I'm at 30k (2 years) km on my existing tyres and fast approaching the 40k km mark. Do you guys find car tyres really do last that long?
Do you find rotating the tyres help? Do you have to get wheel alignment done again if you rotate? Because that stuff is pricey!
Edit: Tyres 235 /50 / 17 - heavish car, never had them rotated, drive super carefully. After long lasting tyres, got any recommendations?
yeah, type of car, vehicle load, driving style, how you take corners, your typical road conditions (highways vs rural). i don't gun the pedal and I drive slow. each time i hit 60k, the tyre always still looks good
Not sure why you got a -ve and the person before you a +ve
I’ve had mine for three years, about 35K done. Rotate them every six months. Warranty claims they’re good for 50K as long as you go get them checked every six months
Do you pay extra for getting them rotated?
No, because they're part of my warranty conditions in that I have to go get them checked every six months.
Sorry if a dumb question - do you have to do an alignment too each time?
Sounds like Bridgestone Turanzas would be perfect for you. Very smooth and last forever. If you get them from a Bridgestone store you get well taken care of. Free rotations and checks. Free puncture repair and many other things over a minimum 2 year period. Plus the warranty is huge too.
That’s what I have on my car: Turanza Serenity Plus with a 205/55/R16 profile
@kerfuffle: It's amazing how much better the service and benefits are from Bridgestone than any other store. To me their equivalent to Michelin, Pirelli etc are better too.
I recently replaced the original set of tyres that came with my car, just over 60k and still legal, and I could have got a little more but got a really great deal on a new set.
I don't nurse the car and most of the driving was country/rural roads.
Me too, 58k kms and they would have been legal except for the front left was slightly low on the inside, if I had been a bit more dilligent rotating them I might have got a bit further. They were on the car since new, so maybe in the future they might not last quite as long
You don’t necessarily need a wheel alignment each rotation, but the alignment is the most important part of keeping tyres for longer. Poor alignment allows them to wear excessively.
Keeping the correct inflation also keep tyres in good condition longer. Erratic or enthusiastic driving helps wear them out.
Cheap tyres often don’t last as long and become a false economy, but expensive tyres designed for better grip also wear faster. All tyres are compromise between grip, noise and wear. Harder long wearing tyres will not have as much grip and be noisier. Talk to your tyre dealer about how you drive and what you want from tyres, don’t just buy the cheapest or what Joe from the internet tells you they think is best.
+1. BTW 'correct inflation' is not 32psi; so many times I've seen mechanics filling to the minimum on the placard leading to wear on the shoulders significantly more than the centre. Running tyres between 36/38psi will likely end with much more even wear across the treat pattern. I'm running Michelin Primacy at the moment which have a great combo of grip and wear; have done 35k on them and they are less than 1/2 worn. Got them at Costco so every 12 months I get a free rotation and it saves me trying to find a park!
So what you are saying is you should over inflate your tyres?
As someone who worked in the trade for a long time 36/38 psi on a passenger car is not good for the tyres long term. Your claims of more even wear can be disputed by any mechanic / tyre fitter who will show you the damage driving with over inflated tyres can do.
I used to always run mine at 32psi.
However since changing to a new set, JAX recommended that I run them at 38psi for even wear.
Bridgestone Potenza RE003 fwiw.
Bridgestone Potenza RE003 fwiw.
That doesn’t tell us much. It’s more relevant to know what size tyre, especially profile, and what size vehicle.
@Euphemistic: Bridgestone Potenzas are a soft compound, performance tyre. So they won't last as long as others. But that initial grip is fantastic in any conditions. I had them for two years and they were just under 50% left of tread. But not driven hard at all, other than a few occasions. Even Bridgestone hardly needed to rotate them because they wore so evenly (maybe because of Subaru AWD). Extremely hard braking and alignment are the major causes for degradation.
32 is wildly underinflated for most vehicles nowadays. Ends with only shoulder wear as stated above. Tyre placard numbers are to give a nice smooth ride for test drives.
So what you are saying is you should over inflate your tyres?
As someone who worked in the trade for a long time 36/38 psi on a passenger car is not good for the tyres long term.
No. You should inflate to what is listed on the placard on the car. The old ‘32 and she’ll be right’ is probably applicable for higher profile tyres as they have more sidewall to soak up the bumps. Modern tyres seem to run lower profile in a lot of cases.
The old ‘32 and she’ll be right’ is probably applicable for higher profile tyres as they have more sidewall to soak up the bumps. Modern tyres seem to run lower profile in a lot of cases.
I thought high profile have less sidewalls and low profiles have more sidewall? Was told to pump high profile tyres with more air than usual since they don't have the sidewalls to distribute the weight evenly on the thread….unless that's on the extremely high profile tyres like 21" rims on cars that only meant to go up to 18" by factory standard…?
@Zachary: Nah. Backwards dude. Tyres size is prescribed using a set of 3 numbers. First is the width in mm. Then the profile as the sidewall height in percentage of the width then the rim size in inches. Eg 205/55R16. So 205mm wise, sidewall 55% of 205mm, 113mm and 16” rims. A higher percentage, or profile, means a taller sidewall. 205/35R16 would be 71mm sidewall. 205/75r16 would be 154mm.
@Euphemistic: Yes and no. The placard on the car is a good starting point and ok if you replace the same OEM tyres as what the car came with from the factory. If however you replace your OEM tyres with lets say a sportier lower profile tyre you will likely have to adjust tyre pressures to suit. Consult you tyre manufacturer for optimal psi
The strange thing is, it's my friend who worked in a tyre shop and now owns and runs a tyre shop that recommends 38-40 for my tyre.
Similarly, I had a neighbour who I didn't know very well mention the exact same thing while we were shooting the breeze about random topics. (I later find out he was working as a tyre fitter.)
@abuch47: The way performance works on tyres is the higher the PSI the better grip and traction you get but its for a shorter amount of time before they lose it. Obviously to a lesser extent for normal passenger tyres that majority are now recommended to be about the 37 mark. I'm sure this has to do with the industry trying to make tyres not last as long as they have previously. But I'd rather have better grip plus more feel and sacrifice some of the lifespan than not.
You're right it's not good in the long term for wear to have a high PSI. I really think they made the new recommended pressure to get customers in more often as tyres will degrade quicker. For me I always put it higher as I like the bigger grip and traction as a trade-off for less longevity. If people are doing these with non performance tyres then it is a bit pointless.
I had budget ones - optilife fitted on falcon and did 60k before i replaced.
How was handling in the wet? Cheap long lasting tyres are often a recipe for sliding into a fence after rain.
Optilife are made for wet roads (i guess or thats what the sales guy told me at that time) Personally i liked it and were worth the money spent.
Original tyres are often quieter/softer so that potential buyers go ooh and ahh. Got 30k out of the originals and about 70k from their replacements
Cries loudly in Mazda3 factory fitted Dunlop tyre noise.
Although at 55k and still around 10k or so tread left it has a plus in longevity.
YES however it depends:
The answer is no if:
You drive like a hoon
Your wheel alignment is even slightly out
You have worn shock absorbers
You are using soft rubber performance tyres
You damage the tyre by hitting a kerb, median strip or bad pot hole
You speed around corners and brake hard
You dont maintain adequate tyre pressure (always pump to the max recommended)
You dont rotate them every 10,000km (front to back only)
Tyres all have indicators/markings which will tell you if they are designed for longer wear or better grip/performance. (You cant have both)
Actually its X corner to corner.
That is front left to rear right on a four wheel rotation.
Unless they’re directional tyres, in which case it’s front to back.
True.
Do you carry two spares.
You can buy directional 4WD tyres. My question is why?
@Snake 4: You can also get performance street tyres that are directional. Directional tyres supposedly offer better traction and I think there was a company a few years ago claiming better wear characteristics. In saying that, I know a few guys who fit tractor tyres to the farm cars backwards, that way when you start loosing too much forward momentum you can often still reverse out.
Some people carry two spares, others just carry a non-directional and don’t include it in the rotation.
@mapax: Regarding the directional tyres and the wear characteristics, what I've heard is that the fact that they are directional allows them to use different tread patters and different compounds on the inside and outside of the tread. This is mean to allow the parts of the tyre that typically wear faster to potentially be made more robust, while not compromising grip. I think with correct tyre pressures and other proper care, tyres tend to wear on the edges more, especially if you take corners hard, but even just because the camber of the road. In front wheel drive cars the front left tyre would typically wear the fastest. (actually I think I just answered my own question, it may make perfect sense that all things done right, the inside of the front left tyre contacts the road more than the outside due to the camber of the road, especially because it's more pronounced at roundabouts and intersections, someone else may be able to confirm this/say more on the topic)
Or if your tyres run steel belts…
Last I got a rotation my tyre guy said it was front left to right rear. Rear left to front left and I forget the rest. Something to do with the most loading on the tyres is on front left and correspondingly least on right rear.
That should be the case, but if you go to Bob Jane, the stupid mechanic will insist that it is front to back because that was what they were trained to do.
My understanding (and how we've been rotating ours) is as follows.
Front Left to Rear Left.
Rear Left to Front Right.
Front Right to Rear Right.
Rear Right to Front Left.
We have a Mazda 3 with 135,000 KM. Tyres have been changed once. They will probably need to be replaced in the next 5,000 KM giving an average of 70,000 KM per set. We do 90% highway/freeway driving. As others have said, it really depends on a lot of factors.
That really goes to show the difference in wear and tear between city and highway driving not just on tyres but probably on engine, suspension, transmission, etc.
I own a daihatsu terios (2004) since new. The first set of tyres were 80,000km. I wasn't surprised. The car is under 1 tonne. It's a low powered suv. Because it's an suv it has big tyres for the size of car that it is 205/70 15. And lastly, I've always figured out good pressures and maintained them by myself - recommended pressures are often way out.
I doubt you can 'figure out' better tyre pressures than the manufacturer unless you have access to a skidpan, data-logger and skilled driver.
It sounds as though you're basing that comment on your own knowledge; limited as it appears to be. I always figure out better pressures, and they are usually quite different. Any skilled driver (or motorcycle / bicycle rider) would know this - it would be hard to be a skilled driver / rider without this knowledge. And I adapt those pressures for winter, summer, and icy mornings, off road, big load, no load, me driving alone (one or two psi more driver's side front). Manufacturer recommended is what? Longest life of tyres? Greatest degree of comfort? Best handling at speed? Best handling at low speed? Best handling on rough roads? Sometimes I don't think they give it much thought at all. The only car / tyre recommended pressure I've seen that was in the ball park was suzuki swift; it actually felt OK and was clearly aimed at handling, not comfort. My experience includes a few high end cars and motorbikes - all the same. That terios has recommended 26 psi all round - that's insane. There is hardly any weight in the back, most of the weight is on the front. It was diving like a sloppy slug around corners with the front tyres looking half flat. 34 front, 26 rear with no load - more in the rear with load. The front tyres still absorb little hits with that but corner much better.
Check your own tyres to determine if it needs changing. In my recent logbook service, workshop said tyres needs to be replaced but based on remaining threads to tyre wear indicator, there’s still 30% or so remaining.
Sorry OP for hijacking this thread, but while we have so many experts in the house I thought I'd ask a few questions too about tyres.
Is it normal for my fronts to be wearing down faster than the back?
My car is FWD if that makes any difference.
I am thinking about changing the fronts as the back look in pretty good condition (original set from factory, have done almost 40k kms), however not sure if I should just do the whole set with the buy 3 get 1 free promos from Bridgestone.
If I only change 2 will I have to tell them to move the new ones to the back (assuming fronts wearing faster is normal) or will they know?
Thanks
Yes completely normal for a FWD car to wear fronts more than rears. The front is where all the weight is, where the all the acceleration is and bulk of braking is and where the steering is. It’s also where the alignment is most critical. The back tyres are just tagging along for the ride.
Thank you mate!
Haha all good!
I move fronts to back and replace the fronts. I never do all 4 at once.
That works for me too, but not compatible with AWD vehicles like Subaru. Fine for part time AWD vehicles that only use AWD when they detect slip from the drive wheels.
I swapped mine front and back types as front tyres worn out by 50% and back were new. Now they should last me a while. I would only buy 2 tyres and replace the worn out ones.
My last 3 sets I have averaged between 100,000 to 110,000 kms per set.
I travel a lot of kms 90% highway use. 4 cylinder hatchback. Have either been Bridgestone or Kuhmo.
My tips:
Keep inflated at 35psi and monitor them weekly. Takes 2 min a week at the service station.
Rotate every service (15k in my case). Takes 20 minutes and is good exercise.
The number of people I see unnecessarily dry turning in car parks is unfrigginbelievable.
You know it just hides another bigger problem with people.
PSI depends on the label on your door. People need to know cold if they are on PSI recommended they need to be slightly higher when warm.
Also don’t dry turn because it’s irritating to watch, lazy, and shows you don’t care about your tyres or steering system.
'Keep inflated at 35psi and monitor them weekly. Takes 2 min a week at the service station.'
I'd also recommend buying a tyre-pressure gauge ($7 for basic one & $25 for a digital gauge) service station gauges are notoriously inaccurate. You can also buy a tyre-inflator or air compressor reasonably cheap for home. (Tyre pressures should be checked when cold after all)
4WD here. Yes I know it isn't a 'car'.
123,000 out of my 265/65/17 LT tyres. 36PSI on road.
Driven sensibly equals more Ks.
Label on door is BS. My label says 32.
Don't forget the PSI rule.
On also 70k km. Bridgestone tyre wear rating at 400. Think I could probably go 80k - 90k on it. 60k is pretty normal.
Cheaper, harder tyres may last a bit longer but the softer and usually more expensive ones will not last as long but when you need them they'll grip and stop.
Years ago when I was first driving I opted for cheaper tyres to save some money and have them last longer. Driving in the wet one time there was a jam up ahead on a freeway and I've gone to stop but the tyres just slipped all over the road, luckily I ended up skidding all along the shoulder just avoiding the jam otherwise it would have been a pileup.
From then on I've always gone with a good branded tyre for all our cars. Not going to risk my life to save some money either on cheap tyres that don't grip or to get an extra x000 kms from a tyre. Even if that's $40/tyre more, that's $160 over 2 years, $80 a year, 21 cents a day.
Good point!
German magazine AutoBild did a tyre test that included wet stopping from 100kph. There was >100m difference between the best and worst.
that might be true but there's night and day between the worst tyres and even budget korean tyres e.g. Kumho. As long as you steer clear (wink) of the true rubbish, and don't drive like the ghost of Senna, it's probably not a huge deal
I think you might mean a difference of 10m? It only takes 80m total. Still, there is a difference for sure.
My tyres on a Hyundai i30 last between 55 and 60k km with legal tread. The tyres on my previous Lancer also lasted a similar period. Tyres regularly pumped to 250kPa but seldom rotated.
Work vehicles (hatchback, driver only, no cargo) we get ~80,000km from an average midrange tyre.
Speedy car ~40,000km with expensive tyres.
4x4 ute with AT tyres ~60,000km.
Tyres wear differently. The worst I've had on my Octavia is 32k, the best 75k.
Have you done a visual inspection?
There's more to a tyre than life or price. What are you wanting from a tyre.
Extra horsepower.
a joke that has plenty of truth to it. grip will realise more power at the wheels.
grip will realise more power at the
wheelsroad.
Power at wheels are recorded with a dyno. Dyno doesn't slip so grip isn't a factor (unless you're running glass tyres.)
@abuch47: Yes and no.
A bald tyre is very grippy on the Dyno. Grip is required for the Dyno but most tyres are grippy enough that a change of tyres doesn't change the numbers.
Do you mean like the 20c visual inspection?
Yes, have you looked at the tyres to see how much tread is left? It appears you are working off "the vibe" rather than the actual tread depth.
Depends on the car and the tyre and how you drive it. My car is probably about halfway through its 3rd set of tyres (including the OEM set), and I've done less than 45,000 km in it.
Exactly. I'm a bit more like you, spirited short trips on low profile tyres.
It seems the majority of commenters here do a lot of very sedate highway driving.
Quite possibly. I've got a Nissan 370Z that I bought new in 2012. Low profile tyres and also wider at the back than the front so you can't rotate them. The original set it came with were Bridgestone Potenzas which were great. They lasted all of about 15,000km :D Then I got Continental Contisport Contact 5P which were pretty ordinary to be honest, you could feel the lack of grip compared to the Bridgestones. Probably got 20,000km out of those, and now I've got Michelin Pilot Sport 4S's and they are superb.
I've done 70k km on a set of continentals and it looks like it has another 10-20k km left! It all depends on how you drive!
I had 85k kms and they were probably overdue by about 5k kms - agreed, depends on you drive. My lesson was to get a professional to take a look to avoid putting you / others at risk.
I don't run them down to the wear indicators (to maybe 2mm by year 3), but do drive occasionally on slippery surfaces.
You can make them last 40,000kms, but those tyres will be hard so they won't be the best handling on the road,
it will be like driving on ice all the time; stuff that
The softer the tyres, the better the handling; usually
Also it depends on the tread pattern used according to your driving conditions
I like Toyo's on my car, if I can't get them, I will get Yokohama's
It's not about cheaper or more expensive. Nor is it about original equipment from manufacturer and after market. It generally comes down to this: if you want a tyre that is going to give you more sporty driving and handling, you typically have to sacrifice in the longevity department. This is because these tyres are made from softer compound for maximum grip, handling and stopping ability. This is without even factoring in that people that get these kinds of tyre usually are fitting them on a sporty car, with more power. This generally means the driver is going to be more aggressive in acceleration, steering and braking. All these things will add to faster wear. All things equal, if you go for an average mid-level commuting tyre you would expect to see more life, but then you sacrifice on all the other benefits mentioned above. The tyre industry is constantly improving compounds and construction. And trust me, if you'd seen on YouTube how a tyre is made, you'd wonder why they don't cost a heck of a lot more! And tbh the fact we get even 20K k's out of these poor rubber things that take all that abuse is honestly a marvel in itself!
MY18 VW Golf, stock Continental tyres @ 51,500km. I had about 70% legal tread at the 45,000km service.
Mainly highway driving. Parked outside. Rarely have passengers or load. Seldom pumped to 36psi (slightly higher than the recommended 34 due to frequency).
I do have a lot of scuffing to the sidewalls due to a crappy driveway - i have to reverse in, quite tight and its easy to slip into the middle.
New Tyres on a VT commodore last a qtr mile in Penrith.
Bogan alley!
So true
I bought new Mitsubishi asx in 2014. I haven’t changed my Tyre yet and it’s done over 102k.
Awesome if they are fine. That said, I'd suggest getting them checked out. They might be fine, but worthwhile getting a pro to take a look.
I havent had much experience with tyres. with my current michelin PS3 front wore out at around 45k and rear is currently at 60k but showing signs of cracking after 5 years.
About 70% urban and 30% hwy i reckon, i do enjoy throwing my car into corners every now and then
If you can make PS3 tyres last 5 years you probably don't need PS3s
What do you mean?
I enjoy driving with these tyres. Certainly a lot more than the pirelli pzero's I had before that, the pirelli's also wore out faster.
I've since replaced the front set with PS4 though, since they didn't have any PS3's
60000km on Ford Territory. About 5000-10000 km left.
+1 on 'it depends' - Tyre, weight, size, driving style.
Mate had the factory set of bridgestones last 90k on his Mazda 6 (was just on wear markers when replaced), I couldn't believe it.
Side note - my motorbike rear tyre lasts approx 5000km (and no, no burnouts).
k-mart offers free rotation and will beat any price.
Usually a manufacturers recommendation for tyre pressures is for a smooth ride on ideal roads. If the recommendation is 33 PSI. I keep cycling between 30 and 35 PSI, in my experience this ensures even wear on a tyre.
However, going by your user name don't most of your people go for the cheapest stuff ? You usually get what you pay for. Never compromise on fuel type, tyres and battery.
If you drive a ute/4x4, have a look on Gumtree for tyres. A lot of people buy their ute/4x4 new and put off-road tyres on straight away, selling the old tyres which are almost new.
Bought my last set of 4 bridgestones for $380 ($95 each), almost new. +$25 each to get them fitted at the shop.
Cheapest new tyres I could find was $160 (fitted) each. The ones I got would have been around ~$220 new each, so saved a fair amount.
Doesn't really apply for non-off-road type cars though, as people don't really replace them straight away, and they are a lot cheaper so you don't save as much.
Piece of string…
Type /brand/ vehicles/driving condition/ etc etc etc
I've had a set last me 60k, with legal tread still on them