Michelin Hydroedge Tire Life

[The Critic]

96 Saturn SL2, driven mostly by my mother. I have 13,000 miles on the set of Michelin Hydroedge tires, and I have 8/32" remaining on all four.

There's no uneven wear on the tires (inner, center and outer all measure exactly the same). I run 40 psi in the front, 36 psi in the rear, OEM spec is 30 in the front and 26 in the rear. A 4-Wheel Alignment was done when the tires was installed.

I was expecting these tires to last much, much longer. The last set of tires were Goodyear Allegras that cost 1/3 less and lasted about 45k before they reached the wear indicators.

Is anyone else finding that Michelin Hydroedge tires aren't lasting much longer (if not shorter) than its competition?

 

[MONKEYMAN]

I have about 25,000 on my Hydroedge Tires (99 SL2) and they seem to be wearing well. I am putting them at 30 PSI all around. They are rated for 90,000 miles. Looks like they will go most of the way there. Last set of Michelin's wore out at 50,000 miles and were rated for 65,000, but that was on a Sentra with a lot of short trips. Could the high air pressure be causing them to wear faster? If they are worn out that soon, would you have some sort of warranty from the installer or manufacturer to get a new set at a prorated rate?

 

[glennc]

Critic,

What was the starting depth?

Some tires only start with 8/32.

I have heard that it is not uncommon for tires to wear fairly quickly through the first part of their life.

 

[CapriRacer]

Glenn / Critic,

Let me confirm that the wear curve is ......ah....... a curve - with the wear at the beginning faster than near the end - sometimes much faster.

If I am doing the math right, the tires outght get about 50K - not too bad.

Remember 2 things:

1) Your mileage may vary. Tire wear is highly dependent on the environment you drive in. Some parts of the US have pretty abrasive roads.

2) Most tire wear occurs on cornering. The more corners you take compared to driving in a straight line, the mose rapid the tire will wear.

I knew a guy who used to drive between St. Louis and Kansas City - 500 miles EVERY DAY (4 days a week - a different guy did it the other 3) He would get 100,000 miles out of a set of the cheapest set of tires he could find. Didn't matter how cheap the tires were, he'd get a year's worth of driving out of them.

What I am trying to say is that you may think "grocery getter" is easy service, but from a tire wear point of view, it isn't.

 

[Titan]

As CapriR said, I get very high mileage out of my highway cruiser tires. It's highly dependent upon your conditions...which can include bad habits such as turning the steering wheel when the car isn't moving, therefore scrubbing off rubber and making those little turn-marks in the driveway/parking lot.

 

[Audi Junkie]

The first 1-2-3/32nds wear faster than the deeper tread.

 

[The Critic]

Thanks for the info.

The starting tread depth was 11/32" according to Michelin's spec sheets.

I'll recheck the tread depth in about six months and report back.

 

[Papa Bear]

Maybe your Mom is racing on weekends...

 

[Oilgal]

Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
Maybe your Mom is racing on weekends...

There it is!

 

[Audi Junkie]

I'm thinking about a pair. Supposed to be good handling for a plain All-Season.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
I'm thinking about a pair. Supposed to be good handling for a plain All-Season.

They're OK in terms of handling. I think the Primacy MXV4 is a better choice for a tire that delivers good handling and treadlife. It looks like I'll get 60-70k out of the Hydroedges on the Saturn, despite mostly city driving.

 

[rszappa1]

I had them on a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan and got over 75,000 miles on them. The Hydro Edge was a very good tire....

 

[Audi Junkie]

I ordered them, not because I need tires, but I have an adjustment credit I had to use or loose.

 

[nthach]

I've juiced 70K+ on a set of HydroEdges, 2 tires with bad alignment!

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer

1) Your mileage may vary. Tire wear is highly dependent on the environment you drive in. Some parts of the US have pretty abrasive roads.


I've always heard that road texture has a lot to do with tread wear (and even tread wear patterns).

What about water? If you take one tire and run it on wet pavement 100% of the time vs. a tire that's run on dry pavement 100% of the time, what's the difference in wear rate? I'd assume it'd be a non-trivial amount, but I don't know for sure.

 

[sneakboxer]

I have Hydroedges on my 04 civic and they are wearing like iron. I only have about 20k on them but they look like they will make it to 70k easy. The OEM dunlops were useless in snow and were worn out at 35K. Michelins were a 100% improvement.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: Jason Adcock

I've always heard that road texture has a lot to do with tread wear .....


True!

Originally Posted By: Jason Adcock
.......

(and even tread wear patterns).



Not so much.

Rapid wear rates tend to de-emphasize wear patterns that take a while to develop - like irregular wear, also known as scalloped wear and cupping.

Originally Posted By: Jason Adcock
.......

What about water? If you take one tire and run it on wet pavement 100% of the time vs. a tire that's run on dry pavement 100% of the time, what's the difference in wear rate?

I'd assume it'd be a non-trivial amount, but I don't know for sure.


It's about half, but this is also highly dependent on the surface.

 

[George Bynum]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: Jason Adcock

.......

What about water? If you take one tire and run it on wet pavement 100% of the time vs. a tire that's run on dry pavement 100% of the time, what's the difference in wear rate?

I'd assume it'd be a non-trivial amount, but I don't know for sure.


It's about half, but this is also highly dependent on the surface.



I've a good friend who was once involved with the road tests of Michelin TRUCK tires. I was told that hilly terrain and concrete roads reduced life over flat and asphalt; the hilly/flat makes good sense. Another point he made was that frequent light rains washed the roads restoring abrasive characteristics washing out the packed in rubber and dirt.

Capri, what is your opinion of this anecdotal comment?

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Rapid wear rates tend to de-emphasize wear patterns that take a while to develop - like irregular wear, also known as scalloped wear and cupping.


That comment I heard (that road texture can even influence tread wear patterns) came from a question I posted on a tire board about the feathering/scalloping that I get on the outboard edge of every single tire I've ever had (and I mean EVER). On FWD cars, RWD cars, 4WD trucks, 2WD trucks, etc. It just doesn't matter. On the very outer edge of the tread, there's a scalloping or feathering that, when you run your hand from FRONT to REAR, you feel the ridges. When you run your hand from REAR to FRONT, it's smooth. Almost like a sawtooth, but circumferentially, not laterally.

The other person with whom I was speaking suggested that rigidity of the tread blocks on my tires was to blame (tread squirm), and that the texture of the road, and abrasiveness of the road, can influence that.

What's your take on this? I know it's not alignment (my cars are in line). I'm very sure it's not inflation, but it does occur LESS as I increase the inflation. I figure it's just the suspension geometry of post-modern cars. Looking around in parking lots, this is very frequent. All the cars at work have this wear pattern too.