Tyre Wear

Merlot · **August 07, 2009, 00:49:48**

I have a sx petrol what sort of tyre wear are you guys getting the original KUMHOs are just about dead at 30000 is that normal?

MRH130 · **Reply #1: August 07, 2009, 00:53:10**

are all 4 worn out Merlot? Are they worn evenly across the face of the tyre?

2i30s · **Reply #2: August 07, 2009, 13:43:46**

i had aftermarket rims and tyres fitted at less than 100 kms and my wheel alighnment figures where shocking,10mm out on front and 3mm out on rear.pre delivery in oz should be better than that.

MRH130 · **Reply #3: August 07, 2009, 14:21:48**

Wheel alignment is part of the pre-delivery, but a lot of dealers skip it to save the money (despite wanting to charge you $1500 for a pre-delivery inspection...).

It's a real problem when tyres are so expensive.

Dazzler · **Reply #4: August 07, 2009, 22:21:17**

I know of several other members who have had to replace their tyres (or at least 2 of them between 30,000 & 40,000 kms)

I used to struggle to get 30,000kms out of any of my tyres (on previous cars) when I was a boy racer a couple of years ago...

Drive somewhat more conservatively these days..

Mine look like lasting around 50,000 kms on my SLX , this time around

whitbomb07 · **Reply #5: August 11, 2009, 02:41:58**

I've got some rather interesting figures for my Kumho tyres, each service they give a tread depth reoprt for mine. I'm guessing brand new the tread depth was 7.5 or 8millimetres (mm) = about 1/3rd inch. Min legal tread depth is 1.5mm (1/20th inch)

7.5k service = 7mm front and rear
15k service = 6mm front 7mm rear (rotated at this point)
22.5k service = 7mm front and rear (WTF? The tyres 'regenerated?)
30k service = 4mm front and rear (Just under 1/6th inch).

Why it's gone so well for the first 22.5k and then dropped off quickly at 30 beats me.

I'm hoping they'll last me until the end of the year (will have 45k up by then) so I can catch a xmas end of year deal, but I'm not counting on it.......

I'm thinking about trying the new Hankook Enfren tyres, tested on the i30crdi they added about 50km to the tank.

Regards

Daniel

Merlot · **Reply #6: August 14, 2009, 08:18:46**

No the front two are wearing a bit on the inside and the rear are just about gone think it has been out since new but spoke with previous owner who said the steering locked up [well turned off] [good stuff this electric steering] Have now been told that when you get a wheel alignment you have to reset the computer to compensate [ffs] and hy are the only ones in Newcastle that have the program, got me again

L30N · **Reply #7: August 14, 2009, 19:21:55**

My 2 front Hankooks (185/65/15) are down to 3mm after 11000 miles (18000km) of mainly urban driving. Back tyres are hardly worn at all.

Dazzler · **Reply #8: August 14, 2009, 23:01:05**

Quote from: L30N on August 14, 2009, 19:21:55

My 2 front Hankooks (185/65/15) are down to 3mm after 11000 miles (18000km) of mainly urban driving. Back tyres are hardly worn at all.

That seems excessive. I would think I still have that much tread on all 4 of mine (205/55/16) after more than 40,000km of driving (I did rotate them at around 20,000kms I think it was..)

MRH130 · **Reply #9: August 16, 2009, 22:30:15**

Certainly sounds like an alignment issue Merlot, if they're not wearing evenly. The EPS stopping working shouldn't affect your tyre wear.

The only reason you need to do anything with the electronics after a wheel alignment is if it's been disconnected or had a major component replaced like the rack or the column. Just doing a wheel alignment doesn't need anything done to the computer.

It's just a re-calibration of the Steering Angle Sensor - it's not a huge thing to do.

Unfortunately at 30000km it's very hard to say how long the car's had the alignment issue - it's a bit beyond the point where we can say it was like that from day 1. And with the marvellous (

) roads we have it's very easy to knock things a bit out of alignment.

Just get a professional 4 wheel alignment when you have the new tyres on and then you'll know where you stand.

JASON6912 · **Reply #10: February 21, 2011, 10:16:03**

I've done about 48,000 km in a year & I've got about 45-50% tread still on the factory Khumo tyres. When its time to replace my tyres I'm going to give the Bridgestone Ecopias a go ( about 50-60km's a tank with the driving I do). They are supposed to contribute to better mileage by being low rolling resistance plus the tyre shop my work uses can get them really cheap for me.

eye30 · **Reply #11: February 21, 2011, 15:20:21**

Quote from: whitbomb07 on August 11, 2009, 02:41:58

Min legal tread depth is 1.5mm (1/20th inch)

Is minimum of 1.5mm for all oz?

In UK minimum legal is 1.6mm.

Surferdude · **Reply #12: February 21, 2011, 21:02:00**

Quote from: eye30 on February 21, 2011, 15:20:21

Quote from: whitbomb07 on August 11, 2009, 02:41:58
Min legal tread depth is 1.5mm (1/20th inch)

Is minimum of 1.5mm for all oz?

In UK minimum legal is 1.6mm.

It's 1.6mm in Australia but only about one in ten drivers can tell you that.
Anyway, use the Tread Wear Indicators. Once any part of them is in line with the tread, that's it.

PS. Can we move this to the Tyres section please?

Shambles · **Reply #13: February 21, 2011, 21:17:07**

Is the 1.6mm depth some kind of "scientifically defined standard", as looking around it seems sort of universal

I'm guessing the answer is that the manufacturers supply the rated limits. Yes?

Surferdude · **Reply #14: February 22, 2011, 05:24:57**

Quote from: Shambles on February 21, 2011, 21:17:07

Is the 1.6mm depth some kind of "scientifically defined standard", as looking around it seems sort of universal

I'm guessing the answer is that the manufacturers supply the rated limits. Yes?

Don't know the answer to that but I would imagine some testing has been done.
Certainly at that level, grip is severely curtailed in the wet.
In fact, if it was up to the manufacturers they'd probably opt for more tread depth (4mm). Sell more tyres that way.

beerman · **Reply #15: February 22, 2011, 06:59:33**

I thought it was when some white started to show!!

ive got 22500 on mine and the fronts are about half worn....

They should easily make it to 30 then I'll rotate. Would think I'll get 60k out of them.....

Then the question is do I get 3 of the original to use the spare.....

beerman · **Reply #16: February 25, 2011, 02:35:49**

Quote from: beerman on February 22, 2011, 06:59:33

I thought it was when some white started to show!!

ive got 22500 on mine and the fronts are about half worn....

They should easily make it to 30 then I'll rotate. Would think I'll get 60k out of them.....

Then the question is do I get 3 of the original to use the spare.....

Took the tyres off and rotated them yesterday at 23k. Took them down the road and checked the pressure and pumped them back up to 38psi (were 29 all round.....I think the mechanic may have played with them)

Fronts are worse than I thought. rears have more ware than I would have expected for what they do I would have expected them to be near new. 40000 looks like the best I will get from these, which is disapointing for a car that does 90% of its work on the open road.

The only thing I can come up with is they dont agree with the heat from the high speed running (120 km/h) because other than that they live a charmed life.

Surferdude · **Reply #17: February 26, 2011, 02:20:48**

Quote from: beerman on February 25, 2011, 02:35:49

Quote from: beerman on February 22, 2011, 06:59:33
I thought it was when some white started to show!!

ive got 22500 on mine and the fronts are about half worn....

They should easily make it to 30 then I'll rotate. Would think I'll get 60k out of them.....

Then the question is do I get 3 of the original to use the spare.....

Took the tyres off and rotated them yesterday at 23k. Took them down the road and checked the pressure and pumped them back up to 38psi (were 29 all round.....I think the mechanic may have played with them)

Fronts are worse than I thought. rears have more ware than I would have expected for what they do I would have expected them to be near new. 40000 looks like the best I will get from these, which is disapointing for a car that does 90% of its work on the open road.

The only thing I can come up with is they dont agree with the heat from the high speed running (120 km/h) because other than that they live a charmed life.

Is it possible they were rotated at the 15K service without you knowing. That would explain the variance in wear rates to what you expected.
And running at 120kph on the highway won't cause any excessive heat buildup so I don't think that's the cause. Unless they were down around 20-25psi constantly and that doesn't seem to be the case. Running on the highway with no excessive flex from cornering would see less heat buildup than on a twisty road.
It's why race car drivers swerve violently behind a pace car. The sidewall flex is what builds up heat.

BTW. What size and brand are they?

beerman · **Reply #18: February 26, 2011, 04:27:14**

No they wern't rotated, the mechanic admitted that they didn't do it, and the rear tyres had more tread than the front which would be unlikley if they had run 15k on the front and 8k on the back.

I'm a bit slack with the tyre pressures, but always inflate to mid 30's for the wifes car and high 30's for mine so there can be a fair bit of slippage before you hit dangerous levels(in normal conditions). All tyres were 29 and the spare was 28 so no issues there.

The tyres are the original solarus? 15" sx. So perhaps there just cheap and nasty or they have gone for a soft compound to increase grip for journos and test drives? given most used I30's you see for sale are '09 models with 20-30k they could get away with it on most of them, without the original owner having to replace them.

My research begins for tyres to replace them (yes I'm one of these anal blokes that researches something to death before doing anything. Though I find what makes a good tyre so subjective, that it is difficult to get good info). I'm very interested in these tyres that claim to reduce fuel consumption (and there must be something in them because they are finding their way onto everything). But do not want to lose out on grip and I want to get good distance out of them.

As an aside, I took the Falcon out the other day after the big storms, and the Goodyear F1's your firends put me onto are amazing. Couldn't lose traction, and on the way home I gave them a couple of 'tests' just to be sure. They were expensive at $220 ea (cheap for them I know), but well worth it when you consider whats inside the car (wife and kids).

Surferdude · **Reply #19: February 26, 2011, 21:24:54**

Thanks for the feedback on the F1's beerman.
See what you can find out about the "Assurance Fuel Max".
But IME most of the tyres claiming better fuel economy are only getting about an extra tank over the life of the tyres (or a year - I'll have to read up again. I watched for a while as they came out and dismissed them as a marketing gimmick in their current phase).
We fitted some tyres to an i30 CRDi on Friday and he was at 43,000 klms (15" Solus with very bad alignment wear)

beerman · **Reply #20: February 26, 2011, 23:27:16**

Would depend on the life of the tyres, which im hoping will be longer with the next set.

Basically the economy thing won't be in my essentual selection criteria, but will be highly regarded all other things being equal, and if one set is going to cost me $70 less over their life than another, thats a powerful argument.

It seems economy is like power....once you have some......you just want more!!

JASON6912 · **Reply #21: October 13, 2012, 10:29:35**

My khumos I ended up doing about 78, 000 km's on them before I got the Ecopias. The tyre shop my work uses were suprised I got that much out of them, and if with the Ecopias they expect that I should get 120,000 kms with the type of driving I do. I've had the Ecopias now for about 6 months & done about 35,000 km's & am probably still have about 80% tread left.