I have an 04 automatic with about 32000 miles on it now. I'm the original owner, and with the exception of one track weekend at the Lone Star Corvette Club outing at Texas International Speedway, where we ran the oval at high rates of speed and the infield track and a few minor stoplight excersises we all have to go through with the occassional Mustang, I drive very conservatively.

No smoking the tires, very little agressive cornering, etc. I replaced the Goodyears at around 16K, which I thought was very low mileage, with a set of Falkens recommended by some members on the forum. They were decently priced as opposed to the Goodyears and others and I hoped to get some decent wear considering the cost of retreading my baby. I now am faced with buying another set as I have some center wear on the rear set, and a pull to the left that I have been told by two alignment shops are caused by tire pull.

Any one else with this kind of issue? I hate to think that I have good alignments specs, but have to change tires this frequently when I am not flinging the car around. I check the pressure frequently, trying to maintain around 28 to 30 on the rear and 30 on the front cold. My shocks seem ok, maybe a bit soft in the rear. Perhaps that is part of the problem.

Thanks for any suggestions or comments.

 

Lots of discussion on tire wear and air pressure on this forum last summer.........I only got 18,000 on my rear OEM G/Y EMTs running due to excessive wear in the middle,despite running 28-30 lbs., just as you describe..........after lots and lots of discussion, I formed my own opinion and conclusion that I would try running more, not less air pressure, coming to the conclusion that these run flat tires suffer from a condition called tire squirm, due to air pressures that are too low. In fact, Michelin, has suggested that for some of their RF tires, higher tire pressures should reduce this tendency for excessive tire wear in the middle of the tire. As a result, I am currently running about 34lbs. cold pressure in my michelin pilot sport A/S ZPs. Everyone can do as they choose, this is my choice / experiment for the time being.

 

Thanks for the reply. Interesting as I was considering lowering the tire pressure as I felt that that was contributing to the middle buldging outward and wearing prematurely. I guess my logic is incorrect?

Also, anyone know what is up with the ad in the middle of my post? First time I've seen that. Perhaps something new to the forum?

 

30 PSI HOT..... if you have center wear, your tires have too much air in them... reducing the footprint, and literally erasing your tread as you drive with only 40% of your tire contacting the road... OH BTW as most who know me.. know that I consistently get 45 to 48000 miles out of a set of tires...Many have followed my guideline and are seeing similar results.
Do a search on hundreds of threads on this subject , especially ones that Ive posted in and you will see lots of facts, references and NASCAR data That I have been privy too. Look for road temperature changes and their effects on tire wear... look for the door sticker is a generic sticker ... only used as a product liability disclaimer. it has nothing to do with optimum tire pressures or tire performance. 30 psi cold is not the same in North Dakota in the winter as it is in the summer Arizona desert. Yet every C5 get that sticker .
Good luck
Bill aka ET

 

I Dont Know Where The Add Comes From Either But It Is A Distraction And Should Be Sent Away.

Tire Wear In Center Used To Mean Over Inflation. It'll Be Interesting To See The Results Of Jovette's Experiment. I Had Just The Opposite, Outside Tire Wear And It Was Recommended That I Over Inflate, Which I Did And It Seems To Have Stopped The Problem. It Also Eliminated To A Great Extent The Tendancy Of My Tires To Follow The Grooves.

 

I Agree !!

And nice to see you back Bill


DH

 

followed Bills advice a few years back and I'm dead on target for 40,000 miles, even wear My cold pressure in Ohio is about 27-28 during driving season which brings me to his recommended 30-31 hot

 

Once again, good to hear from you Bill!

I also get around 40K+ miles on my street tires (let's not talk about autox and track ), running about 33 psi hot front and 30 psi hot rear. That's off the TPMS, my gauge runs about 2 psi lower than that.

Cold, TPMS says my rears are around 25-27, fronts are 26-28, depending on the temperature. Really cold, like it is right now, will drop about 2 psi.

As far as pulling goes, my experience has been that as tires wear, they tend to tramline (follow road ruts) more than when new. Don't really understand why, but assume it has something to do with the tread depth.

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

 

Another thought so you might eliminate the hot and cold issues....
use Nitrogen. I changed mine over at a local tire dealer for around $30.00 total. Pressures vary by a degree or two between hot and cold according to my TPsensors. Have not taken a guage to the tires yet to really compare.
The Nitrogen helps keep the pressure realitively the same.
Just my .02 worth.

 

Are you saying that nitrogen does not follow the same gas laws as air? Maybe moisture content has some affect, but hard to believe it could make a big difference. I use air, and some seasons of the year, my tires only vary a couple of pounds too. The pressure rise can be more in the summer when the temperature difference between cold and hot pressures can be greater. You really need the corresponding temperature range to make an accurate comparison.

 

Too funny; we just finished going over this over on the autocross forum. The more you know about things, the better:

http://www.powertank.com/truth.or.hype/

No flames, just info.

Have a good one,
Mike

 

I have Firestone wide ovals on my vert, Z06 sizes. Based on what I see, and my driving style, they are 15k mile tires tops for the rears. I never spin the tires either.

 

Appreciate the info.....
I wonder why NASCAR uses Nitrogen then ?
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/nascar5.htm

 

Seems just like everything else Tires are not made like they use to be!!!

 

NASCAR, ChampCar, many race teams use Nitrogen ... but for two reasons .... it is CHEAP and it is what they already have in the pit/garage area ...

Take a look at a team in the garage .... they have all kinds of tools that require a compressed gas to operate them, and hauling a compressor around is heavy, makes noise, makes fumes, etc. So, race teams generally have delivered from a local supplier cylinders of Nitrogen. They use the gas in the garage and the pit area to drive their air tools, and in the pit (ChampCar for example) to jack the car with the "air" jacks. When they need to pump up a tire, they simply use what is handy, a line from their compressed gas supply (Nitrogen).

If a team really wanted an advantage in what gas was used ... maybe they should use Helium .... make the car lighter .....

 

http://www.topspeed.es/auto/cuidado-...s-ar28432.html

Nitrogen is denser than oxygen, which means that the larger molecules in nitrogen do not escape as easily from tires.

 

OK, we now know who slept through Chemistry class ...... Nitrogen is not DENSER than oxygen, "density" is another way of saying "Pressure" (PV=NrT)

First, Oxygen has a higher atomic weight than Nitrogen. Each atom of Oxygen is HEAVIER and LARGER than an atom of Nitrogen

However, both elements are unstable as single atoms, and will easily bond with other atoms (H2O, N2O .... whatever), but in their gaseous state bond into N2 and O2.

The N2 molecule is SLIGHTLY larger than the O2 molecule ... by about 0.3 times 10 to the -10th meters (0.00000000003 meters), or in other words 3 TEN BILLIONTH of a meter ... .. When you are talking that difference in size, your tire compound, type of tire valve you use, and which deodorant you are wearing will have a MUCH greater effect on gas loss from the tire ......

Finally ... remember .... the AIR in your tires is about 80 percent NITROGEN ........

 

Don't we have an attitude ... BlackZ06,


Woodstoc,
Did not mean to steal your thread....

 

I run 78% nitrogen.
On another note, even if ALL the oxygen leaked out and left the nitrogen, you would still have 78% of your pressure. However many YEARS that would take.

 

Not true. 30 psi cold is the same regardless of your geographic location. Checking the tires "cold" simply means: at ambient temperature, and the car has not been driven. Tire pressure will increase(or decrease) 1 psi for every ten degree change. You have to check them at ambient temp, and go from there.