Tires: Cupping at center of tire, rotating tires, rear tire

Question
1996 Camry 4-cyl

The left rear tire is cupping at the center of the tire only. The tires are properly inflated. Purchased car at 65,000 miles with new tires on it. There has always been a slight slapping noise from the tire at all speeds. Now at 80,000 miles the one (drivers) rear tire is showing obvious signs of wear (cupping) only at the center of the tire and around its entire circumference. I have had the tire balance checked and seems to be ok. What next?

Answer
Graham,

The first problem here is that you can not undo the wear pattern without a bit of luck.  You may have fixed the problem but once that type of wear starts, it is difficult to get it to wear evenly.

Rotating the tire out of its current position is a start.  Plus, you will want to check the alignment.

And lastly, rotating tires should be a regular maintenance item - every 5K to 8K miles.