Tire Shaving

[Jeff Lundberg]

Back in 05, I had a lot of trouble with Interco Mud Terrain's. They just wouldn't balance. Driving on anything other than the trail had me shimmying like crazy. I finally got the tires shaved / trued, basically made round. The shop I went to told me that none of these mud terrain tires are actually round. Shaving the tires gets them running smoother, and i couldn't believe how long they lasted. So now, almost 20 years later, tires still aren't round, and it's hard to find a shop that shaves tires. I recommend the process if you can find a place that'll do it. I don't care if it voids the warranty or not. It's worth every penny. And it's only about $40 per tire. Does anyone else have experience with this? And does anyone know of a shop that still does it?

 

[Obi-Wan]

A properly balanced tire on a correctly set up suspension should never need this process to run smooth and true.

Your problems lie elsewhere.

 

[Jeff Lundberg]

A properly balanced tire on a correctly set up suspension should never need this process to run smooth and true.

Your problems lie elsewhere.

Nope, the problem was that the tire was not even close to being round. When you see it on the tire truing machine, you can see just how out of round the tires were. It's amazing to me that tire companies would stamp them "good". My suspension was set up perfectly. Tires just do this. Tractor trailers get this service done all the time. After i got it done, the same mud tires lasted over 50k miles.

 

[TheBoogieman]

I get mine balanced correctly or don't pay the shop. I also had a set shaved by my local Barber shop for $12. It took me 2 days to get the tiny hairs off my Jeep.

 

[TheBoogieman]

After i got it done, the same mud tires lasted over 50k miles.

Then your Jeep was never driven on the street, so balancing isn't an issue. I had Interco tires and they lasted 20,000 miles tops.

 

[Jeff Lundberg]

I get mine balanced correctly or don't pay the shop. I also had a set shaved by my local Barber shop for $12. It took me 2 days to get the tiny hairs off my Jeep.

I see there's some disagreement with me, which is fine. But when you see a brand new mud tire spinning on the balancer, and it looks like someone dragged it for a couple of miles with the emergency brake on, you'll see where I'm coming from. It's happened with a couple sets of tires for me. The tire guy should not have to stick 2+ packs of weights to your wheel to get it close to balanced, but still not be really balanced. The shaving fixed it. Hell he even took the tire off, and spun the wheel by itself, just to show me it was the tire causing the problem, and the wheel was near perfect by itself.

 

[TheBoogieman]

I see there's some disagreement with me, which is fine. But when you see a brand new mud tire spinning on the balancer, and it looks like someone dragged it for a couple of miles with the emergency brake on, you'll see where I'm coming from. It's happened with a couple sets of tires for me. The tire guy should not have to stick 2+ packs of weights to your wheel to get it close to balanced, but still not be really balanced. The shaving fixed it. Hell he even took the tire off, and spun the wheel by itself, just to show me it was the tire causing the problem, and the wheel was near perfect by itself.

I usually get mine Road Force balanced if there's an issue. If my 35" tires aren't perfectly balanced, there's an issue. Someone does their job or I drive away without paying them. Very simple and NO tire needs shaving.

 

[Jeff Lundberg]

Then your Jeep was never driven on the street, so balancing isn't an issue. I had Interco tires and they lasted 20,000 miles tops.

It was my daily driver. I was young and it was my only vehicle. It even quieted down the tires a little as well. Believe me, don't believe me, I don't care, I'm just sharing my experience on the matter.

 

[R49]

I believe you Jeff.
Tire shaving and truing were a big thing in the 80’s. You don’t see much of it anymore though.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

I've never had intercos but they look out of round just in the photos, so I'm not gonna challenge this.

I certainly haven't had this issue with coopers or BFGs. I do have a consistent slight wobble that only appears between 60 and 70mph but has persisted through multiple balances, rotations, and even sets of tires so I think one of my aftermarket wheels might be drilled off center. Is it possible your wheels might be the problem and shaving the tires brought the whole assembly into round?

 

[Jeff Lundberg]

I've never had intercos but they look out of round just in the photos, so I'm not gonna challenge this.

I certainly haven't had this issue with coopers or BFGs. I do have a consistent slight wobble that only appears between 60 and 70mph but has persisted through multiple balances, rotations, and even sets of tires so I think one of my aftermarket wheels might be drilled off center. Is it possible your wheels might be the problem and shaving the tires brought the whole assembly into round?

Nope, as stated above, the tire guy put the wheel on by itself, and it spun damn near perfect by itself. He put the the wheel and tire on the balancer, set up a gauge on the high point, and spun by hand to show me, I couldn't believe the difference from the high point to the low point.

 

[Jeff Lundberg]

I believe you Jeff.
Tire shaving and truing were a big thing in the 80’s. You don’t see much of it anymore though.

Thanks man! You sure don't. I've been looking.

 

[chili_pepper]

I won't question your story, but with exception to certain types of vehicle racing, I've never heard of the need to shave tires. To me, it sounds like there is a quality issue with the chosen tire model and/or brand.

I suspect you're going to have a hard time finding anyone to do it in this day and age. First, I doubt most shops have the equipment or experienced techs anymore. Second, liability, modifying a tire to be used on the road could put the shop in a bit of legal pickle if something goes wrong and is believe to be related to the rubber.

 

[TheBoogieman]

It was my daily driver. I was young and it was my only vehicle. It even quieted down the tires a little as well. Believe me, don't believe me, I don't care, I'm just sharing my experience on the matter.

That's like buying a new Jeep because you have a wobble you can't figure out. Good for you.

 

[Jeff Lundberg]

That's like buying a new Jeep because you have a wobble you can't figure out. Good for you.

Uh, I did figure it out, the tires weren't close to being round, the guy couldn't balance the tires. I had them made round, problem went away. Did someone piss in your corn flakes? Do any kind of reading on the subject and you'll see that it's totally suitable for mud tires, and the main reason a lot of shops don't do it any more is because of how long it takes to do. Nobody is demanding that you get your tires shaved but it's definitely an option if you can find it.

 

[mrblaine]

A properly balanced tire on a correctly set up suspension should never need this process to run smooth and true.

Your problems lie elsewhere.

Not even close to accurate. A perfectly balanced tire will still cause major issues if it isn't round and true. I've had too many tires warrantied or swapped out before I left the tire store because I watch them on the balanced. If I can see the tread hop and or squirm on the balancer, it will suck on the rig.

 

[mrblaine]

I've never had intercos but they look out of round just in the photos, so I'm not gonna challenge this.

I certainly haven't had this issue with coopers or BFGs. I do have a consistent slight wobble that only appears between 60 and 70mph but has persisted through multiple balances, rotations, and even sets of tires so I think one of my aftermarket wheels might be drilled off center. Is it possible your wheels might be the problem and shaving the tires brought the whole assembly into round?

Try watching the tire spin on the balancer instead of guessing.

 

[mrblaine]

Very simple and NO tire needs shaving.

The vast majority of MTR's did. You can see where they trued them up with a giant sander before they sent them out.

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

... He put the the wheel and tire on the balancer, set up a gauge on the high point, and spun by hand to show me, I couldn't believe the difference from the high point to the low point.

How much difference between the high point and the low point?

 

[Jeff Lundberg]

How much difference between the high point and the low point?

From high to low, a quarter of an inch.