Defective tyres

[Ryan197912]

Nexen tyres is OEM supplier for KIA, Hyundai, Porsche, VW, Mitsubishi, GMC.

[Musical Doc]

I had the same problem with my tyres recently. It was pulling left, went an align and it still pulling. Guy told me to switch around the front tyres and when I did it started pulling right. So I will have to change those tyres in a timing

[rspann]

If a vehicle is kept properly aligned and the tyres are rotated regularly. Drive properly without hard cornering to cut the outside of the tyres, shocks changed when needed, tyres would wear evenly until the tread is gone.

[Dave]

Excellent info in one there rspann.

[MaxPower]

When do you all do a tire rotation? Every oil change? (8,000 to 10,000 km).
DIY job with a jack, or tire shop expertise?

Every 5,000 km at a tyre shop.

(Michelin Primacy 3)

[khandman]

Guys thanks very much for the responses especially from expert like rspann. I did change around the tyres to see if it made any difference. And yes vehicle vibrates at higher speeds as you said.

[khandman]

Learnt a lot from this thread. I know that nexens aren’t great but as mentioned before, was just supposed to rally out for a lil while. And I don’t do a lot of long distance.

[khandman]

The tyres CAN cause pull, easiest, fastest way to know is switch front tyres left to right. If the pull changes direction or stops, its the tyres. If it stays the same then its one of the other factors spann outlined above.

Cheaper tyres tend to be more susceptible what is called ply steer. This happens when the internal belts move causing the outer and inner portions to have different diameters, essentially the tyre itself has a slope on the rolling surface. I have seen this first hand.

Ply steer describes the lateral force a tire generates due to asymmetries in its carcass as is rolls forward with zero slip angle. It is the characteristic that is usually described as the tire’s tendency to “crab walk”, or move sideways while maintaining a straight-line orientation.

That said, it's extremely unlikely for this to happen with 3 tyres at the same time.

I run an alignment shop btw.

Probably happened over a period of time without me noticing earlier. Tires are steel belted and we’re run at correct pressure, rotated and aligned on time and I guess I just thought at the time that whatever vibration, shimmering etc was caused by potholes and needed balancing.

[humble lion]

good info, I also brought four nexen for my seven seater in the same penal area by a guy that is popular with rims and tyres by the road, after five months thought my suspention was bad only to find out I had three bent tyres,a tyre man in grande pointed out to me that the Chinese nexen famous for that,you have to look for the "made in china" real good once the tyre mounted the rim will hide it, replaced with korea made, eight months and going strong

[joe_d_boss]

I do tyre rotations every 10,000 km or so. I used to do it much less often before with my NZE141, but now with the T32 X-trail, I try to do it more often. Be careful when purchasing tires though. I purchased some Bridgestone Potenza G III tyres some time ago. Two of them wore unevenly after a few months. It turns out that these were Bridgestones manufactured in Costa Rica. Costa Rica does have a factory manufacturing Bridgestone and Firestone, but it seems these are nowhere near in quality to the Japanese-made tires.

Some of the excellent or at least decent brands include:
Continental
Bridgestone
Toyo
Michelin
BF Goodrich
Pirelli
Sumitomo
Kumho
Dunlop
Hankook
Yokohama

Despite seeing a brand, make sure and find out where the tire is manufactured and check the manufacture date.

Not everyone can afford the premium brands. I try to purchase something decent when I change tires. I remember many years ago I used Roadstone, and they weren't too bad for cheap tires. What cheap brands do you all have an okay experience with?

[Dizzy28]

I have been using PowerTrac tyres for the past year (18"). This is coming from OEM Nexens.
No issue with the PowerTrac wrt road noise, grip etc.

[adnj]

Tires are tested, trimmed and balanced at the manufacturing end of line. Tires that are bent are classified as out of round then rejected and shipped from the factory and sold as scrap.

It seems that someone is selling scrapped tires as new and nondefective. I can't say whether it is the dealer or the distributor but an out of round tire defect should theoretically be detected when the new tire is mounted and balanced. So the dealer likely knows that they are selling bad goods.

[rspann]

Tires are tested, trimmed and balanced at the manufacturing end of line. Tires that are bent are classified as out of round then rejected and shipped from the factory and sold as scrap.

It seems that someone is selling scrapped tires as new and nondefective. I can't say whether it is the dealer or the distributor but an out of round tire defect should be theoretically be detected when the new tire is mounted and balanced. So the dealer likely knows that they are selling bad goods.

You are correct. BF Goodrich use to sell the rejects as blemished , with a blem stamp on it. They used to be sold in Trinidad as if they were first grade by just taking a die grinder and removing the stamp. Other brands also sell their rejects once they not too bad. I had a tyre that blew out after a week, bought by the dealer in Gasparillo opposite Bholas. When I went back to him he sent me to the importer. Never bought from him again.

[Country_Bookie]

Nexen is the worst. Had one rip out on the highway a year after getting a new vehicle that came with nexens. Went back to dealership, who directed me to the distributor for nexen in Claxton bay. Let's just say it didn't matter if I went there in the AM or PM, was a complete waste of a time, as the con men in that place were never going to replace a thing. So much for the 'Marketing' tag of 50,000 kms guaranteed.

[ADONI]

I know of two friends with new Kia's that came with Nexen from the firm. Both of them had tyres shredder out.

[kamakazi]

I do tyre rotations every 10,000 km or so. I used to do it much less often before with my NZE141, but now with the T32 X-trail, I try to do it more often. Be careful when purchasing tires though. I purchased some Bridgestone Potenza G III tyres some time ago. Two of them wore unevenly after a few months. It turns out that these were Bridgestones manufactured in Costa Rica. Costa Rica does have a factory manufacturing Bridgestone and Firestone, but it seems these are nowhere near in quality to the Japanese-made tires.

Some of the excellent or at least decent brands include:
Continental
Bridgestone
Toyo
Michelin
BF Goodrich
Pirelli
Sumitomo
Kumho
Dunlop
Hankook
Yokohama

Despite seeing a brand, make sure and find out where the tire is manufactured and check the manufacture date.

Not everyone can afford the premium brands. I try to purchase something decent when I change tires. I remember many years ago I used Roadstone, and they weren't too bad for cheap tires. What cheap brands do you all have an okay experience with?

As with most brands... They have a range of quality from top of the line to bottom of the barrel models. They are also going to start outsourcing the manufacturing of the lower end stuff to save costs. The last thing is they will continue to make them if people continue to buy them.

Got a set of sumitomo t4 for $200 each -the scariest tyres I've driven in in my life.

I think I prefer buying near the top end of a relatively unknown/mid tier brand than a middle to low end from a top tier brand

My relatively unknown brands of choice (and not mentioned above)
Federal
General
Maxxis
Gt radial
Firestone
Falken

One last thing - I only rotate tires if I plan to change the tyre size I'm running cause I want to change out the entire set. Other than that they stay where they are and whichever axle pair wears out first, will get the old tyres and the new tyres go onto the slower wearing axle. My reasons for doing this are to monitor how I drive and making it easier to monitor how each Tyre is wearing.( It is easier to keep track of the tyres "rotation" around the vehicle.

[adnj]

Some of the excellent or at least decent brands include:
Continental
Bridgestone
Toyo
Michelin
BF Goodrich
Pirelli
Sumitomo
Kumho
Dunlop
Hankook
Yokohama

My relatively unknown brands of choice (and not mentioned above)
Federal
General
Maxxis
Gt radial
Firestone
Falken

One last thing - I only rotate tires if I plan to change the tyre size I'm running cause I want to change out the entire set. Other than that they stay where they are and whichever axle pair wears out first, will get the old tyres and the new tyres go onto the slower wearing axle. My reasons for doing this are to monitor how I drive and making it easier to monitor how each Tyre is wearing.( It is easier to keep track of the tyres "rotation" around the vehicle.

IIRC, Continental owns General, Bridgestone owns Firestone, and Goodyear owns Falken. In fact, GT, Firestone and General are often selected as OEM suppliers for NA manufacturers.

I do not believe that you will gain much information regarding how a vehicle is driven by not rotating the tires. What you will certainly accomplish is achieving diminished performance and vehicle dynamics, along with premature wear of all tires.

Your best approach is more likely to be rotating tires as indicated in the owners manual and replacing all tires at the same time.

[kamakazi]

Some of the excellent or at least decent brands include:
Continental
Bridgestone
Toyo
Michelin
BF Goodrich
Pirelli
Sumitomo
Kumho
Dunlop
Hankook
Yokohama

My relatively unknown brands of choice (and not mentioned above)
Federal
General
Maxxis
Gt radial
Firestone
Falken

One last thing - I only rotate tires if I plan to change the tyre size I'm running cause I want to change out the entire set. Other than that they stay where they are and whichever axle pair wears out first, will get the old tyres and the new tyres go onto the slower wearing axle. My reasons for doing this are to monitor how I drive and making it easier to monitor how each Tyre is wearing.( It is easier to keep track of the tyres "rotation" around the vehicle.

IIRC, Continental owns General, Bridgestone owns Firestone, and Goodyear owns Falken. In fact, GT, Firestone and General are often selected as OEM suppliers for NA manufacturers.

I do not believe that you will gain much information regarding how a vehicle is driven by not rotating the tires. What you will certainly accomplish is achieving diminished performance and vehicle dynamics, along with premature wear of all tires.

Your best approach is more likely to be rotating tires as indicated in the owners manual and replacing all tires at the same time.

If you haven't tried it, there isn't much to discuss; I also said I do rotate, but only when I want to replace all the tyres on the vehicle at the same time.

What can wear patterns tell you (this goes beyond the over/under inflation wear patterns which are not dependent on which corner of the vehicle the tyre is mounted):
-how hard you corner
-how hard you accelerate
-the bias in your cornering and the acceleration
-which corner/axle of your vehicle is problematic

But there things require you to pay attention to them. Most people don't keep track of a tyre as it is rotated around the vehicle


Owners manuals I now believe are written so that people don't bring the vehicle back to the dealers to complain, and also because a lot of users/owners don't pay attention; so they simply tell them to follow the manual; it is really just a guide.

Not seeing how performance or vehicle dynamics will be diminished.
Premature wear...only if you don't pay attention to them. That could also be your indicator that something is wrong on that corner/axle

[joe_d_boss]

For all-wheel drive vehicles and 4 x 4 use, a uniform tread depth on all tires lowers the stress on the drivetrain. For me, that is important. If you have specific reasons as listed above for not doing rotations and it works for you, then no worries.

This was taken from Bridgestone's website:

"Why is tire rotation important?

There are several reasons why tire rotation is an important element of your standard tire care. First, by routinely rotating your tires, wear is spread evenly across all four tires, and their tread life is maximized. That’s because each specific position on your vehicle requires a different give from each tire—(for example, tires on the front of a front-wheel drive vehicle will take a larger proportion of the torque and friction that’s needed for turning, accelerating and braking)—and can lead to more, or less, wear on the tire. It is especially important to rotate new tires by 5,000 miles because deep, fresh tire tread is more susceptible to uneven wear.

Secondly, even tread wear keeps the tread depth on your tires uniform, which can help keep traction and handling consistent across all four tires. This will improve cornering and braking performance and keep your vehicle safer for driving overall.

Finally, if your vehicle has all-wheel-drive, evenly worn tires lower the stresses on the drivetrain, reducing wear on expensive drive components."

[kamakazi]

For all-wheel drive vehicles and 4 x 4 use, a uniform tread depth on all tires lowers the stress on the drivetrain. For me, that is important. If you have specific reasons as listed above for not doing rotations and it works for you, then no worries.

This was taken from Bridgestone's website:

"Why is tire rotation important?

There are several reasons why tire rotation is an important element of your standard tire care. First, by routinely rotating your tires, wear is spread evenly across all four tires, and their tread life is maximized. That’s because each specific position on your vehicle requires a different give from each tire—(for example, tires on the front of a front-wheel drive vehicle will take a larger proportion of the torque and friction that’s needed for turning, accelerating and braking)—and can lead to more, or less, wear on the tire. It is especially important to rotate new tires by 5,000 miles because deep, fresh tire tread is more susceptible to uneven wear.

Secondly, even tread wear keeps the tread depth on your tires uniform, which can help keep traction and handling consistent across all four tires. This will improve cornering and braking performance and keep your vehicle safer for driving overall.

Finally, if your vehicle has all-wheel-drive, evenly worn tires lower the stresses on the drivetrain, reducing wear on expensive drive components."

First of all 4x4 systems and AWD systems are different (not exactly sure how super select from Mitsubishi works but for the most part they are different; 4x4s are part time systems, AWD vary but they tend to be full time systems.).
It makes sense to follow a rotation regimen in an AWD Vehicle definitely. Part time 4wd(4x4) I wouldn't bother about stresses associated with very slight variations in Tyre circumference due to manufacturing and wear.

Tread life maximised: only helpful if your tyres wear unevenly on different corners of the vehicle, but doesn't make any difference if they already wear evenly against the face of the tread (I'm saying that the tyre is cutting square.

Traction and handling consistent across all four tyres which will improve cornering and braking performance and keep your vehicle safer for driving overall:
this sounds like BS (not an abreviation for Bridgestone). I rather have more of everything in the back than in the front for the same reason manufacturers design their vehicles to understeer; it is generally safer for the driver and the majority can recover from this situation as against oversteer. Braking performance actually gets better as tyres wear down, at the same time the majority of braking force is handled at the front; if you rotate regularly you will have less braking performance than someone who never rotated and has slightly more worn front tyres( up to a point obviously).

In short I prefer a worn down front set and a decent rear set vs balanced wear all around ( I can deal with the front washing out a lot better than if the back decides to let go).

Contrary to popular belief... Just because you read it on the internet doesn't automatically mean it's true. Rotating tyres in the traditional sense to me is wasting time and money but my use case might be very different to yours.

[Ryan197912]

All the men with Nexen horror stories are most likely the silicone and pitch oil black tyre crew.
The engineers at Porsche, GM, KIA, Hyundai,Mitsubishi,VW all agreed that Nexen met their standards as an OEM supplier.

[adnj]

Braking performance actually gets better as tyres wear down, at the same time the majority of braking force is handled at the front; if you rotate regularly you will have less braking performance than someone who never rotated and has slightly more worn front tyres( up to a point obviously).

Slightly worn tires provide better surface adhesion. As tires reach end of life, tread reduction actually increases stopping distance and cornering ability. Sufficient tread depth is crucial in preventing hydroplaning and holding higher Gs during wet surface cornering.

Instrument your car and take it to a skid pad or a wet car park and you will see the difference.

[Dave]

I know Nexen is an OE supplier but while you find it on a Porsche it may not be what u find on 911 GT3.

[kamakazi]

Braking performance actually gets better as tyres wear down, at the same time the majority of braking force is handled at the front; if you rotate regularly you will have less braking performance than someone who never rotated and has slightly more worn front tyres( up to a point obviously).

Slightly worn tires provide better surface adhesion. As tires reach end of life, tread reduction actually increases stopping distance and cornering ability. Sufficient tread depth is crucial in preventing hydroplaning and holding higher Gs during wet surface cornering.

Instrument your car and take it to a skid pad or a wet car park and you will see the difference.

Have to make some amendments.
As tyres reach end of life, tread reduction actually increases stopping distance and decreases cornering ability in the wet. It is the opposite in the dry.

Have been testing different setups for a while now. Since the vehicles didn't have abs, traction control, stability control, power steering (in one) and AWD, they allowed me to test my weird theories.

On the topic of defective tyres or blemished tyres, I've never seen one before. How does the tag/marking look, where is it normally located, what do I look out for if I believe I am being sold a defective tyre.

[maj. tom]

http://www.guardian.co.tt/article-6.2.376533.3a86902c2a

No way to tell, except if the manufacturer is reputable and has a recall advisory based on serial lot numbers. Hence always stick to a reputable tire shop with a guarantee. To me the few extra dollars are worth the peace of mind for that service. I prefer to deal with the official dealers of a tire brand rather than a 3rd party who cannot back up the warranty.

[MG Man]

I doh ever rotate front to rear....I rather replace 2 tyres at a time than 4

[16 cycles]

I know Nexen is an OE supplier but while you find it on a Porsche it may not be what u find on 911 GT3.

See goodyear launched a new supersport tire for them...

[kamakazi]

I doh ever rotate front to rear....I rather replace 2 tyres at a time than 4

Same here except when my fronts are done the rear set in the vehicle takes their place and the brand new tires go in the rear

[Dave]

Same too. Only rotate awd and the two wheel unless a brand/size change out I don't. I never buy a tyre higher than 340 ware so tyres are not on there for more than two years and most times I get fed up and remove and buy new.