Has anyone had issues with tire feathering on the front tires? I noticed it before I brought it in and asked the dealer to look at it. They told me I was 1,000 miles over what they should be rotated and that's why. I've noticed other people on another site complaining about the same thing. The technician told me that the tires are soft. I can't believe that that would cause them to feather after 7,000 miles.

 

My wife's 04 and my 07 both did it. Alignment checks OK. ZX says to rotate at every oil change or thereabouts.

 

It's funny you post this on the day i have an alignment and nitrofill done because of "cupping" on my front tires. And i do get my tires rotated whenever i get an oil change. Sucks.

 

Was your alignment out of spec? They told me that my 07 was OK.

 

yea, well i've had it for a year... i know you should do it every 6 months... but i've had my tires rotated a lot and no one said anything until now.

 

It comes as no surprise that the technicians and other dealer or repair facility related folks have given the answers they have. It's generally a sign of THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT!

I've been through more sets of tires than I ever care to count. Reason being is that most of my hobbies involve some form of motorsports. This being the case, tires have essentially become just a typical expense for me. Seeing that I don't have the equipment to perform allignments on my own, I have to rely on someone else do so. What I don't rely on are some of the circus monkeys out there that either work at a dealership or tire shop. Mind you, there are some guys/gals out there that are good... very good. But it has become apparent to me that the vast majority just are not. They have a very narrow spectrum of knowledge and are not capable to using any kind of brain power to associate one set of problems with another, or piece together root causes with symptoms.

So, here's the bottom line with your tires.... there is an alignment issue. Yes, the vehicle MAY be in "spec", but that doesn't mean there isn't another problem. Feathering on the outer or inner edges of the tire is generally a result of "toe" being out of spec. Depending on how bad the toe is out combined with how deligent the owner is with tire pressure, feathering could be experienced across the width of the tire. (if you want to know what "toe" is, let me know and I'll explain).

If you're seeing the feathering across the width of the tire, and toe is in spec, another issue could be shocks/struts. When these wear out or are near the point of no longer being in good condition, they are incapable of holding the tire on the ground. You won't necessarily notice this while driving, but the suspension, even ever so slightly will actually "bounce" down the road. Because the tire is actually intermittenly making contact with the road, there is a fluctuation in wheel speed as the tire leaves and then again makes contact with the road. This causes the tread to wear unevenly and eventually cause a "feathering" effect (noticable high and low spots on the width of the tire).

Hope that answers some questions there.

As for the feathering being a result of improper rotation. That's mostly BS too. Sure, the front and rear tires do notwear at the same rate. But, the wear in general... if the vehicle is in good alignment and assuming proper air pressures are kept, will wear evenly across the width of the tire. Rotating the tires at regular intervals is what allows you to effectively wear all four (five if you're rotating in your spare like some folks I know) tires at the same rate.

Depending on the tire you're running, the tire may very well be soft. But again, this is not cause for improper wear of the tire. If will certainly wear faster, but even nonetheless. As for feathering caused within 7000 miles. YES, that is possible... but again, due to improper alignment, possibly even balance in some cases.

Sorry for my long rant.... this is a bit of a sore spot with me when I hear fellow enthusiasts being fed full of crap!

 

The deal with the Tahoe and tire feathering is:
Due to the nature of the Independent Front Suspension (IFS) utilized on the Tahoe and other GMT800 and 900 vehicles there is a good chance that your tires can be properly inflated and the alignment can be within factory specifications and your front tires will show signs of feathering across the surface within several thousand miles of driving, this is normal.

Without getting into measurements and spec’s and a bunch nonsense that nobody has the time for, I’ll summarize the reasoning for this in just a few short sentences: The measurements (spec’s) set by the factory are engineered to provide long tire life but most importantly they are “averaged” out in an attempt to account for a multitude of loads, temperatures, tire pressure differentials etc to provide the owner with a well mannered and neutral handling vehicle for safety sake, the side-effect of these settings is that the tires may feather slightly.
A +10 degree Tow angle is called for on Tahoe’s to enhance the vehicles overall stability and improve handling but it can create just a tiny bit of tire feathering under certain conditions this is normal and poses no problems so long as you follow the tire rotation schedule in the owners manual (every 5,000 – 8,000 miles).
Now if you see other types of abnormal wear they could indicate a problem and should be dealt with accordingly.

 

Dano,
As of the last rotation, it looks as though the feathering is only occurring on the outside of the tire. Are you suggesting that I talk to the tech about their "specifications" and see about getting them a little more precise to minimize the feathering? I've been monitoring the pressure pretty much every day.
Thanks

 

ZX,
I understand what you're saying as far as averaging out the specs for alignment and tire pressure. The feathering I'm noticing is on the outside front tires. I've just had a rotation so I'm going to monitor the wear on the front again. I'm just wondering if it should be occurring across the tire consistently or is the outside normal? As of right now, I'm not towing or carrying excess weight. Is there any specs that I can request when the dealer looks at this that may reduce the tire wear based on my situation? (ie: alignment and pressure) The tech told me to bring it in again and tell the service desk that it's pulling to the right so they'd do different tests. I'm pretty sure they'll just check the alignment again.

I've read that someone said the feathering is due to the chamber and caster setting being incorrect. Could this also be a problem?

 

First: It is normal to notice some difference in tread pattern wear between the front and rear tires after just 4,000 miles.


Secondly: Your tread feathering is minor right?


If the feathering is noticeable on just part of the tire (the outside in your case) there is a chance that your alignment is out slightly, but it is most likely due to the fact that you lightly use your Tahoe, if you were towing or loading it more heavily the feathering would most likely be more uniform across the tread width.
Keep in mind that the reason a tire rotation is recommended by GM between 5,000 and 8,000 miles is because at these intervals the tire wear difference between the front and rear is significant and the tires should be rotated so that each set of tires is not worn in that position too long which will have a negative impact on tread life.



The reason the dealership service desk is asking you to lie about the "vehicle pulling to the right" is simply so they can bill GM for a warranty claim for a problem that most likely doesn’t exist.


The GM factory warranty will cover a re-alignment (you pay $0) up until you have 7,500 miles registered on your odometer.