Truck shocks and tire wear?

[Bmedlin85]

Whats up yall. I am getting ready to replace the tires on my 2004 GMC 1500 Sierra 2wd SLE (with torsion bars). It seems that no matter how many times I get the front end aligned I cant get the tires to wear evenly. The tires I am currently running are the Goodyear LS2's, which I will probably not buy again. Anyways, I was told that the shocks could affect the wear of the tires... is this true? My truck has close to 150,000 miles on it and I have never replaced the shocks. The truck is equipped with GMC's Z60 Sport Suspension... although I am not 100% what that is and how is it different than the regular setup. Thanks for any help.

[Little_Franny]

First thing to check on those trucks is the idler arm and the pitman arm, they always go bad and create tire feathering. If they and the front end are tight and the truck is aligned to specs rotating the tires every 5-6000 miles should be all you need to do.

To check the idler and pitman arm jack up each side by the lower control arm and have a buddy grab the tire at 9 and 3 o'clock and shake side to side while you watch the idler arm. There should be no verticals play at all, any play and replace, same with pitman arm

[OCD Solutions]

Shocks will play a part, as will the quality of tire you are buying.

[crazy4sand]

First thing to check on those trucks is the idler arm and the pitman arm, they always go bad and create tire feathering. If they and the front end are tight and the truck is aligned to specs rotating the tires every 5-6000 miles should be all you need to do.

To check the idler and pitman arm jack up each side by the lower control arm and have a buddy grab the tire at 9 and 3 o'clock and shake side to side while you watch the idler arm. There should be no verticals play at all, any play and replace, same with pitman arm

And do a bounce test push up and down on your truck really hard a few times if the truck bounces buy it self and more than 5timesI you have some bad shocks old way to test out shocks. And of course see if they leak

[red_ak_ranger]

rotate your tires more often. Unless you've never replaced your shocks, as long as they're the stock ones they should be fine.


I have tire wear issues too..just got it fixed though, after a tire/wheel nearly came off. For reference the scuba tank points straight up.

[B3IS]

rotate your tires more often. Unless you've never replaced your shocks, as long as they're the stock ones they should be fine.


I have tire wear issues too..just got it fixed though, after a tire/wheel nearly came off. For reference the scuba tank points straight up.

I had the same type of wear my tire guy said shocks so I had him change to new ones with new tires before pismo and it has improved the ride alot.

[crab]

Im happy with the Rancho rs5000 series on my slightly lifted colorado, better ride also.

[suva]

Shocks will definitely play a role in tire wear. To get good wear you also need to rotate your tires often, especially if you're running aggressive tires.

[B3IS]

I am a Regular Rotater.

[wielgot]

Yes shocks could effect this. I have an 05 silverado and I rotate my tires every other oil change

[SXIPro]

150K miles...I would bet your shocks are toast. I pulled all 4 after 87K miles and they were completely done. Zero bounceback.

[98gti]

I believe they are only supposed to last 30K miles or so. They dont have a very long life expectancy.

[crazy4sand]

The stock shocks are good for atleast 80k miles depends what kinda roads ext you travel on, aftermarket shocks generally dont last more than 30k their built to go out, thats why they all give a life time warrenty.

[Bmedlin85]

Thanks for the input yall. I am going to get the whole front end checked out next time I get tires.

[gto0209]

you should get general grabber at2, they seriously last forever, and look beefy as well.

[Buckwild12]

It makes a difference what machine they use to perform the alignment as well. Some places just set the toe and call it a day. Some cars don't come stock with the adjusters needed to properly adjust the caster and camber as well. Find a place with a hunter hawk eye alignment machine and request them to print you out a before and after measurement. You will see how close to manufacturer spec that they were able to get.

[Little_Franny]

Have to disagree about the alignment machine making a difference.... They all perform the same function and measure the same thing. The newer machines just do it a lot faster. As for just setting the toe, that is a lazy alignment tech. I have used old machines the used string between the heads, I have used the new machines with the big solar looking panels, they all do the same thing, what you need is someone who is competent to set your vehicle to factory specs.

The truck in question here should be able to be fully adjusted from the factory, on the upper control arm mounts there should be a plastic piece on each side of each bolt that you remove to allow the cams to move. It is possible that the mounts are not slotted, in that case the make a tool to cut the slots so you can adjust caster/camber.