Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires KDW Slipped Belts

I read some of the archived posts about noisy KDWs and the theory that "slipped belts" are common with these tires. One of mine is making a ton of noise (I rotated it to the back, and the noise followed it, so I know it's not a suspension or alignment issue). My question is: How safe is it to drive on a tire with this issue? BTW, the tires all have about 30K mi. on them, but still have a surprising amount of tread left (no driver's schools or Auto-X's for me in since I've had the tires).

Are you talking about a separated belt? What kind of noise is it making?

Kind of a wobbling/thumping noise. I'll probably try getting it rebalanced, but after reading the archives it looks like a common problem - that's where I came up with the "slipped belt" term.

mine thump, but then again, they're just about ready to blowout as well :rolleyes:

The thumping noise is a classic belt separation indicator. I've had a few of these in my driving experience.
Try to get the tire replaced as soon as possible under warranty as a defect in manufacture. The tire could fail or blowout when driving.

My KDW's suffered from uneven wear and severe cupping developed on the inside edge, of the fronts. I just replaced all 4 last week and the installer made no comment of torn belts or seperation. He claims once they started wearing unevenly, they are at a point of no return.

The only thing I can think of, that caused the uneven wear, is a combination of over-inflation and a possible problem with the front alignment toe setting.

I had followed the advise of someone here on this board of running 38psi front and 34psi rear for inflation numbers. My rear tires were still good for another 10K miles but my fronts started showing threads on the inside edge at just 32K miles.

I rotated front to rear every 10K and the original fronts started showing a little wear at 20K and were shot at 32K.

My new game plan is to keep my tires around 34psi and make sure the alignment is within spec. Regular rotations and keeping a closer watch this time.

i was told at the tire store that every other time i get the tires rotated that I should get the tires unmounted and remounted on the opposing sides because directional tires tend to wear when running in one direction... he said that would help reduce the noise from the tires

Thanks, DanB - I'll check BFG's warranty policy (they're not the original tires). Since they all have about 1/3 of their tread left, I'll probably just end up springing for new ones.