Tyre Wear

[ticktockmac]

My front tyres need to be replaced urgently and I'm very worried about how quickly they have worn out. I'd love to know how many miles other people have got from their tyres, especially those on the front of the car.

[Chris Ray]

My fronts needed replacing after about 25000 miles, which I thought was a bit soon, as my old Jeep used to get about 50,000!!

Backs still OK at 34,000 though

[Ancient Nerd]

I just checked, my fronts at 23,000 are 5mm, so I'd expect them to reach at least 50,000

[Auris 1.6 vvt-i]

My front tyres need to be replaced urgently and I'm very worried about how quickly they have worn out. I'd love to know how many miles other people have got from their tyres, especially those on the front of the car.

It really depends on the tyre compound and also the driving style! A softer tyre wears out faster but gives better grip. A harder compound tyre wears out slower and lasts longer but gives you less grip - there is no such thing as "free lunch" ;) I also mentioned the driving style - back in the days, when I was a pizza guy, my tyres were completely useless in a little over 12,000 miles ;)

[benw123]

My 28,500 mile Prius still has what I think are its original tyres (I'm the second owner). The fronts are getting close to the wear markers now, but the rears are around 4-5mm. Might swap them round for longevity but can't put off the inevitable.

I think the problem is with the factory-fit Bridgestone Turanzas. I was looking around the web last week for deals on these, and found several reviews which suggested they wore fairly quickly, but they are good low resistance tyres. Best deal I found was £174 for two tyres delivered and fitted.

[Chris Dance]

On the Prius do Bridgestone tyres have to be replaced with Bridgestones?

I have never got a satisfactory answer about this. Dealer says only use Bridgestones but there are guys on this forum fitted Michelins. I wonder how the Michelins are wearing and the MPG.

My son has just had snow tyres fitted to his Prius as he is off abroad; he is still getting 54 MPG in the UK on snow tyres.

Tyre wear does depend a lot on how the car is driven. On all cars I have owned I used Michelin tyres, except the Avensis. Michelins average 30 to 40,000 miles+.

[Phoenix999]

In all the years I have been driving (nearly 37 ) I have never really managed to find any manufacturer that produces tyres better than another.... unless you go down the range and buy budget then they will be poorer quality :( I have always liked either Dunlop or Michelin as they last a fair amount of time.

I had Bridgestones on my previous car (Nissan 350) and numerous other owners said they were rubbish and changed to Toyo Proxy.... I think this was the one! However I found Bridgestones fine :)

I would stay with a premium brand as they, in my opinion, tend to last longer. As for changing like for like.... don't worry about it but try to keep the same brand and tread pattern on each axle.... I really to feel it is safer that way

[stompe]

Hi Guys,

I have had my Michelin Energy tyres on now since late November (3000 miles). I am very pleased with them, they seem to have worn in and got better all the time. As you know from my previous thread, I did not really like the Bridgestone Turanza. I got approximately 33000 out of the front tyres and they were still in their legal limit but I do not like to go under 4mm. The new tyres seem to be quieter and slightly more grip than the Bridgestones. I do have a tyre pressure monitor in the car so my tyres are always showing the correct pressure. I would be interested to see what they put on the new Prius but I guess we might have to go to our American cousins for that reply but it seems the American spec Prius get different size tyres and different models of tyres than us.

Stompe

[ticktockmac]

Hi Guys,

I have had my Michelin Energy tyres on now since late November (3000 miles). I am very pleased with them, they seem to have worn in and got better all the time. As you know from my previous thread, I did not really like the Bridgestone Turanza. I got approximately 33000 out of the front tyres and they were still in their legal limit but I do not like to go under 4mm. The new tyres seem to be quieter and slightly more grip than the Bridgestones. I do have a tyre pressure monitor in the car so my tyres are always showing the correct pressure. I would be interested to see what they put on the new Prius but I guess we might have to go to our American cousins for that reply but it seems the American spec Prius get different size tyres and different models of tyres than us.

Stompe

Hi Stompe,

Can you tell us how your mpg on the Energy tyres compares with the original Bridgestones? I think that last time you posted on this it was too early to have a clear picture. Can yu give us an update now?

[corolla_dude]

im gonna be very friendly with my local tyre fitter when i get my camber shims on

[stompe]

Hi Guys,

I have had my Michelin Energy tyres on now since late November (3000 miles). I am very pleased with them, they seem to have worn in and got better all the time. As you know from my previous thread, I did not really like the Bridgestone Turanza. I got approximately 33000 out of the front tyres and they were still in their legal limit but I do not like to go under 4mm. The new tyres seem to be quieter and slightly more grip than the Bridgestones. I do have a tyre pressure monitor in the car so my tyres are always showing the correct pressure. I would be interested to see what they put on the new Prius but I guess we might have to go to our American cousins for that reply but it seems the American spec Prius get different size tyres and different models of tyres than us.

Stompe

Hi Stompe,

Can you tell us how your mpg on the Energy tyres compares with the original Bridgestones? I think that last time you posted on this it was too early to have a clear picture. Can yu give us an update now?

Hi ticktockmac,

I have still not posted my mpg here because the weather is still bad and I start the car every morning for approximately 10-15 minutes while I get ready. At the moment I am getting about 45 to the gallon. That is also with my air con on all the time and heated rear screen and headlights which all drain the fuel consumption. I will expect the summer will be the acid test. The rolling resistance seems better on the Michelins. I promise I will let you all know what the figures are in the summer.

Stompe

[hedleyf]

Hi.,

I think that half the problem with tyres is the depth they are when new, if you look at a new Bridgestone or Dunlop you will measure the center depth of tread at about 8mm,the depth on the edges of the tread will be about 5mm, 5mm on a new tyre to me is a bad deal as years ago they were 10mm across the tread. this normally ends up replacing a tyre with worn sides but a still good center, Big con, should not be allowed, also the rounding of the tread on the sides means that when cornering the cars weight is put directly on to these sides with only 5mm,years ago the tread was more flat.you can still get deep tread tyres you need to look about trouble is when you buy new tyres you expect them to be all the same but they are not.

Sorry about that just had to have my moan.

Hedley.

[benw123]

Hi.,

I think that half the problem with tyres is the depth they are when new, if you look at a new Bridgestone or Dunlop you will measure the center depth of tread at about 8mm,the depth on the edges of the tread will be about 5mm, 5mm on a new tyre to me is a bad deal as years ago they were 10mm across the tread. this normally ends up replacing a tyre with worn sides but a still good center, Big con, should not be allowed, also the rounding of the tread on the sides means that when cornering the cars weight is put directly on to these sides with only 5mm,years ago the tread was more flat.you can still get deep tread tyres you need to look about trouble is when you buy new tyres you expect them to be all the same but they are not.

Sorry about that just had to have my moan.

Hedley.

Fair point. If the depth across the centre of the tread is deeper than the sides, then at least that means you can over-inflate the tyres - as many Prius drivers do - for better economy but still get even tyre wear.

I wonder if the reason the tread depth at the edge of the tyres has got less over the years is because of greater handling benefits; you've got more rubber on the road if the tread is lower under hard cornering.

[hedleyf]

Hi.,

I think that half the problem with tyres is the depth they are when new, if you look at a new Bridgestone or Dunlop you will measure the center depth of tread at about 8mm,the depth on the edges of the tread will be about 5mm, 5mm on a new tyre to me is a bad deal as years ago they were 10mm across the tread. this normally ends up replacing a tyre with worn sides but a still good center, Big con, should not be allowed, also the rounding of the tread on the sides means that when cornering the cars weight is put directly on to these sides with only 5mm,years ago the tread was more flat.you can still get deep tread tyres you need to look about trouble is when you buy new tyres you expect them to be all the same but they are not.

Sorry about that just had to have my moan.

Hedley.

Fair point. If the depth across the centre of the tread is deeper than the sides, then at least that means you can over-inflate the tyres - as many Prius drivers do - for better economy but still get even tyre wear.

I wonder if the reason the tread depth at the edge of the tyres has got less over the years is because of greater handling benefits; you've got more rubber on the road if the tread is lower under hard cornering.

:D

Ya you possibly have a point there this could explain the way they round off towards the edges, still not really happy about it its more noticeable on the larger tyres like a rav4 or landcruiser take a look next time you pass one, as I said there are some tyres that have a better even depth but I c'ant remember which ones ,

Hedley.

[Mike Nelson]

My front tyres need to be replaced urgently and I'm very worried about how quickly they have worn out. I'd love to know how many miles other people have got from their tyres, especially those on the front of the car.

We are at 22,000 and still got 4.5m on front and 5.9 on the rear (they have 8.5 new and limit is 1.1mm) on very rough country roads, we have been suggested to rotate the tyres at 25,000 (front to rear) to even wear and they should last to 35,000.

Low resistance tyres are often soft compound and have average life of 30,000 but hard tyres used on SUV's expect to get 50,000 however we had a VR-V with 28,000 and all the tyres needed replacing .

its very much about the roads and the softness of the tyres as to their life but you can maximise the life by swapping/rotating front to rear when tyres reach 65 to 76% wear on the front!

[timberwolf]

We are at 22,000 and still got 4.5m on front and 5.9 on the rear (they have 8.5 new and limit is 1.1mm) on very rough country roads, we have been suggested to rotate the tyres at 25,000 (front to rear) to even wear and they should last to 35,000.

What do you mean by "limit is 1.1mm"? The UK & EU minimum tread depth is 1.6mm across 75% of the tyre width for cars.

[hedleyf]

On the Prius do Bridgestone tyres have to be replaced with Bridgestones?

I have never got a satisfactory answer about this. Dealer says only use Bridgestones but there are guys on this forum fitted Michelins. I wonder how the Michelins are wearing and the MPG.

My son has just had snow tyres fitted to his Prius as he is off abroad; he is still getting 54 MPG in the UK on snow tyres.

Tyre wear does depend a lot on how the car is driven. On all cars I have owned I used Michelin tyres, except the Avensis. Michelins average 30 to 40,000 miles+.

Hi Chris'

I've been with the hybrid project from 2000, and can see no reason why you would have to replace Bridgestones with Bridgestones on the Prius. I will look into it and let you know if I'm wrong.

Hedley.

[benw123]

I was quoted £124 each for the Bridgestone Turanzas, but I did find a quote (since lost) online which was £174 delivered and fitted for two tyres.

[fuel miser]

I was quoted £124 each for the Bridgestone Turanzas, but I did find a quote (since lost) online which was £174 delivered and fitted for two tyres.

I'm also going to need a new pair on the rear very shortly, I have Bridgestones all round at the moment. I was finding it frustrating that there were only two choices of 'economy' tyres, the Turanzas I have (best quote I've had was £164 for a pair) or the Michelin Energy Saver (best quote £182 a pair), but I have also just been quoted for Continental Premium Contact, which must be a new option as nobody has mentioned these (I was quoted same price as Turanzas). They are also a silica based low rolling resistance tyre like the others, and are available in a size to fit the Prius. More and more economy models have this type of tyre fitted as standard, hopefully as more tyre manufacturers introduce them we'll have a much wider choice in future.

One could fit ordinary tyres to a Prius and there are many that will fit, but I think from what I've read the impact on the fuel economy of the car is about 5%. I'd rather pay the extra cost as you'll surely recover this during the lifetime of the tyre.

[benw123]

I have still not posted my mpg here because the weather is still bad and I start the car every morning for approximately 10-15 minutes while I get ready. At the moment I am getting about 45 to the gallon. That is also with my air con on all the time and heated rear screen and headlights which all drain the fuel consumption. I will expect the summer will be the acid test. The rolling resistance seems better on the Michelins. I promise I will let you all know what the figures are in the summer.

Hi Stompe, just to bump this thread, how's your MPG doing? I realise it's not quite summer yet, but any comparison against the Turanzas would be cool.

I swapped the fronts and rears tonight on my T-Spirit to extend the life of my Turanzas. At 30,500 miles there's still plenty of life in them but the rears have hardly worn at all since I've owned the car, so I can probably put off buying a new set for a while yet.

[stompe]

Hi benw123

As you rightly said it is a bit early to make a direct comparison but so far I seem to be 3 or 4 miles per gallon better. The ride, I think personally, is better than the Turanzas and quieter. So basically I have no regrets on buying the Michelins and they seem to be wearing better.

Hope this helps

Stompe

[benw123]

Nice one - thanks for the update. Worth bearing in mind when I need replacements for mine.