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Well, depends Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Tue, 31 Aug 2004 13:02:29
In Reply to: Tire replacement???, JPetty, Tue, 31 Aug 2004 12:21:40 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Lots of things wear tires. All rotating does is evenly distribute the various factors on all four tires.
Of course, looks can be deceiving. Get yourself a tire tread depth gauge. Cheap at any autoparts store. Or if you have a small ruler, measure tread depth. It should be uniform across the width of the tire. 1/16 inch or less means tires should be replaced. 3/32 on the hairy edge. 1/4 inch still have tread.
Which brand/model of tyre? Different tires wear at different rates. Check the treadwear rating molded into the side of the tire. 400 are the longest wearing tires, 100 are much shorter. I expect your car came through with Michelins, which tend to be long wearing.
Next, you rotated the tires every 5000 miles, but what was the tire inflation? Under- and over-inflation wears tires prematurely. Tire pressure should be checked weekly, at least. Tire pressure varies with temperature, so tires that were the right temperature at 80F are underinflated at 40F.
Get yourself a tire tread depth gauge. Cheap at any autoparts store. Or if you have a small ruler, measure tread depth. It should be uniform across the width of the tire. Overly worn in the center? Overinflated. Overly worn on the sides? Underinflated. Sides of the tires scuffed and worn? Probably underinflated.
Of course, misalignment will also wear tires. Cars do need periodic alignments, and a misaligned front end can chew up tires quickly. Signs of misalignment would be scuffing and cupping of tires, along with the steering pulling to one side.
Of course, useage wears tires. Aggressive turns and hard cornering wears tires. Nowdays with Traction control folks don't spin tires like they used to, but even spirited acceleration and braking wear tires faster than more sedate driving. The loads you carry also come in - higher loads, more wear.
If you drive the car sedately, have a long-wearing tire, never bend it into a corner, make sure they're properly inflated , and are confident of the alignment, then, well, 30K miles is a little soon but not unusual. 40K would be more like it, but there are so many variables. Yes, some folks may get 60K, but that's pretty mild driving on hard tires.
Tires are the most important part of the car - it's those four small tire patches that connect the car to the road, carry all the loads, transmit all the cornering forces. Look at this as the opportunity to get some better rubber. They wear out, so they need to be replaced.
posted by 192.249....
, Tue, 31 Aug 2004 13:02:29 <-- Viewing This Message
, Tue, 31 Aug 2004 12:42:41, Tue, 31 Aug 2004 12:26:32
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