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Front Tire is Loud and Cupping

JoeyD

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Hi All,
First I'd appreciate knowledgeable feedback, if you're going to swing blindly at guessing please don't post.

I've had my Gladiator for a year as of Saturday and haven't had any issues with the stock tires and the Willy's take offs I put one which have KM2. These were swapped about 12K ago for reference. I have also swapped the shocks/spring with Rubicon which are in the correct order and installed a 2.5" leveling kit in the front only.

about 2 months ago I noticed my tires seemed to be getting a lot louder and seemed like it was coming from the front. But tire pressure was fine and and the tire tread was flat, and I'm 100% positive the lug nuts are torqued correctly. I did try adjusting the tire pressure, 32, 36, 40 didn't seem to do anything.
So I kind of ignored it until this last weekend I went out of town and put about 300 miles on it and stopped at a gas station, when I glanced at the drivers side tire the center of the tire is cupping pretty badly. the passenger side is doing it but hardly noticeable. Note that the cupping is even across teh tire.

Now I'm trying to decide what my my next step it. when I think back to when I might have damaged anything I thought about the 1 time I've taken it offroading. I did some mild off roading in it maybe 2 months or so before the noise started. I checked the shocks for leaks or build up and I don't see anything. But it's always possible I hit something a little too hard without realizing it.

I'd like to do a little checking before I take it somewhere to have them look at it. This week I plan to look at the front end components to see if something came loose or is clunking. I also, like a dummy, never preloaded the suspension before I torqued everything so it's possible I busted a bushing.

Could be a wheel bearing, could be alignment? It's always kind of turned to the right since I've had it, IDK if trying to counter slightly when I drive was causing a little wear and has compounded over time?

let me know if you have any input.

Thanks!
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Rusty PW

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MT style of tire needs to be rotated more often then a AT style. The MT's will cup quicker on the front. From experience, I rotate every 4,000 to 5,000 miles. I don't do the X rotation. I go LF to RF, RF to RR, RR to LR, LR to LF. This will keep the cupping down and the noise.
 

DobaMark

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Agreed, the MT tires need rotated regularly.
Once they start to cup, they'll probably be even noisier when you rotate them. The only solutions I've found is to a) live with the noise or b) replace the tires.
 

kevman65

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Could also be the brand of tire is susceptible to cupping, or a bad batch run.

There are so many factors that can cause it. Your best bet is take the JT to a REPUTABLE tire shop and see if they can diagnose the root cause.
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