need tires and advice

[Ed_Strong]

Our van is wearing the tires on the inside and I noticed it too late... I need new tires but before I venture out to buy new ones I would like to know what causes a tire to wear the inside thread only? I had the van alligned back sometime during September to November (can't remember) so I have no idea what could have make em wear so fast. What do you guys recommend I do before I get new tires?

I have to admit I've neglected to check tire pressures and wear patterns, so could this have been caused by runnig low pressures on the tires? Do I need to replace steering components? I only have a little over 52K miles on it so its kinds odd to be having this issues now.

[northern piper]

Ed the best advice I can give you is to go to a shop that you trust and tell them you'd like a really good shake down of the van's front and rear end. Have them suggest what needs to be done and why. I redid the full suspension/steering components tires all round 1 month ago. I've noticed a real positive improvement. The work was relatively easy to do and could be done over a day or day + 1/2. Then new tires. All in (tires + suspension renew) it cost me $1000.00 CAN (which is worth more than US$$ - sorry had to put that in!!). Of course doing the suspension and steering components you need a professional alignement done. Doing it this way means that in 20,000 you're not redoing something that was just recently moved etc.

PIper

[wiswind]

One would think that they would have caught the issue when they did the alignment on the vehicle.......which should have included a good shakedown of the front end.
I have had a shop not actually do the alignment.......vehicle had a broken spring on one side (not a windstar) and 1 side was a good 3 inches lower than the other......could clearly see it when standing in front of the car.......yet they supposedly did the complete alignment without noticing that 1 side was 3 inches lower?......at the dealership where I bought the vehicle brand new!!!!!!!!!!!!
Point being......some shops are better than others......
So.....I would get another alignment and front end check out before investing in another set of tires!!!!!

[12Ounce]

I get over 100 kmiles on Michelin Hydro-Edges. On sale now at Costco.

(Do my own alignment.)

[Ed_Strong]

Well I don't know a good shop I trust... I took the van to the Tire Kingdom (which was recommended to me at the time) for the alligment back in July 07 after I did a RF Wheel Bearing Hub replacement trying to cure a vibration then I took the van back to them again in September 07 for another alligment after trying to replace the HalfShaft CV Joint and twice they didn't see anything wrong I guess since I was just given a receipt for the alligment.

I got the 1 year alligment deal with them since I knew I was gonna need more than one alligment done after the Hub replacement didn't cure the vibration problem. The contract is still active today but I don't know if I should go back to them, they might see me as a big dollar sign ($) walking in looking for a justified problem part for them to replace and I really don't want to spend more than I should.
I remember when the first alligment was done I told them to rotate the tires because the front tires were getting chewed up on the inside, but I tought it had been corrected by the alligment and I didn't follow up on it. They had two chances to see a problem and they didn't.
The tires look perfectly fine and in great condition from the outside and I didn't realize they were junk till this past weekend when I gave the van a wash and was brushing the wheel wells when I realized

[Ed_Strong]

today one of the tires gave up so I had to rescue my wife and put that ugly donut spare on the van.
I'm getting the suspension inspected on Monday.

I'm on a budget so my spending is limited, so far price and availability wise I'm considering the following two tires to put in the van.

1) BF Goodrich Touring Pro Series
P215/70-R15 97T - 70,000 miles
$67.78 each or $319.12 for all 4 installed (after $40 instant rebate $279.12)

2) GoodYear Allegra
P215/70-R15 97T - 75,000 miles
$71.58 each or $334.32 for all 4 installed ($50 MIR brings it down to $284.32)

Anybody had experience with any of these two and would like to comment? Don't know which one to pick. My car has GoodYear VIVA 2s and it rides real good, very quiet and confortable ride. The Allegra line is supposed to be a step ahead of the Viva2 line, but I really don't like messing with Mail In Rebates...!

[lord Kelvin]

I put Goodyear Allegra tires on a Chevy Lumina I owned a few years back. I usually don't complain about Goodyear tires, but these were VERY noisy and I would NOT recommend them. Last year, I put G.Y. Assurance tires on a Cirrus...those I would recommend.

It sure is tough picking good tires. One thing I've learned is you can't predict how tires will perform by looking at them, and few places will take them back if you aren't happy with them.

FYI: On my van, I have two Michelin HydoEdge tires and two Michelin Harmony tires. The HydroEdge tires are total crap in the snow, so I keep them on the rear all winter.

[Ed_Strong]

I got the suspension inspected by my friend (ex-Ford Tech) and everything checked out exept some end play on the inner tie rods, so I had him replace all inner and outer since he had to take everything apart anyway.

The van feels a little different but not much, little stiffer if any. The front tires were leaning in at the top and now look straight top to bottom. I have an appointment for an alligment on Wed and I'll ask them to do a whole inspewction of the suspension aswell

[Ed_Strong]

Had the alignment done today and the van feels better. I had the rear tires put in the front since they have more thread and the front in the back. That way I'll monitor tire wear on the front tires for uneven wear for a few weeks before I attempt to put new tires on it.

Funny thing when I went back to the Tire Kingdom on Monday to show them the tire damage, the guy at the desk told me I'm supposed to do an allignment every three months in order to keep the tires in good order. I just shook my head in disbelieve and walked away. They'll never get another dime from me.

[12Ounce]

Welcome aboard with the other "disbelievers"!

I don't intend to offend anyone, but I lump together: alignment shops, tatoo and massage parlours, chiropractors, phychics, etc, etc, ....

Yeah, they all do "some" good. Make us feel better. Make some adjustments ... mostly to our finances. Tell us of their skills. etc, etc.

[garync1]

Really an alignment should be done about every 6 to 12 months. Depends on what type of driving you do and your local roads.. Not pushing the Good year brand because I work for them but I really like the Assurance line.. I run the comfort tread Assurance.. Real quite ride and smooth as glass.. Also has an extra run of overlay to soften the ride. Most tires only have none or on higher end tires 1 run but the assurance line runs 2 runs of over lay.. Right now we make the triple tread and comfort tread also the aqua tread type assurance they have an 80,000 tread life if I remember right.. Out of all types of tires I have ran I like the comfort tread the best. Now as for the alignment I use to go to Firestone shop because the had the lifetime alignment program. But its only for that one car that you own for the life you own it. It was 109.00 in 2000. Not sure if they still have this but it was worth it.. They would align the car every 6 months for the life of car or until you got rid of it. After that you had to start over.. You don't have to buy there tires as well.. Getting ready to check back into it again here soon.. as for the inside wear could be caster / camber off or it can also be tow in problem.

[Ed_Strong]

Update:

Today I went to get new tires put on our van...
We went to Sams Club and got the BF Goodrich Touring T/A Pro Series 215/70 R15 97T and I can't belive what a difference in the vans performance, it rides so much smoother and better than ever before.

Best thing is that all the groaning, noise and vibration complaints are gone...!

Bad thing was that they had no offers this time so we ended up paying $328 for all 4 tires installed, no rebates at the time.

Has anyone seen any BF Goodrich mail-in rebates? Nothing available on their site either!