[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by OSH

We should rather focus on maintaining the correct air pressure on such high speed drives or else we may face the problem of uneven tyre wear.

I do not mind a slight early change of tyres but they should have been evenly worn-out till the time I used them. What do you feel ?

You're right about always maintaining the correct air pressure, especially during highway drives.

The key thing is to always check tyre pressure on a cold tyre (like a day before the trip) and never check pressure in the middle of a drive, when the tyres are hot. This can be disasterous.

Under-inflation of the tyre is outright dangerous and is the main cause of Tyre bursts on highways.

Uneven tyre wear is also caused due to incorrect alignment. I check alignment atleast and tyre rotation once every 10K Km, I'm going to check alignment earlier at around 6K Km going forward to ensure even wear out the tyre.
Its better to replace the tyre when the tread depth goes below 3mm to ensure sufficient grip levels, especially wet grip to avoid hydroplaning during the rains.

[OSH]

Originally Posted by for_cars1

I check alignment atleast and tyre rotation once every 10K Km, I'm going to check alignment earlier at around 6K Km going forward to ensure even wear out the tyre.
Its better to replace the tyre when the tread depth goes below 3mm to ensure sufficient grip levels, especially wet grip to avoid hydroplaning during the rains.

Completely agree on this. I found another trick to keep an eye on the alignment, whenever my car returns from service, the invoice has a slip attached which indicates how much tread is left on each tyre, if all the 4 tyres have worn out equally compared to the last service slip then your alignment is fine. However if a tyre has shown increased wear compared to the others then the alignment is faulty and has to be rectified.

[Ricky_63]

Something I have to share about an acquaintance who has a C200 for the last 18 months or so. He was drooling over my Q3 & seeing my tyres commented that they looked "new" which they were not, they had run 16500 kms. So I said "oh no they are at around 50% life" - to my utter disbelief he proudly told me that he had used his tyres for upwards of 70000 kms !!!!

He is a VERY sedate driver. His car would not go over 60-70 kmpl ever ! So he does end up using less tyres than an aggressive driver. BUT - he was quite happily telling me that the service center told him "sahib tyre ke dhaagey nikal rahe hain, risky hai change karva lo"

That is when he got them replaced Ofcourse I was completely horrified (well almost)

So much for people treating tyres as "an uncalled for expense" !!! I gave him a lot of gyaan after which he promised to change them at the next 40000 kms irrespective.

[GranvilleDsouza]

Just yesterday was out of town with a friend who purchased a Rapid back in November. We were 4 people in the car (Don't like the Rapid, too bouncy maybe? I feel so) and he complained that it felt very heavy and funny (His first car and a rapid for haat-saaf )
Anyhoo, so he asked me to check. Didn't do much, sat in the drivers seat looked at the ODO (9710kms) and asked him which side the car was pulling to, to which he THEN realised that was the "funny" feeling!
Asked him to get his alignment, balancing and rotation done ASAP.
Was shocked when I got to know that he didn't know this had to be done. How can Skoda not suggest that?
His tyres are more worn out in the front 'cause of the way he drives. Hope he gets that rectified

[Aroy]

The major contributor to wear is friction
- Constant braking in city, wears out a tyre much faster than a sedate drive on highway, especially if you accelerate fast and brake hard in the city.
- Regular harsh braking on highways will leave quite some rubber on the tarmac

Another factor of tyre degradation is UV degradation of the compound. As the tyre ages and the compound degrades it will wear out faster.

As long as the tyre compound is good (tyre less than 5 years old) and the tread depth sufficient, there is nothing preventing a tyre lasting 70,000+km. With careful driving - slow acceleration and braking, there is no reason to prevent crossing 1L km on a set of tyres in a span of 5 years. Of course that requires very careful driving, but then I have seen a lot of such drivers, especially in less crowded small towns.

[su1978]

I am not a sedate driver but i am not a rash driver as well. OEM JK tornado tyres in my Ritz VDI have done more than 60000 kms, but they still seem to be going strong and will easily last almost 10000 kms more. The car itself is 5 years old. Got the wheels aligned in April and asked the alignment person if they require some urgent attention. He told me not to worry as the situation is under acceptable levels. Maintaining a top speed of 90-100 KMPH, did a 900 kms round-trip in my car last month in one day and did not feel any pull or steering vibrations.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by su1978

OEM JK tornado tyres in my Ritz VDI have done more than 60000 kms, but they still seem to be going strong and will easily last almost 10000 kms more. The car itself is 5 years old. Maintaining a top speed of 90-100 KMPH, did a 900 kms round-trip in my car last month in one day and did not feel any pull or steering vibrations.

JK Tornados are known for being very hard tyres and long-lasting. However, 5 years is close to the age limit even though the tread-wear may be acceptable. If you are routinely doing highway trips, suggest you bite the bullet and change them.

Even if you pick up the same 4 tyres brand new, it will make a world of difference to the ride quality trust me. Your car will feel new again

[su1978]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

JK Tornados are known for being very hard tyres and long-lasting. However, 5 years is close to the age limit even though the tread-wear may be acceptable. If you are routinely doing highway trips, suggest you bite the bullet and change them.

Even if you pick up the same 4 tyres brand new, it will make a world of difference to the ride quality trust me. Your car will feel new again

Thank you very much sir. I did change to JK Tornados again at a price of Rs 11000. The reason for me opting for them again was the fact that most of new Marutis still do come with these as OEM fitting. Now the ride quality has indeed improved significantly and my car drives likes new. Think its time to fall in love again with this Gem. Previously i was going for a wheel alignment balancing every 10000 kms but now i think i will do it at 5000 kms only. Probably, this would ensure longer tyre life now.

[Cresterk]

Depends. Are you accelerating and braking hard a lot? Are you turning a lot?

Most likely the highway tyres would last longer since you would be doing a constant speed in a straight line.

[condor]

Hard acceleration and hard braking (more so) will cause more tyre wear. And I think running for long on hot surfaces will also add to it. Another factor would be the concrete roads.

On the highways, I do a steady 100-110, with steady acceleration/deceleration. The tyres on my Safari Storme have lasted me 60k+, and replacements have been for reasons other than wear (age mostly).

[Autoxpert]

Originally Posted by kumar2007

If you drive a set of tyres 30K kms on mainly highway at high speeds, versus same car, same tyres for 30k kms in slow speed city traffic, which would show more wear of tread?

It depends on
1.How you accelerate
2.How you brake
3.Road condition
4.Tyre temperature