volvo tire....

[Rick Warkentien]

Hey i'm on digest mode and just saw your post on the list and thought i maight
have a different solution....

Is it possible that the bearings in that wheel are bad allowing the tire and
wheel to deflect sideways when a side loading is introduced. Bearings would
also cause a rumbling noise or vibration in certain circumstances peinding how
the bearings are worn.

My suggestion would be put the tire on the car and with the car up in the air
grab the tire at 12 and 6 and try to move it back and forth. I would be very
suspicious of the bearings in that wheel.

Alignment issues are going to show as uneven treadwear acrost the tread of the
tire and i see no evidence of that. Also bad belts in the tire will manifest
themselves most times as giant bubbles in the tread that are very easily felt
as a difference in tread height as you run your hand around the tire.

Just thought i would throw something else out there for ya.
BTW i have about 6 years in the tire biz and i have seen just about everything
(even a whole tire iron inside a tire).

Rick