Tyre wear

[Mistermackay]

Hi, I have a 2005 Mercedes CLS 3 litre diesel. Rear tyres 275 35 18 95Y. I fitted two Michelin Pilot Sport 3 in June 2013. At the MOT they said they were nearly ready for replacement. What are best tyres to fit for a longer life than 18,000 miles? Thanks for any advice.

 

[camerafodder]

18,000 is brilliant mileage for rears on that car!

 

[automaniaman]

18,000 miles, I wish...

 

[Teshie]

I've only managed 9000 miles 275/35/20 on my S320cdi W221

 

[regbuser]

As above, you've done very well to get 18k from a set of rears.

How did you rate the ps3's in dry and wet?

 

[markjay]

18k is super... I get around 15k if that.

I suppose that you do a lot of Motorway miles, keeping the tyres well inflated, and accelerate very gently?

 

[wheels-inmotion]

As said 18k is good nowadays... Point to remember is tyres today are deemed sacrificial meaning their job is to keep you, the car and all it's technology on the road.... My best advise to you is stick with the tyre you know.

 

[Mistermackay]

As above, you've done very well to get 18k from a set of rears.

How did you rate the ps3's in dry and wet?

They pull up well both in the dry and the wet.

 

[Mistermackay]

18k is super... I get around 15k if that.

I suppose that you do a lot of Motorway miles, keeping the tyres well inflated, and accelerate very gently?

I do mainly motorway miles so I am glad that £18K is a good number.

 

[DeeAitch]

18000 is a mere dream for me. Try 8000 on a pair of Rear Michelin Pilot sports which are now toast
And no, I'm not into smoking them!

 

[Dieselman]

18k is super... I get around 15k if that.

But then you change yours when they get down to 4mm...which is only half worn...

Perhaps you have a sideline in half worn tyres...

 

[ShaunB]

18000 is a mere dream for me. Try 8000 on a pair of Rear Michelin Pilot sports which are now toast
And no, I'm not into smoking them!

7K for me, and i'm not smoking them either

 

[markjay]

But then you change yours when they get down to 4mm...which is only half worn...

Perhaps you have a sideline in half worn tyres...

Tyres are not half worn at 4mm.

Most tyres start at 8mm.

The legal limit is 1.6mm.

The recommendation from tyre manufactures is to have tyres replaced at 3mm.

So the effective tyre life is not 8mm, but 5mm. At 4mm, they will have gone through 80% of their reasonable service life.

Additionally, I keep the tyres inflated to the higher value within the manufacturer's inflation range. I get Olly to swap them back to forth every service (one advantage of not having staggered wheels), and I don't kerb them. I start off gently (well with a C180 I don't have much options anyway)... and Tony Bones makes sure the tracking is right. The result is 4 undamaged tyres, wearing slowly, and evenly.

Does any of this make sense? Not in the least bit. But then I don't actually need my car at all - the wife and I could do with one car between the two us. I just like looking after my car... one of these eccentricitis that come with age I guess...

I have no doubt that the rewards will only be ripped by one unknown future owner. But I just can't help it.

 

[DeeAitch]

MB also recommended I change them at 3mm, only £250 a pop to you kind Sir they said.
I reckon I'm getting less than 1000 miles per mm so that means circa 5k life - bonkers!

 

[Dieselman]

Tyres are not half worn at 4mm.

Most tyres start at 8mm.

The legal limit is 1.6mm.

The recommendation from tyre manufactures is to have tyres replaced at 3mm.

So the effective tyre life is not 8mm, but 5mm. At 4mm, they will have gone through 80% of their reasonable service life.

Most tyres start at 7mm, some at 8mm.
The legal limit is 1.6mm.
7-1.6 = 5.4mm.
7-4 = 3mm. so only 55% worn.

It just seems a bit excessive / obsessive / wasteful, to me to change your tyres so far before their true end of life.

 

[markjay]

...It just seems a bit excessive / obsessive / wasteful, to me to change your tyres so far before their true end of life.

I agree on all counts.

I get an itch to change the tyres well before they have reached their end of service life.

No logic to it, apart that at a cost of around £80 per corner for Premium MO tyres, I like to indulge myself with a new set of tyres every 3-4 years regardless of their condition.

Had I been running a taxi, the consideration would have been very different of course.

 

[bionoc]

Hi, I have a 2005 Mercedes CLS 3 litre diesel. Rear tyres 275 35 18 95Y. I fitted two Michelin Pilot Sport 3 in June 2013. At the MOT they said they were nearly ready for replacement. What are best tyres to fit for a longer life than 18,000 miles? Thanks for any advice.

My PilotSport3's also lasted 18,000 miles. Very happy with that. The previous set were Dunlop Sportsmaxx GT which gave up at 10,000 miles. The Pilotsports were still decent in the wet before changing them whereas the Dunlops were useless. Both sets were changed with 2.5 mm tread.

 

[Ttstang]

10k on rear 275 40 18 contis!!