No tire wear issues in 100K but was having ride issues. Replaced the rear shocks with KYBs and now my rear tires are starting to cup. Had suspension and alignment checked and no issues there that would cause cupping. Heard a rumor that KYB shocks are having issues. Anyone heard about or experienced problems with KYBs?

It's a 2013.

I bought kyb shocks maybe 8 yrs ago, or many years ago but I never had any problems.

Even never rotated my tires maybe once in the nearly last 13 yrs.

unbalanced tires?

Seriously doubt it’s the new shocks fault.

What specifically was the " ride issues " you mention ? Can it be other BAD suspension components are simply a very unlucky " combo " now with new shocks (KYB specifically ) . Like NOW you got some kinds of resonances going on , like NOW amplified , a BIG FLUKE - if you will ?? Like flimsy 'T' or especially 'S' rated tires , and ONLY 1-ply sidewall and /or worn , are flapping around like WATERBALLONS on the pavement ?? I wonder how a NEW pair of say ' V ' or higher speed rated ,and like a 2ply sidewall would act ? That's like Just $ 225 more dollars, ya know
But , Eplain the prior ride issues if you will

How many miles on the tires?
I have KYBs on my Pathfinder. No issues.

Right , and XL tires keep shape very well ( usually ARE 2 ply -sidewall ) I forgot to mention . Odd that IF it IS BOTH rears ?,ya know? Like I fully inspect , check compression- action - extension - if BOTH shocks rebound at the same time ,any leakage , etc. etc. And I assume oldnissanguy did SOME of that inspection ? And of course it can't hurt to make a broader , more detailed sweep inspection of entire rear suspension components , 2nd opinion at another shop = plan B ?

oldnissanguy , can you state tire BRAND , model , UTOQ rating (tread - traction - temp) , full ' size profile ',speed rating , and Tread plies & Sidewall plies AND if SL or XL or "Fuel efficient JUNK " ?? Mfr date code and MOST importantly how much tread % left ??

CRAP comes in many forms
Something of an enigma ,ya

Not a race car driver, but the ride and handling was not as good as when new. Shocks were leaking and the car had 91K miles. That was 11K miles ago. Replaced rear shocks, 4 tires, front lower control arms and an alignment. Big improvement. Tires are Cooper Discoverer SRX 215/70R16 100H. I was looking for tires with good wet weather handling and these seem to be okay. I've rotated them twice since installation. Had the alignment checked yesterday and they adjusted the camber (has camber kits on front) some to address the slight feathering I was seeing on the front tires (but still in spec).

Checked the tires closely this morning and I can now detect a slight cupping on the outside of three of the tires, but they've been rotated so all have been on the rear at some point. Still could be the tires. I'll watch them closely and see if the alignment change makes any difference.

Honestly , Cooper not so good , and I thought problem was ONLY rear , didn't know you've rotated . That complicates the diagnosis . Could be simply " Balloney -skins on an older suspension " , ya know.

Before I read prev. reply from you though , I re-thinked the KEY phrase in original post " 100k mi never cupped - WITH KYB's we see cupping on rear ". And I came full circle and theorized BAD SHOCKS !!
Example :1 ) A low quality model in KYB line ;2 ) KYB farmed to CHINA to produce them - they cut NUMEROUS CORNERS beknownst OR unbeknownst to KYB corporate ; 3)They are fake , knockoffs , counterfeit ( China). 4) BOTH? defective production run ???
Like if your shocks were disected like a youtuber shows and theres about 5 ways to Sunday they are bogus inside . Shocks don't just have to have a stiff " push-pull " action - they must be able to dampen various FREQUENCIES of forces from different speeds AND different continuously bumpy road surfaces - THAT 's the untold hi-tech in modern shocks . CRAP SHOCKS WILL FAIL DYNAMICALLY ( en vivo ! )

IF " Bad Shocks " are the case , you must get'm off car 1 ) try to petition KYB for refund ,no? Then get credit for KYB 's NEXT BETTER MODEL shock , upgrade one or two notches . 2 ) Got refund ? Go buy ANOTHER brand , and a freakin good heavy duty gas model in that brand .
Ya get what you pay for ............................unless you've bought a fake

Shocks are KYB Excel-G Gas that I bought from Amazon.com Services LLC. Paid $120 for the pair. As you say there's no way to tell if they're real and I never thought to look for signs that they weren't.

You got the box still ? If the cardboard is the consistency of a cereal box ? Is " China " ANYWHERE on part , or box , or instructions ? Are the instructions 100 times MORE Illitterate than MY ramblings - broken , nonsensical sentences , punctuation of a six year old ,poorly printed on " rice-paper" ???
I was afraid you bought online , and Amazon has all those little cheasy? middle-man shippers....ya know.

Less and less available to do so , but " brick & mortar " = WYFSIWYFG ( What You F 'n See Is What You F 'n Get )

So sorry
p.s. I can " broker " you a nice 1965 pl410 ............Just don't tell MAMA

Box and paper work long gone. I'm pretty familiar with the hallmarks of the really cheap Chinese products and nothing stood out. Anything legally produced there for an American company would probably look legit. At this point I'm in wait and see mode.

oldnissanguy wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 19, 2022 8:29 am

Box and paper work long gone. I'm pretty familiar with the hallmarks of the really cheap Chinese products and nothing stood out. Anything legally produced there for an American company would probably look legit. At this point I'm in wait and see mode.

As an engineer who dealt with "cracked cup syndrome" more than once, I can vouch for that. Chinese products aren't inherently inferior, but they're only as good as the specification you give them and the level of QC you require. You can find perfect examples side-by-side in the wrench section at Harbor Freight. The Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Pro wrenches will look similar but there will be a world of difference in performance. The cheap versions are truly cheap, my Pro versions have been attacked with everything but high explosives and come up smiling. They're every bit as good as a Snap On. Both versions are made in China, but one to much stiffer specifications.

Is your tire directional? You could swap inside out and check to see tire wear again caused due to shocks or other suspension components..esp you have rotated.

Tires are not directional and I cross rotate.

Radials should never be cross-rotated, directional or not. Only bias-ply tires can be crossed with impunity. The only way to cross a non-directional radial without damaging the belts is to dismount the tire and swap it to the opposite rim in the same rolling direction. The belt fibers on all radials take a "set" once they're on the car, and reversing the rolling direction also causes all those fibers to try to squirm in the opposite direction. This will lead to tire noise, distortion of the belt, and can even cause the belt to separate and destroy the tire.

Yes, I’ve heard this information a number of times but never able to personally confirm it. I’ve been cross rotating the radial tires on my cars and trucks for decades and have never experienced any of these issues. Just sent a query to Cooper tires to get their take on it.

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 21, 2022 11:06 am

Radials should never be cross-rotated, directional or not. Only bias-ply tires can be crossed with impunity. The only way to cross a non-directional radial without damaging the belts is to dismount the tire and swap it to the opposite rim in the same rolling direction. The belt fibers on all radials take a "set" once they're on the car, and reversing the rolling direction also causes all those fibers to try to squirm in the opposite direction. This will lead to tire noise, distortion of the belt, and can even cause the belt to separate and destroy the tire.

Hmmm, interesting.

Over the years I've seen lots of them that developed "camel humps" in the belts and came apart. I had a personal experience with it when we bought the wife's '13 Altie, someone had crossed the tires before we purchased it. The fronts were new but the rears were unexpectedly noisy, so much so that I initially thought both rear wheel bearings were bad. However, I couldn't get a peep out of the bearings on a lift, and when the left tire developed a hump after about 8K miles, I realized what the problem was. I replaced both with a used set of identical Tigerpaws, paying attention to the rotation direction. Those are dead silent, so the problem wasn't the tread design.

FYI, it's easy to identify the correct rotation for any used non-directional radial. The tread will tell you. Grooves which are perpendicular to the direction of travel will have edges that are rounded on the side which first contacts the pavement and sharp on the side that rolls off the pavement:

I don't actually recommend rotation at all on FWD vehicles. The rears have no steering or traction load and will last 100K or more on most FWD's if they're simply left alone, so rotation simply leaves you buying 4 tires at a time instead of 2. The tire companies love that, but no one else should. Since you want to keep good tread on the rear at all times (spins are no fun, and 98% of drivers don't know how to gas their way out of one), I recommend running the rears down to half and replacing the fronts as needed, then move the rears to the front and put new ones in back when the old rears hit the halfway mark.

I see my AWD JUKE manual says rotate front to back , keep on same side . But they never bring directional into the stipulation . First time I did see in an owner's manual . Hmmmm? Ya I better not rotate my 650i's Michies to the OTHER SIDE Ya?

macgiver wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 21, 2022 1:29 pm

I see my AWD JUKE manual says rotate front to back , keep on same side . But they never bring directional into the stipulation . First time I did see in an owner's manual . Hmmmm? Ya I better not rotate my 650i's Michies to the OTHER SIDE Ya?

Nope, front to back only with radials. And since your Juke has vectored AWD, you should definitely rotate regularly.

Just got a video from Cooper Tires today on tire rotation. The only type of tire rotations they recommend are versions of cross rotation, no front to back. I'll stick with the manufactures recommendations. I'm pretty sure they know what's best for their tires.