Rear Tyre Wear E Class Estate

[andyl999]

I I would like to check with other owners on how many miles they can get out of the rear tyres. I have a 2007 W211 sport estate with 18" wheels, the rear tyres are Continental 265/35R18 Contisport2 MO fitting. I have only done 11,900 miles and the tyres are close to or are illegal.







I am thinking of swapping over to Michelin Pilots as one tyre supplier reckons that they would be harder wearing and suggested that I should get at least 20,000 miles from them.
Just to let you know I do mixed driving probably 50% motorway and 50% city, the car does tow a racecar but only for say 1000 miles, the geometry has been checked as OK and I always make sure that the tyre pressures are correct at 32 psi. The trailer download is also correct.
Look forward to your comments.
Thanks and Regards Andy

 

[DieselE]

My car is on the 16 inch wheels that were standard on the Avantgarde. I fitted Michelin Primacy HP on the rears at 21,000 miles. Those tyres had roughly 6,000 miles running on the front but since then have been back on the rear. So far, they've done 26,500 miles and have just under 4mm tread.

There are two Primacy HP on the front which have done 19,500 and have just under 6mm of tread.

I'll be buying the same again when these go.

 

[BlackC55]

That wear seems pretty even. What engine?

 

[andyl999]

My car is on the 16 inch wheels that were standard on the Avantgarde. I fitted Michelin Primacy HP on the rears at 21,000 miles. Those tyres had roughly 6,000 miles running on the front but since then have been back on the rear. So far, they've done 26,500 miles and have just under 4mm tread.

There are two Primacy HP on the front which have done 19,500 and have just under 6mm of tread.

I'll be buying the same again when these go.

I have had 4 E class estates so far, the 16 & 17" wheels were OK, but I always have had high wear with the 18" wheels

 

[andyl999]

That wear seems pretty even. What engine?

Thanks for your reply, the photo isn't so good but it's a wear line of probably 3" wide. Regardless of this I drive reasonably carefully (ie no spinning wheels) and I would not expect such a low mileage as 11,900 miles.

The engine an all my E class is the V6 320 CDI

 

[DieselE]

I have had 4 E class estates so far, the 16 & 17" wheels were OK, but I always have had high wear with the 18" wheels

I'm not a tyre expert but I wonder if the towing is hitting your 18" wheels harder. Compared to the 16" or 17" the tyres will be very low profile and the lack of flexibility in the sidewall might give you extra wear. But I repeat I'm no expert.

 

[Brian WH]

I'm not a tyre expert but I wonder if the towing is hitting your 18" wheels harder. Compared to the 16" or 17" the tyres will be very low profile and the lack of flexibility in the sidewall might give you extra wear. But I repeat I'm no expert.

Towing will add to rear tyre wear definitely.

 

[Satch]

The tyre wear pattern on my E class estate is very similar and not uncommon in high torque rear wheel drive cars. You may not be revving the engine but you are still putting a lot of tractive effort through them.

Fitted Pilot Primacy HP's a month ago, the existing Pirelli P7's being done for after about 20,000 miles. However, that was with swapping them front/rear and nearside/offside (they were non directional) every 3,000 miles or so

If I had left the rear tyres in place I doubt they would have lasted 12,000 because, despite correct pressures the central wear was making them visibly concave.

(If you want a reason not to have a car with directional tyres and in different front/rear fitments, there it is!)

 

[Dragon]

Normal tyres change is 30,000 miles unless you have been speeding above 70mph or brake too hard. Take off slowly, plan ahead before you brake, unload unnecessary stuff in the car, check the tyres every week and adhere to tyres pressure according to load. I had gossip with other drivers in tyres shop, they achieved even higher than 30,000 miles, 40-50K miles.

 

[DieselE]

Normal tyres change is 30,000 miles unless you have been speeding above 70mph or brake too hard. Take off slowly, plan ahead before you brake, unload unnecessary stuff in the car, check the tyres every week and adhere to tyres pressure according to load. I had gossip with other drivers in tyres shop, they achieved even higher than 30,000 miles, 40-50K miles.

Yes but were all these drivers in the tyre shop driving E Class saloons or estates? High tyre mileages and big heavy cars tend not to go together.

 

[Dieselman]

As DieselE has already said it's the high torque output of the 320CDi engine causing the high wear rate.

Fit a wheezy low torque engine and enjoy much longer tyre life at the expense of fun.

The speed is irrelevant it's acceleration that kills the tyres.

My first set of Pirelli's were not dissimilar at 11,000 miles, Michelin every time from now.
All the decent tyre centres steered me away from budget tyres for this reason when I asked for advice.

I think the low profile will exaccerbate the wear due to lack of give.

 

[Dragon]

As DieselE has already said it's the high torque output of the 320CDi engine causing the high wear rate.

Fit a wheezy low torque engine and enjoy much longer tyre life at the expense of fun.

The speed is irrelevant it's acceleration that kills the tyres.

My first set of Pirelli's were not dissimilar at 11,000 miles, Michelin every time from now.
All the decent tyre centres steered me away from budget tyres for this reason when I asked for advice.

I think the low profile will exaccerbate the wear due to lack of give.

U can't get to the speed without acceleration.

 

[Dieselman]

U can't get to the speed without acceleration.

But how much of it is the question. Well actually it's how much torque (force) is being applied to the tyre compound.

A lot more in a 320Cdi than in any n/a petrol engine.

You could accelerate to 70mph over 30 seconds or a minute and not stress the tyres at all. The speed is irrelevant.

Even driving at 140mph won't wear the tyres as much as pulling away quickly from a standstill to 30mph.

The vehicle mass is also a contributor as more torque is required for a given accelleration.

 

[andyl999]

The tyre wear pattern on my E class estate is very similar and not uncommon in high torque rear wheel drive cars. You may not be revving the engine but you are still putting a lot of tractive effort through them.

Fitted Pilot Primacy HP's a month ago, the existing Pirelli P7's being done for after about 20,000 miles. However, that was with swapping them front/rear and nearside/offside (they were non directional) every 3,000 miles or so

If I had left the rear tyres in place I doubt they would have lasted 12,000 because, despite correct pressures the central wear was making them visibly concave.

(If you want a reason not to have a car with directional tyres and in different front/rear fitments, there it is!)

Thanks but unfortunately on this model the rears are wider than the fronts!

Regards Andy

 

[andyl999]

Normal tyres change is 30,000 miles unless you have been speeding above 70mph or brake too hard. Take off slowly, plan ahead before you brake, unload unnecessary stuff in the car, check the tyres every week and adhere to tyres pressure according to load. I had gossip with other drivers in tyres shop, they achieved even higher than 30,000 miles, 40-50K miles.

I do all this already, I just wonder if the geometry of the car is against 18" low profile tyres?

 

[andyl999]

Towing will add to rear tyre wear definitely.

Agreed, but my previous E 320 CDI estate with 17" wheels was still going strong (maybe 4mm left) at 22,000 miles?

 

[Dieselman]

If it's only wearing the centre of the tread then the geometory is Ok.

 

[andyl999]

Normal tyres change is 30,000 miles unless you have been speeding above 70mph or brake too hard. Take off slowly, plan ahead before you brake, unload unnecessary stuff in the car, check the tyres every week and adhere to tyres pressure according to load. I had gossip with other drivers in tyres shop, they achieved even higher than 30,000 miles, 40-50K miles.

I don't know any E class drivers with 18" wheels that get anywhere near 30,000 miles on the rear of one of these estates.

I have read on an American Mb forum that another owner reduced his pressure by 6 psi and got better more even wear. He contends that Mb specify a too high tyre pressure?

 

[timskemp]

Conti Sport Contact 2 used to last 6000-10000 on the front of my Volvo. Very nice tyre though on a dry twisty road. Best life I've had from tyres have been from Michelin Pilot Primacy and Goodyear NCT5 - I doubt either would be available in your size though.

The wear looks even, but the life is worse than I'm getting out of mine, and I'm normally quite hard on tyres.

 

[Dieselman]

http://www.blackcircles.com/tyres/michelin

Pilot Sport even better apparently but I'm happy with my PP-HP.

IIRC Pilot sport is cheaper...