Car Tires

[disneychrista]

So I took my car in this morning for a tire rotation & oil change. Once again they suggest two new tires. (replaced the other two about a year ago, I’ve only driven about 5 - 6k miles since) Am I the only one who NEVER gets the suggested mileage out of tires?

 

[fla4fun]

It really depends on a lot of factors. It depends on your driving habits combined with the types of roads you have to drive on. It also depends on keeping your tires at the proper inflation, and whether your tires are soft or hard. A hard tire gives a rougher ride, but can last longer than a softer tire. We have always bought hard tires and kept them inflated correctly and usually can get the stated mileage out of them. But there have been times where we bought a new car and it came with softer tires and it was a struggle to get them to last. You are not alone!

 

[RamblingMad]

There are these little bumps in the tire that are indicators for replacement. I use those. Now, if you want to replace your tires for better ones for your own personal use, then it doesn't matter.

https://simpletire.com/learn/tire-news-information/tire-wear-bar

 

[tvguy]

Well, "performance" tires often have a much shorter life. The thing that I get caught on now is that they suggest not using tires more than 6 years without regard to mileage. I swear they have re-formulated the rubber in tires to be less resistant to cracking and rot due to exposure to the sun. What good is a tire with 80,000 mile tread life rating that cracks after 6 years. I bet over half the drivers won't have driving 80,000 miles in 6 years.

 

[chickapin parterre]

Well, "performance" tires often have a much shorter life. The thing that I get caught on now is that they suggest not using tires more than 6 years without regard to mileage. I swear they have re-formulated the rubber in tires to be less resistant to cracking and rot due to exposure to the sun. What good is a tire with 80,000 mile tread life rating that cracks after 6 years. I bet over half the drivers won't have driving 80,000 miles in 6 years.

yep....lost my tires to sun rot....the tires were is such good shape, that when one of them began to crack and peel, the tread was still so good that I could drive on the rotten tire....though it was just down the street three blocks to the flea market to sell my ware...10MPH....though I did drive 35 mph to have the two replaced at the end of the selling season and no problem...because the tire was still at 80% good use...but 4 years of sitting and Mexico border sun destroyed the tires. so now I have bald tires instead installed.....little tire shop down the ave behind a cyclone fence.

 

[tvguy]

yep....lost my tires to sun rot....the tires were is such good shape, that when one of them began to crack and peel, the tread was still so good that I could drive on the rotten tire....though it was just down the street three blocks to the flea market to sell my ware...10MPH....though I did drive 35 mph to have the two replaced at the end of the selling season and no problem...because the tire was still at 80% good use...but 4 years of sitting and Mexico border sun destroyed the tires. so now I have bald tires instead installed.....little tire shop down the ave behind a cyclone fence.

My mom drove 3,000 miles a year until she retired then her driving dropped to 1,000 miles a year. Her car was always garaged. She got 24 years out of a set of Michelin radials when they finally started to crack. We have a WONDERFUL Michelin dealer her, the kind of place I could send her and tell her "do what they say" without worrying they would rip her off. The owner recommended she NOT buy Michelins again, as given her driving habits, they were a waste of money. He recommended the least expensive tires they sold, Uniroyals as a better choice.

 

[chickapin parterre]

i forgot to mention they were on a 1995 ford truck used only for the market and trip to lowes on side streets....I was never unsafe in use of vehicle....that is why the tires last so long. it never went anywhere above 35 mph.

 

[Kitty 34]

Drive on Michigan roads; replace tires frequently.

 

[Skippy918]

So I took my car in this morning for a tire rotation & oil change. Once again they suggest two new tires. (replaced the other two about a year ago, I’ve only driven about 5 - 6k miles since) Am I the only one who NEVER gets the suggested mileage out of tires?

Have you done the penny test? Place a penny upside down in the grooves. If you can see all of Lincoln’s head, you should replace. Test on different spots within the grooves too.

My dh’s old Prius went thru tires about halfway to what the tires were rated for. I think the tire size was too small for the weight of the vehicle so they wore out quickly.

The tires I had on my old Honda, actually attained the mileage that was stated. I had Michelin’s and got 70k on them.

 

[disneychrista]

This will be the third set of tires on my 6 year old car with 50k miles on it.

 

[Skippy918]

This will be the third set of tires on my 6 year old car with 50k miles on it.

What kind of car and what kind of tires? Have you looked at tirerack? They rate tires on that website and can help narrow down what will work best for your vehicle.
With my old Honda, I was on the 3rd set of tires and the car had 180k miles on it before I sold it.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Also, wheel alignment is very important, either two wheel alignment which has been around forever, or with many newer cars, four wheel alignment

 

[disneychrista]

What kind of car and what kind of tires? Have you looked at tirerack? They rate tires on that website and can help narrow down what will work best for your vehicle.

It is a Ford Fiesta. I have no clue what kind of tires they are, I get whatever they suggest. I will check out that website and see what they say (for next time).

 

[dclpluto]

This will be the third set of tires on my 6 year old car with 50k miles on it.

did you tire to need to be changed or are you just taking their word that they need to be changed? I think they are getting over on you. you should be on your second set with the second set being pretty new. Next time get a second opinion. One time the dealership said I needed brakes. They gave me an outrageous quote. So I went somewhere else and had a free inspection on the brakes. They said come back in 10k miles you don’t need them now. So that’s what I did.

 

[tazdev3225]

I have never gone more than 3 years without needing to replace the front tires. My car has 13,000 miles on it and I need to replace them but that is mostly because one tire has something in it just at the sidewall. I could replace just that tire but I want the tires to have the same tread wear. The rear tires, I can get the recommended wear out of them. My mechanic has learned I would rather replace front tires every 2 or 3 years than replace all 4 tires. It works for me.

 

[RamblingMad]

Also, wheel alignment is very important, either two wheel alignment which has been around forever, or with many newer cars, four wheel alignment

This.

Always get one after putting on new tires. I usually wait a couple of weeks for the tires to wear off their coating before going for one. But I always have it done no later than a month after new ones. I definitely helps to keep the wear even.

 

[tvguy]

It is a Ford Fiesta. I have no clue what kind of tires they are, I get whatever they suggest. I will check out that website and see what they say (for next time).

Depends on which model Fiesta. Again, with performance tires, they could wear fast. However, if a standard model, that car is small and light and you should get at least 50,000 miles to a set a tires. With careful driving, maybe 100,000 miles

 

[disneychrista]

Depends on which model Fiesta. Again, with performance tires, they could wear fast. However, if a standard model, that car is small and light and you should get at least 50,000 miles to a set a tires. With careful driving, maybe 100,000 miles

It is a Hatchback SE. Just basic tires. The ones on there now are supposed to have 65k tread life. I think the ones before that were 30k.

did you tire to need to be changed or are you just taking their word that they need to be changed?

The last time I knew they were going to tell me I needed tires, this time I didn't really notice that they needed to be changed but I also didn't look.

 

[amcnj]

My commute was a pretty long one, so I always went for the tires rated for higher mileage. The ratings seemed to hold true for me. The drive had some local miles, but the majority was on 50-65 mph roads, with a traffic light or stop sign every so often.

 

[OneOftheB's]

My Pilot ate tires. I had the car for 10 years, sold it with 150k miles and had just put the 4th set of tires on it. The ones that came with it were rated for 36k miles, lasted 24k, the next sets were 60k miles. Each time I received some kind of money back due to the tires (which were routinely rotated and balanced) not lasting the rated mileage and the tire shop prorating the next set.