Why buy low mileage tires?

[dogememe]

Originally Posted By: AZjeff

The RAV will need tires this fall, I'm looking at rating on Tire Rack, wet/dry traction and comfort(noise) are most important, treadwear is whatever it is. Getting 80K at the wear bars just isn't a consideration for me.These Vredseteins look great, top ratings and only 45k treadwear warranty. Quatrac 5


I've never heard of that company til a month or so ago and I'm pretty sure those will be the next tires on my Crown Vic. I think it'll be due for a set by the end of the year.

 

[MParr]

When I hear high mileage tires, I think of the Flintmobile. Rock hard tires with poor handling.

 

[Ducked]

Because high mileage tyres dont have any tread left.

Unless you meant new ones?

 

[Virtus_Probi]

I had one set of tires a long time ago that had a very high mileage warranty...Sears Weatherbeater, I'm pretty sure. They were like rocks.
It was SO nice to put some Avids on that car and enjoy driving again.

I also bought one set of tires with either no treadwear warranty or a very low one, pure summer tires for my RAV6. I loved them, but they only lasted two seasons.
But, I basically get two seasons out of every tire I buy for summer use. I was hoping to get three out of my GY Eagle Sport all seasons, but the shoulder blocks were almost gone this spring despite some decent tread depth in the middles of the tires. I had a long highway drive in the rain and felt the steering getting very vague even on gradual long curves, so I just replaced them with RT43s after about two seasons.

 

[ENGINEER60]

Soft compounds that provide the best grip, wear quickly.
90,000 mile tires have feeper tread and harder compounds that don't grip as well.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
A tire that lasts 90k isn't a tire; it's a piece of plastic. The lower mileage tires handle better or otherwise have some redeeming quality that offsets the shorter tread life. Some people use dedicated winter tires during the winter, so those are miles not used on the primary tires.

Also, tires crack, dry rot, and otherwise expire after a certain amount of time, regardless of mileage. Most tire companies say 6-10 years. So, if you don't even drive that many miles in those 6-10 years, you don't need a high mileage tire.

There are probably many other reasons

Exactly.

I wouldn't go near tires that last that long. Grip-wise, they barely have any safety margin in normal driving. I'd hate to have to lean on them in an emergency, especially in the rain. And that's completely ignoring how poor they feel subjectively. When a product doesn't work well, longevity just prolongs the pain.

If you're looking at price, the real way to compare is to figure out how much each set costs you per mile, and then compare that to the rest of your car's per-mile running costs. Whatever it is, it's probably tiny if not insignificant -- nowhere near enough to justify the performance difference.

Good performance tires can last 30k+ miles, and they will work and feel better at the wear bars than "long lasting" tires do when brand new -- even on a wet road. Whether I'm trusting the car with the lives of family members, or am just looking to enjoy my drive and get home safe, it's a slam-dunk.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted By: MParr
When I hear high mileage tires, I think of the Flintmobile. Rock hard tires with poor handling.


I traded from Flintstone (Toyo AT) to Firestone …

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: dogememe
Originally Posted By: AZjeff

The RAV will need tires this fall, I'm looking at rating on Tire Rack, wet/dry traction and comfort(noise) are most important, treadwear is whatever it is. Getting 80K at the wear bars just isn't a consideration for me.These Vredseteins look great, top ratings and only 45k treadwear warranty. Quatrac 5


I've never heard of that company til a month or so ago and I'm pretty sure those will be the next tires on my Crown Vic. I think it'll be due for a set by the end of the year.


The Quatrac 5 is an excellent tire. I recently put a set on the Clubman, which will become my work beater once I go back to a full time job in January.

 

[jakewells]

With lack luster roads and and not driving over 20k a year i run the cheaper tires
Mastercraft A/S IV on my car and truck they grip well and give a smooth ride on these rough and uneven roads.

 

[nap]

For 7 months per year, because comfort. I preffer my ride to be noticeably softer than a roman chariot.

For the other 5 months, because winter tires.

 

[BrocLuno]

I used to be into "R" (race) compound tires on my performance cars. Lucky if I got 20K ...

Now I buy tires based on longest age. Toyo truck tires are about the longest I have found. Holding up well into 15+ years.

For seldom used or low mileage vehicles like farm trucks, lifespan has become more important that skid pad numbers.

 

[Wolf359]

I ran those tires on a previous car. The reason they were rated for 80k was because it had a T speed rating. I did pretty much get 60-70k out of those tires. They were fine for regular highway and city driving. There wasn't any of the problems that you guys mentioned here. There were some before that were like plastic, maybe back in the 90's. Those were those low rolling resistance tires that would shock you all the time because they had so much silica in them instead of rubber. Didn't have that problem with the tripletred. I think in terms of traction and temperature, they were rated for A B. Hi performance tires tend to be grippier and have better traction/temperature ratings.

Tires are all about compromise. Why pay for grip and the trade off in decreased wear if you don't need it? I have Z rated rated tires on the current car, warranty is only 45k and I'll be lucky to get much more than 30k out of them. I'm not taking the car on the track and I don't do triple digits, but because the car has a top speed where you need a tire that will work at that speed, you end up getting stuck with speed rated tires in at least the V or Z range.

 

[khittner]

I run Michelin Defenders on two of my cars. Despite being warrantied for 90K miles, they handle and brake well enough, wet or dry, for my ordinary use. I keep the rotations within specs and get alignments and suspension checks every 12-18 months. They rarely make it past 60K miles, but with my maintenance history in their database, my local Discount Tire has always happily pro-rated them, and I get the next set for about 2/3 of the regular price. Pile on the rebates for a holiday weekend purchase, and I don't pay 1/2 the price for a new set that most do/would.

 

[supton]

I ran three sets of Michelins (Energy, Primacy, LTX) and they were 30-40k mile tires. I switched to General and they've been 30-40k also. No idea if something with a low treadwear rating would mean half that or not, but I'm not that interested in finding out. Regardless: since I won't run to the wear bars if I can avoid it, I know I can't reap the tire warranty and thus I don't buy on tread life rating. Longer is better but ultimately I base it on traction through the lifespan, and the cost to do so. At 4/32 I'm looking when to replace, often off by 3/32.

Now, if I was aging out tires, I'd buy differently. Again with hopes of controlling cost/mile.

 

[khittner]

My Discount Tire guys don't insist that I run my Defenders to the wear bars before they prorate/warranty them out. I, too, run them to 4/32 (DT's recommended tread depth for replacement), they can see that 90K is not in the cards, and they do the proration.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: khittner
My Discount Tire guys don't insist that I run my Defenders to the wear bars before they prorate/warranty them out. I, too, run them to 4/32 (DT's recommended tread depth for replacement), they can see that 90K is not in the cards, and they do the proration.


Interesting! I haven't used a tire shop in a few years, though. Not sure if I'd have lower TCO using a shop/chain than timing DTD sales.

 

[mjoekingz28]

I dont look at warranties for warranty sake anymore. Used to think a 100k mile tire was the best. Then I rode 100k miles on them and learned....LEARNED

Now, a mileage rating (not warranty, I hate warranties...it is like betting on the part to fail when what I want is a good performing part to last a while)...a mileage rating is a source of information when tire shopping....ie, weight, AA B traction/treadwear, CoO, owner reviews.

IMO, at this time a 60,000 mile tire is a good all-season sedan type commuter tire. 40,000-60,000 for regular trucks and trucks that get worked. 25-40k for Z rated summer tires if not used excessively for track days and burnouts.


A guy here who drives OTR said he had about 400k on his rig's tires and they were only about half worn. This upset me in that I think riding with a tire like that is a reason our roads get so crumbled. Look at it like this, something has to give in wear items. Too much electric and the fuse pops. Too stiff a suspension and the frame weakens or A arms and ball joints fail quickly. So, a hard tire ruins asphalt in that sense. You can kind of tell by ruts in the road vs some areas of the country where roads stay pristine for years because of good motorists and caring DOT departments.

Ok, back to road construction season!

 

[Errtt]

I like the feeling of having fresh tires, most times. I get new when down to 4 to 5/32. I shoot for 5.
With low mileage tires I get to visit DT more often, spend more often, change to something new/different more often, get that free cup of coffee at DT more often (I always ask how fresh/old it is). 25k or more a year on the clock.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
I dont look at warranties for warranty sake anymore. Used to think a 100k mile tire was the best. Then I rode 100k miles on them and learned....LEARNED

Now, a mileage rating (not warranty, I hate warranties...it is like betting on the part to fail when what I want is a good performing part to last a while)...a mileage rating is a source of information when tire shopping....ie, weight, AA B traction/treadwear, CoO, owner reviews.

IMO, at this time a 60,000 mile tire is a good all-season sedan type commuter tire. 40,000-60,000 for regular trucks and trucks that get worked. 25-40k for Z rated summer tires if not used excessively for track days and burnouts.


A guy here who drives OTR said he had about 400k on his rig's tires and they were only about half worn. This upset me in that I think riding with a tire like that is a reason our roads get so crumbled. Look at it like this, something has to give in wear items. Too much electric and the fuse pops. Too stiff a suspension and the frame weakens or A arms and ball joints fail quickly. So, a hard tire ruins asphalt in that sense. You can kind of tell by ruts in the road vs some areas of the country where roads stay pristine for years because of good motorists and caring DOT departments.

Ok, back to road construction season!


That's a little out of left field. It's the weight of the truck that ruins the road, not the tread compound. The road doesn't care if you have a long lasting tire or not.

A guy I knew used to drive them. Said the trunk handled fine when it had a normal load of 80k, but he used to drive them at night at 120k which was overloaded. That's what ruined the road. Brakes were basically no good at speed.