I recently purchased Nitto Mud Grapplers (35x12.5x20) to put on my 04 hemi 4x4 and the tire shop recommened I siped the tires. I agreed to it, being that it was only $15 per tire to do that but my main question is here. I noticed that the tires are "chunking" off a little. I've only driven it 300 miles and there are already fat chunks of rubber missing from the rear tires. Should I be really concerned about it? Or will a little bit of "chunking" always take place after recently siping the tires. I was thinking about going back to the tire shop and rasing hell about how they didn't sipe my tires correctly and that I want new ones unsiped...Whatcha all think?

 

I'm not a tire expert and I don't even know what "siping" is, especially when it comes to mud tires . However, chunks of rubber coming off of new tires does not sound right to me! I would take them back.

 

Siping is what those little cuts in the tread perpendicular to the sides of the tire... They help off-road tires get more grip. Most street intended tires have all the siping they need, and most don't have a thick enough tread to add any, but many off-road tires do not have sufficient siping (why, I dunno!), and many off-road tire dealers have siping machines that cut the sipes in.

Anyhow, I have had this done on tires for a rock crawling Jeep Wrangler I used to have.

Because the process of added sipes to tires that were not molded with them to begin with is not perfect, some small chunks of tread will inevitably come off at the front and backs of some of the tread blocks, especially on driven wheels, and especially when off-roading over rough terrain such as rocks... But, becausw off road tires tend to have VERY thick tread, losing these small chucks is to be expected and the tire shop should have informed you of this likelihood when they offered this service.

However, if it seems like an extreme amount of tire rubber is chunking off, and there is an adverse affect on the ride or the tires balance is noticably affected, go back to the store and complain.... But be aware that aftermarket siping generally voids most tire warranties, so I hope the store told you that too! If not, then I would be wary of going back to them in the future.

 

I wasn't sure what "siping" was, but thanks for the info. Do you have a lift on your truck?? Any pictures?? I would like to see the 35" 20's....

 

Yes I have some pictures of my truck. It's a white 4x4 QC with the superlift 4 inch (was gonna go higher, but am glad I didn't looks clean as is ) with a HEMI. It's currently sporting 35x12.5x20 Nitto Mud Grapplers. The rims are the factory 20x9 satin finish ones. I'll post pictures on Friday, I am currently in Portland on business. One complaint I have with Dodge is they dont take into consideration WE WANT BIGGER TIRES ON OUR TRUCKS!! I wanted 37's but couldn't find any 37's with less than 13.5 inch girth the width of the tire was just too great, and also my 4 inch lift wasn't enough ( was gonna get a 3 inch body lift to add on those 37's, but it wouldnt do any good unless I could find 37's that will fit ). The problem I had with completing the lift and tires was the calipers. Dodge designed them to fit 17 inch rims or bigger....and its expensive to buy new 17's and new bigger tires. So I went with a pretty unique way...mud tires on 20's, I haven't seen another with it yet...but i'm sure I will soon. I should have just bought the truck without the factory 20's....and gotten the factory 17's, that way I would have a bigger selection of tires to choose from. I had to spend $349 per tire for those grapplers, not cheap IMHO.