Question:
I am about to put Centramatics and new shocks my 1996 Mack.
I currenttly have some irregular tire wear and need to replace the tires as well.
These are 24.5's.
My application is 99% on Highway, medium length haul.
Although, I may be going to another company soon and I will be doing apx 5000 miles turnarounds in a 10-14 day period
What recommendations can I get for brand and model?
I have run bridgestones and had some good and some bad experience with them.
I changed to a closed shoulder/rib, Yokohama, I think and had pretty good luck with that.

Answer:

Oh well.....
Centramatics.
Installed.
Gabriel Adjustable Shocks.
Installed.
New Yokohama RY617 steers.
Installed.
Out the door at $1189.96
Passed 90 day DOT on car and trailer.
Paid for by Company

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adjustable?

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Yeah
Regular
Firmer
Real Firm
You have to unbolt the upper section and twist it to change position.
They would not have been my first choice, however, I needed them NOW and that was all they had that fit my car in stock at the Petro in Glade Spring, VA.
Oh well, we set them to regular and I'll see how they work. The guy who put them on says that as the wear over time to can compensate for the by increasing the setting one notch.
I'm going to, but not tonight, research this at the Gabriel website, if they have one (who DOESN'T have a website these days??) and learn more about them.

Answer:

What kind of irregular wear pattern are you getting (or were getting on the old one's)?

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An almost perfect cupping 3" long separated by about an inch in between each spot all the way around the inner and outer rib on both tires.
I don't know if they originally were wearing on the inside rib or the outside.
The guy I bought the car from had the tires dismounted and remounted (omnidirectionals) on opposite sides to "see" if the wear went with the tire or the position on the axle. Dumb, I thought.
It wasn't an alignment problem.
It wasn't a tire problem.
He did have them rebalanced.
He was convinced the shocks were fine.
When we took them off you could easily push them together and they barely tried to extend themselves when released.
I was sure of this before we did that and added the Centramatics to keep them balanced.
Both the new tires were in balance when we spun them without adding any weight. Says a lot for the tires and tells me my wheels are good.

Answer:

Have you ever had a 3 AXLE alingment done on the car ?
Have a few MACKS and had problems with 1 righr from the factory with steer tire wear , had a 3 axle alignment carried out , few problems found , corrected put on new tires and 300,000 miles later never had the problem again just normal wear out of the tires

Answer:

Definately sounds like shock wear to me, but the 3 axle alignment should be part of your maintenance every 6 months or so anyway. If you find an alignment tech that knows what he's doing, he can catch any premature steering and suspension wear before it costs you a tire and rear alignment problems will show verry strange front wear patterns. Besides with fuel costs where they are, even a small savings in fuel because of decreased rolling resistance can pay big over the course of a year.
This is an exert from Bridgestone commercial tire web site
This site has pics of just about any wear pattern you can think of with diagnostics.
CUPPING – SCALLOP WEAR
Appearance
What's Happening
The tire is not tracking straight down the highway, but is bouncing sideways during parts of its rotation. It may be wobbling on the axle or rim. On trailers, running empty aggravates the condition. Because of the light load, the trailer begins to bounce, creating more irregular wear, which creates more bouncing, and so forth. The bouncing can create vehicle suspension component wear.
Probable Causes
- loose wheel bearings
- mismounted tire/ wheel assembly
- out of balance wheel assembly
- tread design/ tire design
- worn bearings, shocks, springs or other suspension components
- mismatched duals
- inconsistent dual inflation (10 PSI or greater)
Corrective Action
Tighten wheel bearings. Check wheel assembly for proper mounting of tire on wheel (or rim) and for proper mounting of axle. If you have many tires of the same tire brand and tread design with cupping/scallop wear, test other tire brands, tire series or tread designs. Match duals by the tire brand, size and series (differences no more than 1/4" in overall diameter). Inflate tires to fleet standard.
What to do with the tire
Continue to run tire. When worn area reaches tread wear indicators, retread the tire

Answer:

Retreading a STEER tire is not adviseable unless you plan to run it on drives or the trailer

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As I stated, this came from Bridgestones commercial tire site and I believe they had an area just before this that talked of retreading steers to use on drives. I have seen some retreads that supposedely use a continuous circle for the tread section that are supposed to be as good s a new tire, but I still don't think I would trust it for a steer.

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always thought a retread was illegal on steer position, regardless of what method or brand...

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VIRGIN rubber on steers
The contunous circle of tread is the new process ( been around awhile ) and work nicely. use the GOODYEAR version on a few cars DRIVES and on a few trailers , no tire failures from recap flaws

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Centramatics made a believer out of me!
I put a set on when I replaced my steers, I now have 75,000 on them and they are almost as good as new!! (seriously)!
I bought the new Bridgestone R287's had a 3 axle alignment and new shocks..
Before getting Centramatics I ran Mich. XZA 1's and had all sorts of inside cupping problems, now problem solved!

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On a bus, yes... car, no.
Regrooved are illegal on any steer position.
§393.75 Tires.
(d) No bus shall be operated with regrooved, recapped or retreaded tires on the front wheels.
(e) A regrooved tire with a load-carrying capacity equal to or greater than 2,232 kg (4,920 pounds) shall not be used on the front wheels of any car or car tractor.
You can find this regulation and many more at the FRCSA web site.

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time for an update Dave. how do you like those gabriel shocks? there was a booth at gats for ride-king shocks. show special. 300 bucks EACH!