When my Goodyears wore out I switched to Michelin Pilot run flats. As with everyone else who has done that, loved them. However, the rears wear out down the centers while there is 2/3 of the tread left on the edges.

I now have 22,000 on this pair, and I will be seeing cord soon. This is my third pair. After the first pair did this, I ran the second pair down at 25 lbs, didn't help. I have kept this pair at 31 lbs.

My commute takes me across the Mojave dessert and up a mountain road. I do not hot rod it as the place is CHP infested. Usually have the cruise on at 64 mph. I have not been to the track on this pair.

It is an A4 with 2.73s so it doesn't really burn the tires. Tire shop guy says Michelin has been hearing about this and feel it has something to do with centrifugal force on the wide tire pushing the center ourt. Says many cars with the wide tires, Mercedes, etc are having the same issue.

My fronts go over 50K

Anyone have an update on this issue? Anyone found runflats as good as the Michelins that don't do this?

 

Waiting to hear this too,,I just put Them on the front,,waiting for the rear Goodyears to wear out!! And I do drive a little harder than the OP!!

 

Interesting observation. I was just about to purchase a set of Michelins, bu not the run-flats.

 

At least you can get replacements, which is much better than what Goodyear will do.

DO NOT BUY GOODYEAR!

Dave

 

I have the EXACT same problem...right around 20000 miles the rears are toast. Ive had fronts for 39000 miles and they are still 1/4 tread...

Im looking to get a new set of wheels and move up to nonrunflats...

 

I really like my Firestone Firehawk SZ 50 EP's. Corners very well, Not too much road noise, A bit spendy, and I'll let you know how long they last, I bought them looking for the reported 25-30k. We'll see...
Good Luck.
Aloha
Michael

 

I was running a set of Firestone Firehawks on mine when I sold the car. They were on there for maybe 10K miles and still had plenty of tread left.

 

You guys should know why the rears go first!!! your heavy right FOOT!!!

 

The outside edges still look brand new...

 

I just replaced my rears at 26,000 miles. They did the same thing you are describing.

Does anybody know if the non run flats do this or is it just the ZP's?

If you find an address to send a letter to, post it. maybe if we all get together, Michelin will do something about it.

My fronts still look great.

 

Whenever I hear complaints about uneven tire wear, my first thought is always tire inflation.

I have Michelin PS2's, and I watch my inflation very closely. Not because of the fact that they are Michelin, but because of the fact that it is the prudent and rational thing to do. I want to maximize my tire performance - which is the sum total of wear, handling, traction and safety. With today's high performance tires that for the most part cannot be rotated even side to side, the only three factors that you have any control over are:

1. Inflation
2. Alignment
3. Application of throttle

I also happen to live in a place where ambient temperatures are in excess of 100 degrees - usually for over 100 days per year. That means the road surface temperatures are very hot, and the tire tread temperatures are also hot - which will cause accelerated tire wear.

So before we jump to conclusion about the brand of tire, have we examined tire inflation?

 

I believe the original poster did experiment with tire inflation pressures.

My OEM runflat rears lasted 16,000 miles (I have an MN6) and I do drive aggressively on occasion. The tires we must use have a very high speed rating and have to corner well. Longer-wearing tires would not handle as well and would be basked by the car mags.

Of the non-runflat super high-performance Summer tires, the Goodyear GSD3s have been tested by an independent lab to outlast all others of the same speed range. That + they match max Gs with the best of them convinced me to run the D3s and could not be happier.

 

I have the GS D3's as well. I wish I had never seen them. I just got them last fall and had a puncture in one of the rears (18") and can not get it replaced. There are none in stock anywhere and Goodyear have no plans to manufacture any in the near future. If the plug lets go I will be suing Goodyear.

Dave

 

Just replaced my Michelin Sport Pilot ZP's today. Same issue. Rears were to wear bars in the middle with considerably more tread on the sides. Front's probably had a few thousand miles left in them and the wear was even. I to loved them, however I decided to go with non run flats this time.

Seems like I heard somewhere that the Michelin Sport Pilot ZP's are out of production and they have a new runflat coming. Maybe the new tire will perform better with this issue.

 

Did anybody check the pressure on the road?? Starting with 25 cold can change quite a bit on the road especially on hot asphalt roads,,between tire flex ,sun and road temp you can gain quite a bit of pressure.

 

I had my tires at 25psi starting cold in southcarolina on a 101+ degree day. i drove back to MI in a straight shot but noticed my tire PSI SOARED to over 40 just from driving on hot pavement.

 

Out of curiosity, why would you sue them?

 

Mine did the same thing at about 20,000. Just replaced them 2 weeks ago and Discount Tire did not make any mention of wear problems. I like the quietness of the tires but I won't buy them again. The Michelin warrantee did kick in and paid some of it but it still cost me a couple hundred each! Very disappointing!

 

I wouldnt get too nuts about that tire wear (just the rears and just the centers). I saw the same thing on my car also at 22k miles (which I do occaisonally drive hard but 75% of the time I drive sedately).

In researching it I have come to understand that its a function of the compounds you need to use to have a "three season" runflat tire. They use three different compounds across the face of the tire and the middle one (which makes them handle well in the rain) is much softer, hence the wear there, while the outsides still look good. The fact that its only the rears is due to . . .well . . .one thing is that its rear wheel drive, but the biggest reason is that its a vette and despite our best efforts, we tend to like the accelleration (even in varying degrees it causes wear).

Im not wild about only getting 22k out of the rears, but Im in the NE US, I use the car all year and they are the only "all season runflats" you can buy right now (the Goodyears are a summer tire, as are most other high performance runflats).

And I have to say, that for the way these tires stick, I love them. Not too harsh a ride, quiet, they handle very well and they are runflats (which I cant do without due to the way I use the car).

Heres a post with pics and some other comments:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2088903

 

Michelin is aware of this problem, as it has been an issue with the entire Pilot Sport A/S line. Has little to do with our cars. The center portion of the tire uses a softer rubber compound than the rest of the tire. The idea was to imporve traction.

Michelin has discontinued the entire line of Pilot Sport A/S. It is being replaced with a tire called the Pilot Sport A/S PLUS, and is nearly identicle in design as the old tire, with some improvments, including the irregular wear issue.

I tested these new tires, with some others, for Michelin at there South Carolina proving grounds in June, and they're impressive.

If I recall correctly, the new PLUS tire should be available starting in September.

Hope this helps!

Erik
Discount Tire Co.