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Tyre mileage

24K views 36 replies 19 participants last post by  Jaymacdee 
#1 ·
Hi,

My 2.0 TDi 4Drive Xcellence 150 manual has covered just over 14,000 miles on its first set of tyres. The tread depth is now a little over 1.6mm so new tyres are being fitted early next week.

What sort of mileage are others getting from their tyres? Mine are the Bridgestone 225/50/18 W (95) that came with the car when it was new last July.
 
#3 ·
Mine came on R17 Hankook Ventus Prime 3's. 14 months and 11k miles in they have left on them 4.5mm front and 6.5mm rear.
 
#4 ·
Sounds a lot like mine. It's done 13,000 and I'm thinking they have a couple of thousand left at most. Not massively impressed by Bridgestones. I'll be interested to hear what else might be on offer.
 
#8 ·
I got 16.5k out of my front Falkons, just changed them. Rears still on 6mm.
Strangely, my fronts wore out in the centre with still a fair amount of tread at the edges. It's usually the other way around for me! Tyre pressures were not too high I don't think, I've been running on 34psi all round
 
#9 ·
Four new Continentals fitted today. The ride seems a little firmer than on the old Bridgestones. I checked the pressures in case the garage had over inflated the tyres but they were all spot on. I do a weekly check of the pressures so I know that the old ones were not low.
 
#10 ·
Ours has done over 17k on the original Bridgestones and still has around 4mm tread all round. I might be looking at Michelin Primacy 4 when the time comes. My RWD XF Sportbrake is on Goodyear Vector 4 Season G2s and - as well as being quiet and compliant in normal driving - it was actually better in the snow than the 4WD Ateca! Unfortunately they don't make these, Michelin Cross Climates or Nokian Weatherproof in the 225/50R18 size, even though it is shared with the BMW X1.
 
#11 ·
During my first service this weekend the dealer measured the tyre tread depth. After 10,500 miles I had just under 7mm on the back and just under 5.5mm on the front. Pretty pleased with that. Despite the arguments for and against swapping tyres back with front, I got the dealer to do it. He did say they don't recommend it but, with the sufficient tread depth I had, I can't see it making much difference. This will allow all four tyres to wear out at around the same time which will then let me consider an alternative tyre make. If I leave the tyres as they are I'll end up putting the same tyre back on again when only the fronts wear out. I'm hoping that in a years time I might have more options for All-Season tyres in the awkward 215/50/18 size.
 
#13 ·
Most people appear to be getting better mileage from their tyres than I am. I starting to wonder what I'm doing wrong. I drive gently, mainly A road work with the occasional motorway run to the airport. The tyre pressures are checked weekly.

Any suggestions?
 
#14 ·
Just checked my Falken Azenis tyres at 10,000 miles and mine are as follows.
Front 5mm at centre. 6mm on the outside
Rear 6mm at centre. Closer to 7mm on the outside.
So looks like mine are slightly over inflated from factory as I've never checked them.
Just checked them and they are all around 37psi.
 
#15 ·
MBM said:
yeah I cant understand why it is not recomended to swap front to back.
I could also see the benefits of doing so. You would get better grip on the front.
MBM - the rationale is simply that having excessive grip on the front can destabilise the rear under turning or hard breaking (at least on front wheel drive cars). It's the same argument for not putting winter or all-season tyres just on the front (for the perceived extra grip) because the back could more easily swing round and induce an over-steer slide which is apparently harder to control than under-steer.

With front wheel drive cars, having the car / tyres in harmony should induce the intended gentle under-steer if you go into a corner too quick. just try and avoid the oncoming truck on the other side of the road :shock: .

It's easy to see the arguments for and against. Better control of aquaplaning and better turn in with more grip on the front but there's a price to pay on the rear. That's why, in my mind, you should totally ignore the 1.6mm legal minimum tyre tread requirement and have no less than 3mm all round. This way, mixing your tyres will have less of an impact. I know that Michelin are now developing tyres that still maintain their effectiveness even down to 1.6mm albeit probably in the dry.

If I remember correctly, the 1.6mm minimum was established when the average car tyre was much narrower than it is now. The question that needed answering was - what depth of tyre tread would be needed to displace a specific amount of water at a certain speed. 1.6mm was the answer which is fine if you have tyre widths around 185 or less. With my Ateca being on 215's, I either reduce my speed to reset the balance (obvious one) or avoid standing water (not so easy).
 
#16 ·
tobydog said:
MBM said:
yeah I cant understand why it is not recomended to swap front to back.
I could also see the benefits of doing so. You would get better grip on the front.
MBM - the rationale is simply that having excessive grip on the front can destabilise the rear under turning or hard breaking (at least on front wheel drive cars). It's the same argument for not putting winter or all-season tyres just on the front (for the perceived extra grip) because the back could more easily swing round and induce an over-steer slide which is apparently harder to control than under-steer.

With front wheel drive cars, having the car / tyres in harmony should induce the intended gentle under-steer if you go into a corner too quick. just try and avoid the oncoming truck on the other side of the road :shock: .

It's easy to see the arguments for and against. Better control of aquaplaning and better turn in with more grip on the front but there's a price to pay on the rear. That's why, in my mind, you should totally ignore the 1.6mm legal minimum tyre tread requirement and have no less than 3mm all round. This way, mixing your tyres will have less of an impact. I know that Michelin are now developing tyres that still maintain their effectiveness even down to 1.6mm albeit probably in the dry.

If I remember correctly, the 1.6mm minimum was established when the average car tyre was much narrower than it is now. The question that needed answering was - what depth of tyre tread would be needed to displace a specific amount of water at a certain speed. 1.6mm was the answer which is fine if you have tyre widths around 185 or less. With my Ateca being on 215's, I either reduce my speed to reset the balance (obvious one) or avoid standing water (not so easy).
They actually developed them for motorcycle tyres already, the Michelin pilot road 5. The groves/water reservoirs actually have some sort of trapezoidal snap so as they wear they actually get wider and so the amount of water they hold and move away is the same! I thought the tech came from car tyres, if not would be surprised if they didn't port it across to car tyres.
 
#17 ·
Silvertouran said:
Just checked my Falken Azenis tyres at 10,000 miles and mine are as follows.
Front 5mm at centre. 6mm on the outside
Rear 6mm at centre. Closer to 7mm on the outside.
So looks like mine are slightly over inflated from factory as I've never checked them.
Just checked them and they are all around 37psi.
Tyre report after first service at roughly 18,500 miles.
Fronts 4,4,5 and 5,4,4 mm
Rears 5,6,6 and 6,6,7 mm
 
#18 ·
Bridgestones are solid tyres if you ask me, excellent quality. IIRC I had 4 Bridgestones when I first got my Ateca, and when I had to replace some of my tyres about a year and a half after I got the car I went with a pair of bridgestone turanza's. I wouldn't have had to replace any of the tyres at all, but some of the road surfaces near where we live are really appalling. Anyway
 
#20 ·
I have just swapped my Bridgestones for Goodyear Vector 4 Season Gen 2, I have 2.0 4WD running 17inch wheels so swap out was a doddle and cost around 500 euros. Bridgestones still had maybe 3.5mm at the back but from were around 2mm. Vectors feel really grippy and oddly they really look nice too.
 
#21 ·
Not sure about the Michelin Primacy 3s (215 50 R18) as our car was fitted with them from factory and after 7200 miles all 4 tyres are showing about 4 - 5mm. We are only doing long journeys and on our last car (SEAT Toledo 1.6TDi) we got 24,000 and they were just over 3mm left on the front and had to be changed for a trip to France. The rears were showing 4mm when we sold the car at 33,000 miles. These were Dunlop but I can't recall which ones.
 
#23 ·
I've got the original fit Bridgestone Turanza 001 - 215/50/18. The wear rate is very good and they'll probably get to 25,000 miles with no problem. I'm currently on 13,500. When I need to get new ones next summer I'll see what other options are available in this restricted size. I want All Season having had Michelin Cross Climates before. Michelin confirmed to me that they have no plans to make them in this size so not much choice if I want to stick with the 18" wheels. The Michelin Primacy 3 summer tyre is generally well rated but it's getting a bit long in the tooth now. Having said that, it's still original fit on the Audi Q2, Mini Cooper, Peugeot 3008, etc.
 
#24 ·
Malcolm - I missed something in your earlier post. Are you saying that your Ateca came with Primacy 3 tyres? That's unusual because I can't recall anyone mentioning this make on an Ateca before.
 
#25 ·
In July this year managed to get a puncture in o/s rear which could not be repaired,the car was fitted with Bridgestones which I never really liked so

bit the bullet and had them all changed to Pirelli Scorpion Verde XL 225/45 R19 96W....What a difference in every respect.! Milage at the time 4901! :D
 
#26 ·
Hi Tobydog, yes my tyres are the Primacy 3s 215 50 r18 fitted to an SE Tech with a 1.4 engine. I drive economically and have achieved 43mpg over 7200 miles so I am not wearing the tyres through our driving style. Most of the driving is on motorways or A roads so wear rate is disappointing.
 
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