Center Tread Wear....

[badtlc]

OK, I keep reading all over the internet and on this site that people claim they can inflate their tires anywhere from 6 PSI or more over the door placard and still achieve even tire wear. I have used the following tires recently and/or currently:

1) 215/50/17 michelin MXV4 placard called for 32 PSI
2) 215/50/17 Yokahoma AS530 placard called for 32 PSI
3) 225/75/15 Generals placard called for 30 PSI
4) 225/75/15 Cooper H/T Discoverers placard called for 30 PSI
5) 205/55/16 Bridgestone EL400 placard called for 36 PSI

For every tire listed I have typically maintained 2-4 PSI over the door placard at COLD. I would check tire pressures first thing in the morning once a month or so. The temperatures where I live vary from 0F to 105F, so I have to constantly check pressures as the seasons change.

Having maintained these pressures, I have experienced fairly drastic increased center tread wear on every tire. This is observed by measuring the channel depths across the tires. The center channel is always much more shallow than the outside channels after 15k or so. I'm still getting 50-65k miles out of the tires, but it still bothers me it is doing this.

What am I missing? Am I doing something wrong or is it just the size and type of tires I have that don't allow me to over-inflate?

 

[eljefino]

Maybe your alignment or driving style doesn't sacrifice the corner/shoulders of the tire when turning. In other words the "over" inflation is to compensate for just wearing the corners right off.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Good point, Jeff.

My experience is the same as OP's. So I run stock PSI.

 

[Eddie]

Manufactures recomendations are a compromise between Safety, comfort and Tire life. Your results demonstrate you went too far with over inflation. I set 1-2 psi over and see no difference over the life of the tire. Ed

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Maybe your alignment or driving style doesn't sacrifice the corner/shoulders of the tire when turning. In other words the "over" inflation is to compensate for just wearing the corners right off.


Alignment gets checked regularly, so that should be good.

Driving style could be part of it. My cars see easy miles. It isn't all highway, but neither me or my wife take corners as fast as possible.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Depends on the vehicle. I run 40PSI in my Focus and it does wear the the inside 75% of tread surface. If I didn't run them at 40PSI, I would have had to replace the tires because it would have worn the inside edge to the cords.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

There is a sweet spot for load and driving style - you are likely overinflated.

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
There is a sweet spot for load and driving style - you are likely overinflated.


So what are all these people doing different that they can get away with it? They are all typically people going for MPGs, driving with no added load other than the driver (just like me), yet they have no issues. Would cornering be the only explanation?

 

[rfeir]

First, you are assuming that your pressure measurements are accurate.
Second, you are assuming that increasing cold pressure over the recommended pressure is a virtue.
Third, you fail to respond to what the tire is telling you.

Lower your pressure!

 

[bepperb]

If you are checking the tires at the coldest part of the day you might be reading a few psi lower than what they're actually at when you are driving?

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: rfeir
First, you are assuming that your pressure measurements are accurate.
Second, you are assuming that increasing cold pressure over the recommended pressure is a virtue.
Third, you fail to respond to what the tire is telling you.

Lower your pressure!


I have. You didn't address the question. Please stay on topic as to why others see benefits and some don't.

And yes, gauges have been verified for accuracy.

 

[bullwinkle]

The answer is your easy driving style-I do the same thing, but with lots of country driving, in town & parking lot turns, and hustling up curved on ramps to (try) to merge at speed with interstate traffic. I usually wear tires out evenly even with the extra PSI!

 

[Kuato]

Center rib wear indicates over inflation, period, the same as shoulder wear indicates under inflation.

Weight of vehicle has something to do with it; a lighter vehicle like your Mazda would be different than a full sized pickup running the same tire pressures.

All you need to do OP is adjust your tire pressure downward slightly inincrements.

I recall an auto magazine article several years ago wherein it was suggested to spin the tires and examine the resulting marks on the pavement to see what tire pressure maximized footprint of the tires.

 

[zzyzzx]

I have always managed to wear my tires on the outside edges, irregardless of the tire pressure standards I keep.

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
The answer is your easy driving style-I do the same thing, but with lots of country driving, in town & parking lot turns, and hustling up curved on ramps to (try) to merge at speed with interstate traffic. I usually wear tires out evenly even with the extra PSI!


So you are saying you are generally working your tires laterally fairly hard? I guess that could be it.

I keep reading that with modern tires, increasing PSI above placard listings should not affect tire wear, but maybe that just isn't true or maybe it is true for tires with less sidewall or something. Just seems odd I can read all over the ecomodder forums or similar sites with people driving very lightly yet not seeing increased center tread wear despite increasing pressures by 15+ PSI. Or...maybe they are having the same problem and just don't notice it.

 

[stephen9666]

Yup, I tried overinflating and I too had increased center wear.

I pretty much just do the recommended PSI now, or maybe one or two PSI over.

 

[rslifkin]

Whether increased pressure will change the wear pattern depends on how much the pressure is increased, how much weight is in the car, driving style and the car itself (as well as alignment settings).

 

[Rand]

what width wheels are you using.

That can have an effect

your gauge might be reading a couple psi low.

your tires after they are out in the sun all day
could be going up as much as 5psi.

could just be your driving style and alignment setup

there is more to alignment than GOOD and bad.

there is a whole range of values for everything.
and a whole bunch of NO-NO's and cross-value type numbers

On my Dad's 2013 outback he runs 44psi in his nokian wrg2's
they wear great. perfect almost.

I run my 2011 forester kumho 4x at about 4-5psi over. it wears great also.(35psi)

 

[D189379]

I ran the oem Long Trail T/A's on my truck at stock pressure and had extreme center tread wear. I replaced them with Bridgestone Duelers at stock pressure and haven't noticed any center tread wear.

My experience seems to indicate the tires make a difference.

 

[Ken2]

Does additional inflation pressure save gas?

Can enough gas be saved to more than offset any uneven tire wear and subsequent shorter life of the tire?

(All assuming no crazy high inflation pressure that compromises safety in any way. I'll give up some comfort for crisper handling and better fuel consumption.)