[lbpesq]

I put Sumitomo HTR Z III tires on my car when I bought it last year. Now, after only about 14,000 miles, the rears are just about bald while the fronts have plenty of tread left. I've never had a car where the front and back wore at such radically different rates. Of course, this is the first car I've owned that used different sizes on the front and rear so that rotating is out of the question. Have others had this experience with these cars? Is it just the Sumitomos? Other than wearing out so quickly, I love these tires. At the price, it may still be worth running them, even with the short lifespan. I'm replacing the rears with the same model, but may be looking elsewhere for my next set of tires.



Bill

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

the inside corners of the rears will wear rather quickly, especially if the car is lowered and the camber angles have not been corrected



also, a bad toe set on the rear will chew them up pretty quickly - this setting is often ignored when an alignment is done



see the Alignment Specs thread for settings, and then find a good alignment shop, complete with the specific tools needed - that should help a lot, and get you back up to the 20k mark on tire life



also, you can cross rotate the tires - have them dismounted and remounted on opposite sides - this will retain the directional orientation, and put the meat back on the inside corners - it should extend the life of the tire by 3-4k miles

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Lim Yong]

This has been my experiencel The rears wears out at about a two to one rate compared to the fronts. I have been using bridgestones and they wear very evenly. As Flash said, get a good alignment....Luck

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[PhilG968]

I agree with the alignment issue, my Sumitomo HTR Z III are wearing evenly and I drive a lot. Lots of highway driving, maybe that helps.

[size="2"][color="#1c2837"]I get three summers out of the fronts and two out of the rears.[/color][/size]

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Chris Vais]

My experience is that the rears do wear faster than the fronts. Not quite at the rate of two for one. Careful and complete alignment makes a difference. I think driving style probably has some impact on rear tire wear as well. One of lifes small pleasures, when the road is devoid of cops and other cars, is to drive the car aggresively to the detriment of tire logevity. That said I get between 30 and 35 K miles out of a set of tires.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[ds968]

The rears wear maybe at most 10-20% faster than the front, but all wear very evenly. I have a 4-wheel alignment done every other year, and 80% of my driving is highway so that might influence the wear patterns to some degree.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Cloud9...68]

[sub][size="2"]Interesting! My fronts wear MUCH faster than my rears, but I'm sure that's because I was tracking the car pretty extensively. But the rears have a ton of tread left - looks like they'll go at least 20K, despite the track use.[/size][/sub]

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

again, probably a lot to do with toe on any normal car - many shops will set the car with too much toe - i like the front at zero toe



a car that is tracked will tear up the outside corners really fast if the chassis is not set up to limit body roll and camber change - even if it is though, it will still work the outside corners of the front tires

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[rxter]

My rears are about toasted after 10K, and at least 3 of that was highway. The other 7 though has included a lot of canyon carving so I am not surprised too much. The fronts look fine. PS2s. I have essentially the same tires on my DD and I'm around 22 on those with not a lot of tread left and they rotate every 5K. Driving style is your main determinant. If you like lateral g's your sticky tires will go away.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[sstman]

I just had my rear tyres replaced after 25K on them, (Falken FK452's)had worn through on the centre of the tread, which pointed to over inflation, but have always checked weekly for pressures,at 36 psi (the recomended level) however it was pointed out to me by my fitter, that as I mainly commute daily on the motorway (freeway) at a constant 70 mphish....the tyres are going to get hot and go up to about 38/42 psi. So this new set, Ive had filled with nitrogen, and am keeping a close eye on the pressure after my 40 min dash to work every day....

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[AJG]

[quote name='sstman' timestamp='1311355844' post='113018']

I just had my rear tyres replaced after 25K on them, (Falken FK452's)had worn through on the centre of the tread, which pointed to over inflation, but have always checked weekly for pressures,at 36 psi (the recomended level) however it was pointed out to me by my fitter, that as I mainly commute daily on the motorway (freeway) at a constant 70 mphish....the tyres are going to get hot and go up to about 38/42 psi. So this new set, Ive had filled with nitrogen, and am keeping a close eye on the pressure after my 40 min dash to work every day....

[/quote]



Nitrogen molecules are smaller than oxygen ones. Any potential leak paths will be exposed more readily. Keep a close eye on pressures regularly for a while to track any possble leaks.



Andy

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Cloud9...68]

[sub]"[/sub]Nitrogen molecules are smaller than oxygen ones. Any potential leak paths will be exposed more readily. Keep a close eye on pressures regularly for a while to track any possble leaks."





Actually, air is 78% nitrogen, and the difference in molecular size between oxygen and nitrogen is insignificant. The reason some people like nitrogen is that it absorbs less moisture that air, and thus will help prevent corrosion of the wheels, which in the long run should hold pressure better.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

clever way to separate people from their money though

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Cloud9...68]

Yeah, seems like a good drier on the compressed air tank would accomplish the same thing as N2.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Langley968]

I was looking through "old threads" and came across this one started by ibpesq.

I have the same problem with the Sumitomo HTR Z III tires BUT as an even lower mileage!

I think it has to do with the fact that I never did a "four wheel alignment" when I got the new tires last year!

It will be on my "to do" list when I replace the rear tires at the beginning of next year's driving season...

This is a "heads up" to all when you replace your tires... get a good "four wheel" alignment and SAVE $$$

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.