Would over-inflating a tire minimize tread wear on outer tread?

[paulri]

The outer tread on the tires on my Sienna are all lower than the rest--on each tire. I know I need an alignment--I forgot to get this done the last time I bought a set of tires.

If I inflate them a few PSI above the door sticker, would that minimize the wear on those outer treads? I'm thinking it would, but I just want to be sure before I do something that would make the difference worse. The inner treads are either 6 or 7/32, so I don't want to just replace them right now.

 

[fsdork]

If by outer you mean the shoulder blocks on both the inboard and outboard sides of the tire, yes. Running out of spec tire pressure may have undesirable performance and safety consequences.

 

[RooflessVW]

It will not decrease wear on the outer, just increase wear on the center.

 

[Nick1994]

I thought all Sienna owners ran 40+ psi?

 

[dishdude]

Once they start wearing irregularly they will continue.

 

[RhondaHonda]

I’m in the same boat. Wife’s 2021 Suburban wore the front shoulders so quickly at the recommended 35 psi. It’s due for tires at 25,000 miles.

 

[edyvw]

Sienna will obliterate tires. Run 42psi.

 

[paulri]

When I said "outer," I meant to the outside edge--so the right tread on the passenger, and left most tread on driver side.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Perform tire rotations more frequently, and stop blitzing off-ramps at 15 over the posted limit. If you’re gonna seriously pursue this mid-life crisis thing, buy yourself a Miata so you can do 4-wheel drifts proper, rather than snowplowing the corners! 😂

 

[Accent Abuser]

Not as much as you think, old bias ply tires would have this effect over or under inflated. I've seen modern radial tires come in with almost 100 psi cause some idiot fell asleep at the air pump still sitting on a fairly flat contact patch.

 

[paulri]

How would more frequent tire rotations reduce excess wear on one tread, especially when each of the tires is showing the same pattern?
If more frequent rotations is the answer, I'm all for it; its just that I'm wondering how that would work.

Perform tire rotations more frequently, and stop blitzing off-ramps at 15 over the posted limit. If you’re gonna seriously pursue this mid-life crisis thing, buy yourself a Miata so you can do 4-wheel drifts proper, rather than snowplowing the corners! 😂

 

[vavavroom]

High curve speeds and/or too much toe in cause outer edge tire wear.

 

[Nick1994]

When I said "outer," I meant to the outside edge--so the right tread on the passenger, and left most tread on driver side.

In that case, getting an alignment will just mask the problem. You've got bent or worn suspension parts. Your alignment isn't going to change on it's own.

 

[Jmlo96]

How severe of wear are you talking? Sienna's have a natural tendency to have the front-end plow in corners due to the weight and suspension set up. This causes the outside edges of the tires to wear a lot faster if you do anything other than mostly straight-line driving. I noticed that on my mother's 2018 Sienna that the previous General RT43 tires had the edges obliterated fairly quickly due to the design of the tire and the softer tire construction. It didn't matter what PSI they were ran at.

 

[CapriRacer]

Sienna's seem to be tire eaters. Certainly, more inflation pressure will help things, but I believe the answer is in the steering geometry - something way beyond the paygrade of the average Sienna owner.

 

[RooflessVW]

In that case, getting an alignment will just mask the problem. You've got bent or worn suspension parts. Your alignment isn't going to change on it's own.

Some cars chew up tires. And some cars are really intolerant of certain tread compounds and patterns.

I'm not convinced he has an alignment problem

 

[edyvw]

How would more frequent tire rotations reduce excess wear on one tread, especially when each of the tires is showing the same pattern?
If more frequent rotations is the answer, I'm all for it; its just that I'm wondering how that would work.

As Capriracer mentioned geometry. Also, Sienna, as all minivans is super heavy in front. There is no way you should have same wear in front and back.

 

[John105]

Anyone notice...I was traveling a lot for work right through early 2020. I would notice rental cars often were 42-45 psi and I'd let air out (wasting a lot of my own time but for safety's sake) until it matched the door. I noticed the exact same thing when I got BMW loaner cars. Is there some unspoken fleet management rule to over inflate tires by 10+ psi?

 

[paulri]

OK--but as far as tire rotations have gone, I've gotten them fairly regularly, at 4K, 7K, and 7K. Is the same outer tread going low on all four tires that unusual?

As Capriracer mentioned geometry. Also, Sienna, as all minivans is super heavy in front. There is no way you should have same wear in front and back.

 

[zray1]

I’ve had several brands of performance all season tires on my ‘02 Jaguar XKR. Michelins, Pirellis, Goodyear, Firestone, etc.

Without exception they all wear excessively in the middle of the tread (a classic sign of over inflation) when the tires are inflated to the owners manual “performance” specification. The owners also lists a “maximum comfort” inflation level ( for speeds under 100 mph) which is 6 psi less than the performance recommended inflation.

When I split the difference, I get even tire wear along with acceptable performance and decent tire life.

Z