Ram 3500 DRW with Nexen tires

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Now your toe is close to 0° which is where it needs to be to avoid tire wear on the outside edge.
You will notice a difference.

Peace
Dave
 

sengli

Well-known member
Well I shouldnt have started this thread, cause now I have the problem. One of my junk nexen front tires has had a belt come apart in it, and the truck started shaking very badly out of now where. Would shake at pretty much any speed, on any type of road surface.

Only had 14k miles on the tires. What a waste. Caused the front end to shake the nut loose on the drag link too. Going to install NITTO dura grapplers on all six spots.
 
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rwdennis

Active Member
Im not sure people know this but at Americas tire you can add a road hazzard to ANY tire , doesnt have to be bought there , had some walmart tires on my 14 3500 duley , had one seperate , free tire (have to pay for a new road hazzard on the replacement around 20 bucks )
Just added road hazard to my 2019 road warrior 429 , was around 105.00 for 6 tires .
 

RickL

Well-known member
Bones check your alignment specs on the front end, the specs in the alignment books are incorrect check this out https://www.thurenfabrication.com/tech/alignment-and-handling.html

I’m not sure if the author of this link just messed up or he’s a little confused? Of the 3 “normal” alignment adjustments done on a typical vehicle (the Ram 3500 falls into this category) toe and CAMBER are tire wearing adjustments. Toe being the biggest offender of tire wear.

The article states caster can affect tire which at that point I needed to do some research to make sure something hadn’t since I went to a tech school almost 50 years ago. If you look up Hunter alignment which is probably the most used equipment out there, they will state that caster is NOT a tire wearing angle. Caster angle is tilt of the steering knuckle either forward or back from a center position. Caster is there to provide a return to center when a person turns either direction. As a result of either positive (forward leaning) or negative leaning you can also affect the heaviness or lightness of the steering.

I only bring this up as up as if I was still in a shop today and someone brought me this article my first reaction is to question the entire article. That being said, I’m somewhat on board with the toe recommendation AS LONG AS the steering components are in very good condition. The reason for toe is to help overcome the natural movement of the parts involved in the steering linkage. If you have zero lateral movement in the steering linkage then zero toe would work. But there is always going to be some movement, so depending on if the linkage is forward of the knuckle or rearward of the knuckle dictates the correct toe-in or toe-out adjustments.

My basic theory on tire wear is this, if all you do is use your vehicle for towing your 5th wheel have an alignment done with your entire rig attached. But few shops can accommodate that so you need to find one or based on your circumstances adjust, monitor and adjust as required to minimize tire. (Yes, my Ram 3500 is only used for hauling. My wife follows me with another vehicle, that I’m not replacing a now $85-$90k vehicle every 4-5 years. I can replace her car at a much lower cost and the fuel economy difference, along with potential parking issues are big perks. Not for everyone but it works for us)
 

farside291

Well-known member
Just over 32K on my Nexen tires, have lost 3 out of 6 due to tread separation. Replacing slowly but surely as the Nexens fail with Michelins. Good thing is, I will only have to replace two at a time as the Michelins wear under normal conditions. Seems like the Nexens on the rear are the ones with the tread separating. I don't think they can handle the pin weight of the fifthwheel. Always run with 80 psi in all 6 tires.
 

RickL

Well-known member
I just replaced all 6 tires yesterday after 38000 miles on the Nexens. The rear were down to 3-4 32nds, nice even wear across all four rear tires. I run 75 psi in the front and 65 psi in the rear. That provides me with plenty of carrying capacity on all four corners. I would have replaced them with Nexen, but as a retiree of Goodyear with my discount it was a no brainer to go with Goodyear. Installed the SR-A as I don’t get off road and even if I do I have 4 wheel drive.

A Ram dealer is taking care of the jam nut recall next week and part of that is doing an alignment (so he told me). So with the alignment and lifetime balance/rotation from a Goodyear company owned location I am anticipating getting between 35-40k on the tires. Anything over 40k I’ll be elated.
 
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