So I have have been experiencing shimming at the steering wheel, brought in, was told the front tires are cupped. These Dunlop 5000 16" tires have approx 3000 miles, they were new with the stubble still on them and didnt have a problem until about a month ago. I asked what could cause this since I keep it between 32-34psi, was told if the car is lowered it could cause this; my car has stock suspension.

My question is, what are possible causes to cupping on the front?

 

An alignment issue is pretty likely here. Can you remember any occasions when you hit a really bad pothole or something? Probably all you need is an alignment. (~$100) It's possible that there's damage to your suspension. If so, that will have to be repaired. Either way, this condition will really be rough on your tires until it's corrected, so find a good alignment shop right away.

 

Are you absolutely sure your tires have the proper amount of air? I know you said you check often, but with the run-flat tires, unfortunately you can't use the old "if the sidewall is bulging" method to see if your tires need air.

I know it's obvious, but it's the first thing that comes to mind-underinflated tires.

Good luck finding your problem, hope MINI dealer covers what ever it ends up being...

 

I've regularly checked my tires just about every 2 weeks... I don't trust the tire pressure light.

That said, the dealer didn't have any options for me but point me to the tire shop. I still think it might have been related to a steering rack that was replaced last year, I've never been satisfied with the steering/handling ever since. Plus a loose tierod nut didn't help the feeling about their repair....

 

Acutally, I am quite trust the tire pressure light. My passenger side front tire happens to leak from time to time. I pumped the tires to around 30-32psi, and that single one will drop to like 25psi after a month to two month. The tire indicator will light up and I add more air into it.

 

I had tire cupping problems in my last car. It was an alignment issue -- the problem went away when I (finally) got a good alignment job.