Car Tyres - How Long Should They Last

Sparky67

We have a Nissan Primera T-Spec diesel, purchased new September 2004. Current speedometer around 22k mark. It was fitted with Dunlop tyres, which we have just noticed are all shredded on the inside of each of the front tyres - should they be this worn this quickly??

northern_munky

Sparky67 wrote:

We have a Nissan Primera T-Spec diesel, purchased new September 2004. Current speedometer around 22k mark. It was fitted with Dunlop tyres, which we have just noticed are all shredded on the inside of each of the front tyres - should they be this worn this quickly??

How do you mean, shredded, do you mean the inside edge has worn down? If so sounds like the tracking is out.

trigger_mike

Tyres wear depends on how you drive fast, slow etc, what kind of driving you do, town or motorway, tire pressure, if too low they will wear.
22k isn't too bad, front tyres on front wheel drive cars do wear faster then rear and the power steering doesn't help.

GabbaGabbaHey

Sparky67 wrote:

we have just noticed are all shredded on the inside of each of the front tyres

You've got a problem with your tracking which you need to get sorted before you put new tyres on. Normal wear on a tyre should be even across the whole width of the tyre.

As far as how long tyres should last, it all depends on how you drive, what tyre compound you get, etc. I'm happy with anything over 5k miles from a set of rears and 8k on fronts (on a rear wheel drive car).

plane_boy2000

22K is reasonable for a set of front tyres - My partners Citroen Picasso tyres needed replacing about every 20K, although I would get the uneven wear looked at. Could you have hit a curb or something at some point? Do you check the pressure regularly?

Murphy_The_Cat

GabbaGabbaHey wrote:

You've got a problem with your tracking which you need to get sorted before you put new tyres on. Normal wear on a tyre should be even across the whole width of the tyre.

As far as how long tyres should last, it all depends on how you drive, what tyre compound you get, etc. I'm happy with anything over 5k miles from a set of rears and 8k on fronts (on a rear wheel drive car).

I'd freak if that was all I was getting from my car tyres.

Are your tyres the cheapest things on the market or do you just drive very "ahem" enthusiastcally ?

MTC

K9cuddles

I managed to get just under 14k on mine (but it's a performance car) and they were Pirellis.. I've replaced them with Goodyears so should hold to about 20k!! As mention. sounds like your tracking needs looking at.

owey

GabbaGabbaHey wrote:

You've got a problem with your tracking which you need to get sorted before you put new tyres on. Normal wear on a tyre should be even across the whole width of the tyre.

As far as how long tyres should last, it all depends on how you drive, what tyre compound you get, etc. I'm happy with anything over 5k miles from a set of rears and 8k on fronts (on a rear wheel drive car).

It does sound like a tracking problem, even with cheap tyres I was getting 40,000 from my vectra. But if you do go for new tyres, get the tracking done after they have been fitted, if you get the tracking done before, it will be tracked to your old tyres.

boatman

Some of the cheap tyres are often quite hard rubber which lasts forever but are not much good at braking/handling in the wet. I know which i'd rather have! 20,000 miles sounds reasonable to me.

tomstickland

Murphy_The_Cat wrote:

I'd freak if that was all I was getting from my car tyres.

Are your tyres the cheapest things on the market or do you just drive very "ahem" enthusiastcally ?

MTC

Try performance tyres, like Goodyear F1s. They are a soft compound and when combined with enthusiastic cornering they last about 10K.

22K is fine IMO. Wear on inside edge does suggest that tracking needs adjusting.

Crabman

Sparky67 wrote:

We have a Nissan Primera T-Spec diesel, purchased new September 2004. Current speedometer around 22k mark. It was fitted with Dunlop tyres, which we have just noticed are all shredded on the inside of each of the front tyres - should they be this worn this quickly??

Yeah I'm with the others in saying it must be the tracking that is out. I have a Nissan Almera bought new in April 2000 and the tyres only needed doing after 20k they were dunlops too. It's never a bad idea to periodically pop into a garage to have the tracking looked at.

Also another thing - do you have speed humps in your area or do you drive over any quite regularly? I ask because there is evidence that the speedpads (the square lumps of tarmac in the road which can be straddled by large vehicles) can cause the inner wall of tyres to wear out (and can also affect the tracking) if you try to straddle them as the inner walls of the tyres make contact with the slanted sides of the speed pad. Here's an excerpt from his site:

46. What is the best way to drive over a metre wide 'speed cushion'?

The problem is that if you repeatedly straddle speed cushions you destroy the inner shoulders of your tyres. So, while straddling is more comfortable (and is harmless if the track between your wheels is greater than the base of the speed cushion), the best way to preserve your tyres and your tracking (if not your back and your car's springs) is to drive one wheel over the hump and one wheel on the flat.