Tyre Wear

[Gordie]

Hi Folks

Sorry if this has been discussed before but I couldn't find it on a search.

I put my car in for a Winter Check which was great as they cleared my blocked rear wiper jet and I got the free £35 car care pack. Anyway I noticed that my tyre depths were Front 4-5-4 and the Rear 3-4-3 inside-centre-outside. It looks like I'm running with low pressure, hence the higher wear on the outside. I'm putting in 33psi in the front and 32 in the rear. It's normally just me (9st) or me and my wife (7st) and driving mainly on A roads at just over 60mph and some town stuff. The tyres are just standard 185/60 if I remember right. Any ideas?

Gordie

[CerberusStyle]

Hi Folks

Sorry if this has been discussed before but I couldn't find it on a search.

I put my car in for a Winter Check which was great as they cleared my blocked rear wiper jet and I got the free £35 car care pack. Anyway I noticed that my tyre depths were Front 4-5-4 and the Rear 3-4-3 inside-centre-outside. It looks like I'm running with low pressure, hence the higher wear on the outside. I'm putting in 33psi in the front and 32 in the rear. It's normally just me (9st) or me and my wife (7st) and driving mainly on A roads at just over 60mph and some town stuff. The tyres are just standard 185/60 if I remember right. Any ideas?

Gordie

is the yaris pressure 30psi all round best thing to do is check the manual for correct tyre pessures for your car or even if your lucky like me it will be printed on back of the glove box too...

[Gordie]

is the yaris pressure 30psi all round best thing to do is check the manual for correct tyre pessures for your car or even if your lucky like me it will be printed on back of the glove box too...

I checked the manual but it just seems to give the pressures for a fully loaded car and I spend most of my time alone. I was going to try 30 psi all round like you suggested but thought that was a bit low. I could be wrong though, it wouldn't be the first time. lol

Gordie

[CerberusStyle]

I checked the manual but it just seems to give the pressures for a fully loaded car and I spend most of my time alone. I was going to try 30 psi all round like you suggested but thought that was a bit low. I could be wrong though, it wouldn't be the first time. lol

Gordie

try 30 on front and 32 on rear that what i used to run my corolla G6r on and the yaris is about the samee size and weight..

FYI: the reason for higher is for anything loaded into the boot

[Gordie]

try 30 on front and 32 on rear that what i used to run my corolla G6r on and the yaris is about the samee size and weight..

FYI: the reason for higher is for anything loaded into the boot

That's interesting because I was putting in more in the front to compensate for the weight of the engine. I'll give your pressures a try though and see how it handles.

Gordie

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

I would do what the manual specifies mate.

[Cyker]

Slightly higher pressures usually reduce uneven wear, lower pressures increase it.

How's the wear pattern?

There might be too much toe-in on the wheels; Might be worth getting the tracking checked and balanced in case they're a bit out and are scrubbing.

If the roads you use are particularly crap, that can increase wear too.

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

Always have all your tyres tracked and balanced when changed and if not once a year at least. It makes sure everything is in order then :D

[Gordie]

I think the tracking is okay because I get it done every year. The outsides of the tyres have 1mm less that the middle that's what I meant with "Front 4-5-4 and the Rear 3-4-3 inside-centre-outside". The car always comes back from the dealer with 30 psi all round so maybe that's telling me something.

The problem I have with the manual pressures is that they aren't comprehensive enough. It only covers the car with 4 folk on board.

Gordon

[alfiejts]

Toyota don't provide different pressures for different loadings.

They provide one pressure for driving "under 100mph" and another for "driving over 100mph", whatever the loading of the car.

You're right, my 2008 manual says to set your 1.3 tyres to 33 front and 32 rear for all loadings.

Your tyre wear pattern is typical of "underinflation" so the last thing you want to do is drop the pressures further as that would get even worse.

Tracking misalignment wears tyres differently from one side to another. If your wear is "symetrical" like your figures suggest then that's nothing to do with wheel alignment but is purely down to over or under inflation.

Over inflated tyres wear in the middle more than the edges. Under inflated tyres wear at the edges more than the middle.

I'd be tempted to stick a couple of extra pounds in and run them at 35 front and 34 rear and see how they wear from now on. The high speed settings are 36 front & 35 rear, so even if you add a couple of pounds, you're still under those settings....

Realistically, different makes of tyre will actually behave differently at different pressures, so if they're not the same make of tyre that they fit as standard - or they have a different "tyre loading" spec to the standard OEM "84H" loading tyres, the pressures may need to be adjusted to compensate anyway...

The other thing to be wary of is "inaccurate" pressure guages. It sounds like you're meticulous but tyre pressure guages are notorious for being inaccurate and being out by ofter 10% or more.

I've got four different guages and only two out of the four say the same reading....

Unless you can guarantee that your guages are accurate, you might actually be checking your pressures meticulously but your guage could be wrong and they could be underinflated...

Oh - and don't forget that the pressures should be set when the tyres are stone cold. If the car's been driven or left in the sun, when the pressures are checked, the tyres will have heated up and the readings will be wrong....

I only ever check mine first thing in the morning after the car's been left standing overnight....

[Gordie]

Toyota don't provide different pressures for different loadings.

They provide one pressure for driving "under 100mph" and another for "driving over 100mph", whatever the loading of the car.

You're right, my 2008 manual says to set your 1.3 tyres to 33 front and 32 rear for all loadings.

Your tyre wear pattern is typical of "underinflation" so the last thing you want to do is drop the pressures further as that would get even worse.

Tracking misalignment wears tyres differently from one side to another. If your wear is "symetrical" like your figures suggest then that's nothing to do with wheel alignment but is purely down to over or under inflation.

Over inflated tyres wear in the middle more than the edges. Under inflated tyres wear at the edges more than the middle.

I'd be tempted to stick a couple of extra pounds in and run them at 35 front and 34 rear and see how they wear from now on. The high speed settings are 36 front & 35 rear, so even if you add a couple of pounds, you're still under those settings....

Realistically, different makes of tyre will actually behave differently at different pressures, so if they're not the same make of tyre that they fit as standard - or they have a different "tyre loading" spec to the standard OEM "84H" loading tyres, the pressures may need to be adjusted to compensate anyway...

The other thing to be wary of is "inaccurate" pressure guages. It sounds like you're meticulous but tyre pressure guages are notorious for being inaccurate and being out by ofter 10% or more.

I've got four different guages and only two out of the four say the same reading....

Unless you can guarantee that your guages are accurate, you might actually be checking your pressures meticulously but your guage could be wrong and they could be underinflated...

Oh - and don't forget that the pressures should be set when the tyres are stone cold. If the car's been driven or left in the sun, when the pressures are checked, the tyres will have heated up and the readings will be wrong....

I only ever check mine first thing in the morning after the car's been left standing overnight....

WOW!! That's all excellent advice, I never knew that Toyota used the same pressures regardless of load. I use a digital gauge, it's the chrome one that looks like a Luger gun that is from Halfords. I've had it about 3 years though and I always use it so haven't had anything to compare it with.

When I put on new tyres on the front last year I used the same original Dunlops, except these are the Fast Response version of the SP. Really good tyres I find and would recommend them.

So basically what I'll do is put in a couple of extra psi and get a new gauge. I'll check out the Auto Express Product test and see which digital one they recommend.

Thanks again for your help.

Gordon

[Ben Davy]

Always take the pressure when the tyres are cold. I would get a decent pressure gauge, not a cheap digital one, I think the Michelin ones are meant to be good. I use a dial BluePoint one and is accurate. The pressures for my yaris are 33 front and 30 rear, for speeds under 100mph.

[Gordie]

Always take the pressure when the tyres are cold. I would get a decent pressure gauge, not a cheap digital one, I think the Michelin ones are meant to be good. I use a dial BluePoint one and is accurate. The pressures for my yaris are 33 front and 30 rear, for speeds under 100mph.

I'll try and find the BluePoint, I've heard of it before. I live up near Inverness in the Highlands so no problem finding a cold day to take the tyre pressures.

[Rayburn]

Gordie,

"The tyres are just standard 185/60"

Have you got the 14" on alloy wheels?

If so you might consider changing up to the 15" alloys. 185/60/15 Makes the car handle a lot better.

I did this years ago and mileage on tyres are about 30,000 on budget ones. £185 for 4 tyres.(fitted)

R

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

I alays buy premium tyres and never part worn or budget ones because tyres are the only thing that keeps you on the road!

I use a 12 volt Mini Air compressor/inflator by Ring and it got a couple of awards a few years ago. Handy little thing!

[Gordie]

I have the 15" wheels, I think they're standard on the T Spirit. They don't make that model anymore so I think my next car will be a Mazda 2 Sport as I love the Climate Control and the Yaris doesn't have it as standard anymore.

I always get the best tyres I can afford, after years of BMWs and a couple of Impreza's I learned that lesson early on. I thought about getting an inflator, my pump needs renewing so I might go down that route.

Gordon

[fiish]

I agree that tyres are worth spending on. My dad spends a lot on his car's tyres and thinks it's worth every penny.

Not needing to change my Yaris tyres just yet but I certainly am not planning to skimp on them.

[oldun]

I would get a decent pressure gauge, not a cheap digital one, I think the Michelin ones are meant to be good. I use a dial BluePoint one and is accurate.

How can I check the accuracy of a gauge or must i just rely on advertising blurb?

The other question is what constitutes a "decent pressure gauge" or a "poor digital one"?

I always believed that 99.9% of analogue gauges were crap but I have no idea as to the accuracy, in general, of digital gauges.

[alfiejts]

Me and my neighbour pooled our resources and we had five between us. Three of the five were almost the same so we took them as the "standard".

You've more chance of the garage guages being reasonably accurate thesedays now that the guages are in the main unit and not at the end of the hose where they used to keep getting dropped....

Trawl around a few garages, try your guage at the same time and see how many times it matches the garage unit...

If you get a reasonable match with a few garage guages, then at least you're in the ball park...

(Doesn't matter what the pressure reading is, cos the tyres may be warm, but if the pressure readouts match, at least you know they're saying the same reading...)