rear tires cupping on '97 Civic

My rear tires are cupping on my 97 Civic with 100K miles. My local mechanic
(not Honda tech) says that my rear struts need to be replaced.
Isn't it unusual for the rear struts to wear out before the front struts?
Can there be something else that is causing the rear tires to cup on the
inside of the tire?

Thanks,
Robert

 

My friend had to replace rear struts on his 95 civic b4 his front ones...

 

Another cause could be that the wheel is out of balance.

Eric

 

is it both sides or just one? i saw a situation where one of the rear
lower control arms had been put in upside down causing one side to be
"light" on the ground - the tire cupped badly.

 

What kind of tires? 60% of the time it can be blamed on crappy
tires/balance.

 

Or bad shocks;

 

If your rear wheels are not parallel, one tire tread is dragged
sideways ( tread not centered under the wheel) until the stress in the
tire builds up and the tread is dragged back to under the wheel. This
wears out a tire fast....like in a 100 miles. This assumes
Check the rear alignment.

Another suggestion.......get someone to drive your car on a smooth
road at say 60 mph and you look at the tire from another car. Is the
wheel bouncing or jerking? Bouncing would probably be out of ballance
and jerking would be alignment.

My experience with extreme tire cupping was that my Saab 900T's tube
axle was bent. I paid for an alignment, the shop took my money then
told me they could not alignment the rear and I needed a new axle.
Hondas don't have tube axles so you are on your own.