bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Yes it's different. Alignment is the same everywhere, but balancing can be done in a number of ways. There's some basic equipment. Then there's the Hunter (9700 etc.) machines which can do 'road force variation' and other checks. Then there's the on car balancing which is what it sounds like they balance the wheels while they're mounted on the car, at, where I go, 130mph. Is it worth it? Well if a smooth ride at all speeds matters then yes.

morris/merlin70 - yes I go to Butler, but IMHO, worth every penny. I've had yahoos other place work on my car and they're not going to touch my car again.

merlin70 - Butler has several locations in the Atlanta area - I go to the one on Longmire Way just off Buford Highway, just outside I285.

redgs4

Ditto on what everyone else said - I get about 15K per set of tires and they tend to get rather noisy toward the end. I'll have to defer to Blue on the broken belts - when you pull the tires you should be able to tell. We have seen a lot of strange things on CL including tread separation but your particular sidewall deformation is the first I have seen.

LB Lex

I remember seeing in auto stores pictures of tire wear and the type you have means that your shocks are bad. Supposedly the bad shocks cause the tires to bounce/undulate thereby causing the waviness. So maybe you can check out this possibility. What is the condition of your shocks, e.g. old/new, stock/aftermarket, miles.

BatKing

I have Tein CS aftermarket coil over. Many members here have ithe CS and I don't believe anyone has reported any problem yet. So I believe it is a good quality coil over. Coil over has about 25k miles on them and still pretty firm. Also I tested the shocks with a very simple method. Just push the car and it bounce back once (I don't know if this is the correct way to do a simple test. So let me know if I am wrong). not bouncing up and down and up and down multiple times.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

well i have the tein cs (after the HA and the flex), and i had 19s and now 20s. same here, all my tires went for about 15k to 20k, that's about the right lifespan.

i didn't get uneven wavy wear or so though, but i agree with what everone else said, driving habits, alignment, etc... they all come together to affect the wear

BatKing

One thing I didn't mention before is I do speeding but only on the freeway. I don't do any other kind of aggressive driving such as taking a very sharp turns or trying to lose my end or spinning my tires. In fact ever since I ride on those 19s I drive pretty much like a old lady. and my wife will just laugh on me when I passing those speed bump VERY slowly.

I mean 20k miles for a set of tires is OK. but all the problems appear after 5k. and 10k of the 20k miles, I am driving in a unbearable condition is something I can't afford.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

well that's why you should do alignment more often. i think i usually do it about at least once a yr, maybe twice a yr. bad alignment will cause the tires to go back very quickly

morris

iTrader: (2)

That wear pattern isnt normal as far as I can tell, many of us gett inside edge wear or center wear from over inflation, but that waviness looks far from what I would call normal wear. As for the shocks I too agree that something may be wrong with them, I also remember that chart in the auto parts store having a similar pattern. Also it is possible to get a bad shock we are not talking about the Tein CS series just one shock, which I guess could go bad.

BatKing

Then all my 4 shocks all have problem, since all four tires looks the same just in different level. I guss I need to check my shocks too. Or maybe it is time to go a Tein dealer to re-adjust it?

morris

iTrader: (2)

If its all 4 then you got me, maybe you better take it to a shop for a professional opinion

TAMR_GUS98

Aside from faulty shock/struts, this kind of abnormal tire wear could also be from a bad set of tires. Just what I've seen.
Will