hubs are hot then try another 2 psi & so on. You'll be surprised just how different weights & pressures affect the temps & wear of the rubber.

Theres no set pressure for all vehicles so don't be lazey get out & check whats going on around you.
There's way too many people looking for someone else to blame for sometimes the simplest thing & that's no excuse try doing something for yourself for once & try looking after your own safety. Who knows you may even learn something about your vehicle.

Theres my nuggets worth happy traveling & take care on the roads.

Cheers Tony

People do have to start thinking about taking responsibility.

When you go to a 'Tyre Specialist' (or any 'specialist' service provider) what you don't know is just how experienced and knowledgeable the person, performing tyre change etc, really is. You presume that they know what they are doing. Even though you are paying for a service - sometimes a lot of money - it doesn't guarantee or ensure that you will be getting (a) value for money (b) satisfactory work standard/ethics etc.

As suggested, buy yourself a decent tyre pressure gauge and learn how to use it and exactly what tyre pressures you should be running. Guarantee that you will start to see improvements in tyre life and reduced 'abnormal wear'.