Front tyre wear - WT*?!

[dopey]

Three that I'm considering are the Bridgestone RE002, Bridgestone S001 and the Michelin Pilot Sport 3. I prioritise performance over durability myself. I wouldn't mind something quieter than the Conti's although they're not the worst in that department.

[brad]

Wheel alignment every 10,000km is OTT unless you are belting lots of kerbs & potholes. I've just hit 98,000km & never had the car on the turntables. I do keep an eye on the tyre wear & x-rotate them every 7500km.

If your in BNE then get Fulcrum to have a look at it.



You haven't actually said what characteristics you are looking for in a tyre but here's a few to consider.

Michelin PSS, PS2 or PS3 (in that order) or Primacy HP if you want really big mileage with a trade-off of grip.

Goodyear F1A2.

Continental Extreme Contact DW or CSC5P

Nitto Invo or NT05

Pirelli Pzero Rosso Assymetric

Sumitomo HTRZIII

[Buzy_Robot]

Thought I'd give an update on this issue as it's definitely affecting my 1 year old 2011 B7 125TDI Passat sedan. Just took it in for it's first service at Essendon Volkswagen and was told my front tyres are wearing on the inner edges after 11,500kms. They recommended I have the wheel alignment done and tyres replaced in two to three months. By that time I'll have clocked up roughly 13,000kms.

They stated that the Passat's wheel alignment is temperamental and that potholes, cobblestones, kerbs and speed humps can cause issues. I'm very conscious of kerbs, so that wouldn't be a reason, but the rest are symptomatic of inner-city Melbourne roads.

Furthermore, the Continental tyres are very soft which is great for grip in all conditions, but not so good in terms of actual tyre wear.

Looks like I'll be heading to Bob Jane soon enough.

[clip]

Bad news pertains to my front tyres which are wearing on the inner edges after 11,500kms. They recommended I have the wheel alignment done and tyres replaced in two to three months. By that time I'll have clocked up roughly 13,000kms.

They stated that the Passat's wheel alignment is temperamental and that potholes, cobblestones, kerbs and speed humps can cause issues. I'm very conscious of kerbs, so that wouldn't be a reason, but the rest are symptomatic of inner-city Melbourne roads.

Your's does sound like a wheel alignment problem as it's wearing the inner edges. But that's the strange part with mine, there's no scrubbing or anything on either side of the tyre - both inner and outer treads are with what I would consider normal wear. But the centre tread is almost at the wear indicators and I can't see how wheel alignment would cause that? I think you're right Buzy that the conti's are soft, and with the combination of my high speed driving on the track and the centrifugal forces created (or more correctly, lack-of-centripetal forces), that's causing it

[Buzy_Robot]

Hi Clip - I'm actually thinking of going to Bob Jane next week and discussing it with them. Perhaps if I get them to do the wheel alignment and swap the front tyres with the back ones I might be able to get some more mileage out of them?

I'm not sure what to say - could the wheel alignment have been inaccurate from the time of purchase? Are the tyres faulty in some way? Is the Passat more sensitive to our Aussie roads? Is there a fault with my Passat? Despite regular checking, perhaps tyre pressures are to blame? Could a combination of these factors have lead to premature tyre wear? Don't know.

Either way, it's a worry to have to consider new tyres at this point on what are relatively new vehicles.

[Buzy_Robot]

Went to Bob Jane for balancing, rotation and wheel alignment.

They're not sure what to make of the VW service report or comments, stating all my tyres are in excellent condition and to come back for a reassessment after I'd done another 10,000kms.