In another thread, Common sense answer claimed routine 80k-100k miles on a single set of tires… without rotation even. I would like to know which brand and model gives such long life. Can anyone else suggest a tire that is noted for similar treadwear?
I don’t know of any tire that will give this kind of life, unless you always drive on snow or dirt roads, which will not wear tires as much.
You ought to be able to get 60K miles out of a set of tires if you buy ones with a good treadwear rating. Of course like everything else in life, there is a tradeoff–tires with excellent treadwear will not be as ‘grippy’ as ones that wear faster, and will give you worse handling, braking, and traction. Some tires will also be great on one car and lousy on a different make. If you go to tirerack.com, they have reviews/ratings for specific tires on specific models of cars.
Most tire wear occurs when cornering - so the less turns you make compared to the amount of distance you travel will greatly affect how many miles you’ll get out of a set of tires - more so than any other thing.
Sure, the wear characteristics of a tire are important and will affect the mileage YOU get, but when you are trying to compare what YOU will get vs what someone else will get, the issue of “turns per mile” can completely overshadow everything.
Example: I used to do tire testing for a major tire manufacturer. I had an individual whose job it was to drive from St. Louis to Kansas City and back every day. He put over 100K miles a year on his van. I arranged to put a set of very cheap tires on his van and they lasted the year - 100K. At the same time, I had another vehicle - identical - in Pittsburgh, where there isn’t a straight, flat road to be found - and the tires only lasted 25K. No matter what tire we put on the Pittsburgh van, it wouldn’t get over 30K.
So, as the phrase goes, your mileage may vary. Be very careful trying to compare what others get. Their driving situation can be completely different.
CSA, Here. Let Me Elaborate A Bit.
First, I need to qualify our driving situation. We are probably an exception to ordinary driving. Our typical trips are in the range of 20 to 50 miles (one way) to go almost anywhere. Our 20 mile trips have maybe 2 or 3 stop signs. Our 50 mile trips, maybe 2 0r 3 stop signs and a couple of traffic lights.
Our driving is basically on all pavement and for (seems like half the year) several months includes snow, ice, slush, water, and salt.
Next, is the way we drive. We drive gently. We don’t roar up to stops and accelerate away briskly. We do however, stand on the brakes once or twice a day this time of the year, braking for deer, turkeys, elk, skunks, etcetera.
We (family drivers) are all driving mid to larger sized cars, a Pontiac Bonneville, Chevrolet Impala, Dodge Intrepid, Dodge Caravan. My son is on his own with an Imapala and he does roar a bit and brakes harder, but he doesn’t rotate and tires last him a long time, too.
I don’t know what else to tell you. I don’t do many alignments. I do check tire pressures frequently. I don’t buy fancy tires. The cars all take plain tires that aren’t low profile (225 / 70 -16 or something like that). We get lots of miles out of them. I think my current tires are Uniroyal Long Touring (or some darn thing) that were purchased at Wal-Mart, but I’m probably running 3 different tires on the cars presently. We don’t have many stores near here that sell tires. There’s no national chain type tire stores or Costco or anything. I buy what I can.
So, if this is out of the ordinary then it must be mainly attributed to our driving situation. I just don’t have to rotate, with exception of when I buy I new pair of tires, I might move an axle pair fore or aft, but that’s it. I have had to replace tires for age and not for wear and it breaks my heart.
CSA
Capri Racer, Let Me Ask You A Question, Please. I Hope I Don’t Derail This Discussion.
I went and looked at the Bonneville. I Don’t have 225 / 70 -16s. They’re 225/60 - 16s, but they are Uniroyal Long Touring M&S tires. I’ve had them about 3 years. They look almost new, treadwise. I like the traction, ride, and quietness.
Here’s the question and it’s typical for most tires I buy. I keep the tire pressure at factory specs on our cars, but . . .
These tires I’ve described have a 1708 date on the sidewall. If I understand this, they were manufactured the 17th week of 2008, more than 3 years ago.
What concerns me is little cracks (tiny little cracks) that run parallel to the rim right through the area where the fine print is on the tire that gives DOT number, date, inflation warnings, etc.
I get this on different tires. What’s causing it ? Are these tires junk, already ? Dangerous ? I don’t feel I’m to blame. Any remedy / recourse ? How long should tires last, agewise ?
Thanks,
CSA
I don’t remember ever getting 100k miles out of a set of tires but I seem to remember getting about 80k once on a set of Bridgestones on a Subaru I owned.
The terrain here means that most driving is pretty much in straight lines with little cornering.
Considering the quality (or lack of) the road surfaces here it’s a wonder that tires even make it 20k miles.
Lots of variables contribute to tire wear. As far as a brand of tire, I feel Michelin tires give you the best shot at a long lasting - high mileage - tire. They cost more and you have to decided if the longer wear is worth the extra money to buy a set. There are lots of good tires out there, Toyo is another brand that seems to get good life.
I used to have two 240 Volvos, a sedan and a wagon. Both were sold at around 300k miles. I ran Michelin X tires on them (available at Costco and Sams). They were stick shifts so they tended to skid one rear tire on downshifts. The differentials tended to favor the right rear tire, so that was the one that wore out first.
Roads here in Sacramento are pretty straight and flat and kept in pretty good condition.
I always replaced all four tires at the first hint of a tread wear indicator, which was reliably somewhere between 85k and 95k. I could have easily stretched it to 100k just to say I did, but not with the wife and kids using the cars.
None of the higher speed rated tires will last this long. I cheated on the speed rating and put Michelin Xs on one of my current fleet of BMWs. They ride and handle great and are wearing like iron, but I know others on this board will not approve.
Does anyone else remember the Michelin XZX tire from the '70’s?
I saw many a small Japanese car with these.
Cracking from age, well over 80k miles and plenty of tread left.
They didn’t wear out, they just faded away…
p.s. I see that the XZX is still available, but it’s a specialty item, nearly $200 for a little 165SR15.
CSA,
First let’s talk about age. I am of the opinion that 6 years is about the limit for hot states - AZ, CA, NV, TX, and FL - and 10 years is the limit for cold states - MI, MT, ND, MN, and WI. Everything in between is …ah … in between.
Cracking? To some extent, cracking is to be expected. The lower sidewall of the tire is the most likely place to get cracking as that is the spot that gets the most outside stress. I would be more worried about cracking just off the tread surface. That area is called the buttress. Cracking there is more an indicator of the actual state of the rubber in the area of the belt - the most important area of a tire.
And it’s a matter of degree. Small cracks are OK. It’s when the cracks get plentiful and deep that one should be concerned. If the cracks look like the ones in the attached, take the tire off NOW!
CapriRacer, Thanks A Lot ! That Helps.
CSA
A lot has to do with the car…NOT just the tire or brand.
My wifes Accords would typically get over 70k miles on one set of tires…and sometimes close to 90…But the 87 and 96 Accord’s weren’t that big…
Now with the Lexus (bigger car…Plus low profile tires)…On third set at only 80k miles…35k on first set…and 40k on second set.
My GMC pickup I was getting about 60k miles on a set of tires…When I started buying SUV’s…rare to get past 50k miles.
Agreed with Mike. I think its the car and maintenance as much as other factors.
For whatever reason my Subaru’s tended to get long life on tires. My WRX got got 55k out of a 45k warranty V rated set of Bridgestones. My wife got 60k out of a 50k V-rated low profile Nokian tire until a manhole sliced one.
On the other hand my wife’s Civic ate tires every 30k rated for 60-70k but never had suspension or really maintenance work done in our 190k ownership. On of the short lived tires was also the exact model(Nokian WR) we had long life on our Subaru.
On my diesel Olds with 15" wheels, I routinely got 90 to over 100K on Goodyear tires. I rotated and balanced at about 15-20K intervals. This was all interstate driving. The only tires I didn’t get good wear out of were cheap Coopers or Goodrich that tended to have sidewall problems before the tread would wear out. That’s why I always stuck with Goodyear. They were more expensive but on a per mile cost basis were cheaper than cheaper tires, plus the traction was excellent.
I’m at 133k, Put on the tires at 65k, 5mm tread left, probably 5k more and new tires with a tax refund in April. Trailblazer with Michelin Cross Terrain SUV tire.
Part one
I have gotten over 100k on a couple sets of tires.
102k Firestone FR460, 97 Nissan Pick Up
101k Bridgestone Turanza LS-T, 2002 Saturn.
Its a combination of things, but the alignment is one of the most important things. The OEM tires on the Nissan started showing a wear pattern at 20k, so I had the alignment done, rotated the front tires to the back and went another 82k without further rotation. Then I replaced the tires with a set of Michelin X tires and they wore out in about 40k miles. Now have BF Goodrich tires but with only 20 k accumulated, I don’t see any wear, but its too soon to tell.
Part two
I put 84k one the OEM Firestone FR680, replaced them with the Bridgestones. I replaced them 101k later with good tread, but could not pass up a good deal on a set of Michelin Hydroedge (185k on the odo). The car now has 238k (53k on the tires) and I just did the front to back rotation. I do one rotation on FWD when the front tires wear down to 6/32". I expect at least another 50k out of them. Never needed an alignment.
Now for our Hondas. The civic went through 3 set of tires before 40k miles before the alignment was finally set right. The car got wrecked 40 later so I don’t know how long those tires would have lasted.
The Accord goes through a set (Michelin MXV4) every 40k or so, but it too has had problems getting and holding an alignment.
I drive aggressively, especially in corners. My wife, who drives the Hondas, not very aggressive. I live in the south so not much ice or snow.