Tire Wear Pattern - Mickey Thompson ATZ

dieselvrr

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 30, 2018
Messages
131
Location
Fairfax VA
I have about 600 miles on my Mickey Thompson ATZ 33x12.5 R15 tires. Yesterday while getting gas, I noticed the tire wear pattern. Based on the wear, it would seem I have over inflated tires but I run 26 psi cold on all four tires. Front tires toe in to 1/16. Wanted to get some options from you guys, thoughts?

Rear Passenger
77819


Rear Driver
77820


Front Passenger
77821


Front Driver
77822
 
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I saw a post on here where a guy would draw a line across the tread with caulk or anything that will mark and then drive at different PSI to see what pressure was actually best for the tire. You might start there.
 
I saw a post on here where a guy would draw a line across the tread with caulk or anything that will mark and then drive at different PSI to see what pressure was actually best for the tire. You might start there.
That chalk method should only be done by someone who knows what tire pressures are appropriate. Done by someone who doesn't will invariably produce underinflated tires. Not all tire tread designs will wear the entire chalk line evenly.
 
To OP:

The chalk test helps visualize the contact patch of the tire but it isn't perfect and the results are easy to misinterpret. An even wear pattern in the chalk across the entire tread usually demonstrates that the tire is underinflated rather than perfectly inflated as is often believed. You should bear in mind that your Mickey Thompson 12.5" wide tires mounted on 8" wide wheels will have slightly more of a crown to the tread than if they were mounted on the 8.5"-11" wide wheels that Mickey Thompson recommends. Also bear in mind that some tires are designed with a greater crown than others.

If you are inviting our attention to the sand and dirt sticking to the tire tread and describing that as a wear pattern, your tires do not appear to be grossly overinflated at 26 psi, although if your jeep is on the light side you might try 24 psi and compare patterns to see if the 2 psi difference in pressure changes the contact patch to any measurable degree.
 
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To OP:

The chalk test helps visualize the contact patch of the tire but it isn't perfect and the results are easy to misinterpret. An even wear pattern in the chalk across the entire tread usually demonstrates that the tire is underinflated rather than perfectly inflated as is often believed. You should bear in mind that your Mickey Thompson 12.5" wide tires mounted on 8" wide wheels will have slightly more of a crown to the tread than if they were mounted on the 8.5"-11" wide wheels that Mickey Thompson recommends. Also bear in mind that some tires are designed with a greater crown than others.

If you are inviting our attention to the sand and dirt sticking to the tire tread and describing that as a wear pattern, your tires do not appear to be grossly overinflated at 26 psi, although if your jeep is on the light side you might try 24 psi and compare patterns to see if the 2 psi difference in pressure changes the contact patch to any measurable degree.

Thanks for the replies. I wasnt inviting the attention to the sand/dirt, that was coincidence. I was focused on the lack of wear on the outer edges of the tire. On each of the pics, you can see the outer edges still have the rubber hairs while the center is wearing.
 
The rears look worse than the fronts, I'll try to lower 1-2 psi max and see if that helps.

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