I've been surprised at how many miles are left on a tire when they are looking thin till the wear bars are used as the guage. The last couple thirty seconds are made of iron.

Beyond that pressure, alignment, road surface, temperatures, driving style. If you are in the north don't expect it you'll chicken out about 10,000 miles early because winter is coming.

Michelin Latitudes rated for 65,000 on a Ford Taurus have 100,000 and not down to the wear indicators, but they are hydroplaning notably. Mostly highway miles, rotated every 5,000.

I am going to replace them this week while new ones are on sale. Car has 245,250 miles

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
I would think that a lot depends on how and where you drive

I recall reading studies that all-season radials become actually three-season radials after the first year

rough road conditions can wear the snot out of rubber much faster than smooth conditions and new pavement

probably a lot depends on how well they're maintained with proper tire pressure as well to give the right tire patch

This as well as the weight of the vehicle and how many miles you drive per year.....as the rubber gets older it dries out and they wear faster.

5K for autocross tires. 15k or so for street tires. I dont milk them.

All of our roads on Montana are asphalt and periodically 'chip sealed'. I believe the has a big negative effect on tire life.

I average about 35,000 on a set of Michelins on my car and SUV. My S2000 gets about 12,000 based on the factory alignment specs.

I just replaced the factory Bridgestone on my SUV AT 27,000 and put the third set on my S2000 at 37,500.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Hay2bale:
We have 70K miles on a set of Michelin LT tires on a 2001 F150. They will easily last another 20K, I think.

That's pretty darn impressive right there. My guess it's a high miles per year vehicle, otherwise they would dry rot before the tread wore out.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
On a "normal" set of sedan tires I tend toward tires that are a little more oriented toward performance than long tread life. For me the trade off in dry and especially wet traction is well worth the additional cost of a set every 30-35K rather than every 50-60K on a set of hard, mediocre grip tires. I'm not talking race pace, I just want to not have the wet performance be a concern for me or others who drive our cars.

Of course I do have two rear axles that get under 15K per set of tires each, but I can get 2 times that from the fronts!

I did the same thing, ran "summer" performance tires on my mustang. Those guys had better grip than regular all-season tires.

quote:

Originally posted by P-220:
Michelin LTX on my 2003 Pilot.

Had 95k and still had probably another useful 5k, but we were going into Winter. Balanced and rotated every 5-6k miles.

Balanced AND rotated every 5-6k ? That's a lot of maintenance to say the least.

If that 90,000 mile tire is the Defender, you might want to investigate further before dropping the scheckels.

There's give and take on tires. If you get higher mileage tires, they tend to be harder and noisier. On the other hand, sportier tires which tend to be low mileage tires (I've seen one that advertises 20k miles), they can grab the road better and handles better.

if it's got tits or tires it's bound to give you trouble.

quote:

Originally posted by XLT:
if it's got tits or tires it's bound to give you trouble.

Tits, tires or transistors equals troubles. Said the hsm radio guy.

My Tundra has 336K, and I'm on my fourth set of tires. Keep in mind I have been on the highway 70% of the time.

1. Bridgestone Duelers 66K
2. Yokohama Geolanders 90K
3. Michelin LTX M/S2 150K

I pushed it a bit to get to 150. I went back to the same Michelins for set number four 30K miles ago.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:

quote:

Originally posted by P-220:
Michelin LTX on my 2003 Pilot.

Had 95k and still had probably another useful 5k, but we were going into Winter. Balanced and rotated every 5-6k miles.

Balanced AND rotated every 5-6k ? That's a lot of maintenance to say the least.

I buy from Discount Tire. they recommend rotation and balance every 5K. its free. so I go every 5K. takes the local shop, with no appt just drive in, no more than 30 minutes on any given day.

5-6K is where you should rotate, if you want the most mileage out of them. I have been in and around the biz my whole life and this is what I was taught a few decades ago and still stand today. I have used Michelin on the last 4 vehicles over the past 10 years. when rotated every 5K, tire pressure per door jam with no alignment issues, they have lasted longer than the mileage warranty. as long as your alignment and tire pressure is correct, rotation is the key to getting the most mileage out of a set of tires.

current vehicles have Michelin ltx. iirc one is rated 70K and the other is an 80K. 70K set has 30K miles with very little visual wear indicated, this on a 3/4 ton truck. 80K set, on a SUV has just over 50K miles with barely any wear indication. I forget the depth measurements but the number was one less than new. both are rotated and balanced every 5K miles.


there are several factors as many members have indicated that cause tire wear. the main culprits I always see are alignment, wrong tire pressure, lack of rotation/balance intervals but the main one is..........the driver. the driver is 99% the main cause of tire wear. its either they are too aggressive on the tires by driving skills (or lack of skills) and/or lack the will to provide the maintenance needed to keep a set of tires for any reasonable length of mileage. it is very seldom the actual fault of the tire.

Michelin fan here with 50k on tires so far and wearing very well. Always rotate at 5k when oil change occurs at the dealer. Very happy, I think they were 850.00 when bought.

Not to beat dead horses, but tire life depends on how you drive. I would note that in my experience, I tend to get the best life out of Michelin and Continental.

I have gotten 40K out of a set of Michelin ultra-high-performance summer tires, with no tread life guarantee. I have gotten 40k out of a set of Continental ultra-high-performance summer SUV tires, with no tread life guarantee. I have gotten less than 35K from a different set of Continental UHP summer tires, with a 40K tread life warranty.

Rotate them every oil change, and DON'T skip a rotation.

Don't put granny tires on that CX-5 either, go with at least a high-performance tire, you can usually get a tread life warranty on high-performance-rated tires.

OEM General Grabbers had 52,000 miles on them after 4 years. There was still 5/16" tread remaining when I replaced them. I *think* it is a 60k tire. I went back with the same tire.

If I lived in a different climate, I may have driven them to 3/16", but with the rains we get, I went for safely.

Also, after four winters, my thinking is that the rubber changes. I noticed more chirping and slippage the last couple of months. Also the edges of the tread were beginning to chunk off. Nothing major, but evident.

In a climate with extreme swings, 100˚ in the summer and ice/snow in winter, unless I'd drive those 90k miles in three-four years, I'd probably do with a lessor tire.

Unless my vehicle is garage-kept at home and work maybe?

I've purchased three sets of the Michelin Primacy and loved them. Subaru Impreza, Volvo 850 Turbo, Acura TL.

I'll go with factors listed above, quality of tires, how one drives, type/weight of the vehicle, etc..

One thing I will add, 'longest rated' tread life isn't always better. Depending on rotations and how tires wear, tires can wear unevenly or become 'feathered' as one tries to make it to the longest tread life.

I had an older, lighter Tacoma where tires seemed to last forever, while staying in good shape. One car had some hard rubber Optimo 727 tires that developed some issues as they aged.

Right now I'm using up some tires towards the end of life on the truck. I'll go better by next Winter.

How many miles you get all depends on your driving habits, your vehicle's alignment, and how often you rotate them.

I'm a Michelin fan and I believe they're worth the extra $$.
Two things I don't skimp on with my cars / trucks is tires, and brakes.

Keeping the tires inflated to the correct pressure is a must. Checking once a week is a minimum for me. If you went around the parking lot at any supermarket, I doubt you would find one in ten cars with all tires inflated correctly.