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is too high for most applications. Tires should be inflated to within a couple pounds of the pressure shown on the driver's door tag. This is stated in every forum, magazine, comparison, how-to guide, etc., I've ever read. Inflating them to nearly their max will cause wear problems, poor ride quality, and loss of performance. Bringing them to 3 psi under when cold may cause them to exceed max pressure when hot, especially if there is a larger than usual load on them (hauling or towing). Bad idea.
As for getting only 20K out of 60K tires, either they're crap, or are poorly maintained for a variety of reasons.
I have a buddy who puts 35K+ a year on his SUVs, and has gotten 50k+ out of several name brands. Michelin is his favorite.
is too high for most applications. Tires should be inflated to within a couple pounds of the pressure shown on the driver's door tag. This is stated in every forum, magazine, comparison, how-to guide, etc., I've ever read. Inflating them to nearly their max will cause wear problems, poor ride quality, and loss of performance. Bringing them to 3 psi under when cold may cause them to exceed max pressure when hot, especially if there is a larger than usual load on them (hauling or towing). Bad idea.
As for getting only 20K out of 60K tires, either they're crap, or are poorly maintained for a variety of reasons.
I have a buddy who puts 35K+ a year on his SUVs, and has gotten 50k+ out of several name brands. Michelin is his favorite.
Actualy, door tag pressure is about maximizing ride comfort for the particular brand/model tire that cam on the car from the factory. But, the truth is, that comfort PSi is a bit low for maximum tire performance. Those of us that race can dial an exact tire/car combo in using pressure and tire markings to determine of there's tread and sidewall flex. After doing this for decades, you gt a pretty good idea of what a more universal baseline is, and it's usually about 3-4 psi above the door tag. IN my experience, using 34-36 psi front and 32-34 psi rear on a typical FWD, or performance RWD, car gives the best handling response and wear. You can dial the pressure up and down a bit from there depending on if you tend to see more or less wear on the tire corners.
Actualy, door tag pressure is about maximizing ride comfort for the particular brand/model tire that cam on the car from the factory. But, the truth is, that comfort PSi is a bit low for maximum tire performance. Those of us that race can dial an exact tire/car combo in using pressure and tire markings to determine of there's tread and sidewall flex. After doing this for decades, you gt a pretty good idea of what a more universal baseline is, and it's usually about 3-4 psi above the door tag. IN my experience, using 34-36 psi front and 32-34 psi rear on a typical FWD, or performance RWD, car gives the best handling response and wear. You can dial the pressure up and down a bit from there depending on if you tend to see more or less wear on the tire corners.
That's why I gave a couple psi either way; your numbers are just a little higher. But neither are anywhere close to within 3 psi of the max shown on the tires themselves, which is my main point.
is too high for most applications. Tires should be inflated to within a couple pounds of the pressure shown on the driver's door tag. This is stated in every forum, magazine, comparison, how-to guide, etc., I've ever read. Inflating them to nearly their max will cause wear problems, poor ride quality, and loss of performance. Bringing them to 3 psi under when cold may cause them to exceed max pressure when hot, especially if there is a larger than usual load on them (hauling or towing). Bad idea.
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Each to his/her own.
It's true that the door tag is all about ride and not tire life at all. My 40 yrs of experience tell me that 3>5 PSI below max will give a little harder ride but lowers the rolling resistance enough to make a wear & gas MPG difference that is measurable.
It's also true that 3>5 PSI will allow the tire to expand safely and not over inflate. The key here is weekly cold tire PSI checks to keep the tire in balance for longer service life.
Then there is the fact that an under inflated tire is like dragging an anchor due to increased rolling resistance which kills tire life and gas mpg. Ya gotta have that balance that only proper balance PSI can give.
First I need a clue -- a BIG one. Like what is rolling resistence and sidewall flex?
I got the F 150 2X4 short wide in 2006 and put on 5 new ones.. I've driven about 15,000 miles and I can still see Lincoln's forehead and hair on a penny. The tires are wearing evenly. According to mechanic they do not need to be rotated yet. It rides nice. I don't drive 5K a year and we just dug out of 16" of snow. We have scorching summers and floods too. The front end is tight. Stops straight and handles well. It may have not have truck shocks. The spare has never been on the ground. We are retired. The days of hauling our kids furniture all over the country are over. The area where I live is sandy, too. I think I heard a brake sqeek the other day. I don't know if it is sand or I"m due for brakes. Mileage is about 30K.
What do you think about Lucas, and also oil? I've used Castrol GTX and never had trouble. But. I don't get a chance to talk to experts or racers -- just local mechanics and farmers.
There is a Tread Wear Rating given on each tire according to test results done on the specific tire. You could go by those ratings to try to achieve the most longevity.
Fyi tread wear rating is brand specific - there is no universal number, so you can't compare different ratings heads up across brands. It will give you an idea, but 600 with brand X may be 400 with brand Y.
And RipJawn brings up a good point about age. Tires heat cycle and dry out over time in addition to tread wear - I stay away from high mileage tires because there's more to think about than just the tread depth.
First I need a clue -- a BIG one. Like what is rolling resistence and sidewall flex?
I got the F 150 2X4 short wide in 2006 and put on 5 new ones.. I've driven about 15,000 miles and I can still see Lincoln's forehead and hair on a penny. The tires are wearing evenly. According to mechanic they do not need to be rotated yet. It rides nice. I don't drive 5K a year and we just dug out of 16" of snow. We have scorching summers and floods too. The front end is tight. Stops straight and handles well. It may have not have truck shocks. The spare has never been on the ground. We are retired. The days of hauling our kids furniture all over the country are over. The area where I live is sandy, too. I think I heard a brake sqeek the other day. I don't know if it is sand or I"m due for brakes. Mileage is about 30K.
What do you think about Lucas, and also oil? I've used Castrol GTX and never had trouble. But. I don't get a chance to talk to experts or racers -- just local mechanics and farmers.
I appreciate all the info.
There's a couple questions in there:
1. Rolling resistance is basically how well the tires stick to the road. The higher the resistance, the more they grip. The lower the resistance, the easier they roll. It basically becomes a trade off between performance (grip) and MPG (easy rolling). Outside of the type of tire you buy, you can most easily control this through tire inflation. The more air in the tire, the easier it rolls, the less air, the more it grips.
2. Sidewall flex is how much the side of the tire can bend. When looking at the tire as if it was mounted on a car, the black outer ring around the rim is the sidewall. There is an inherent amount of flex in a tire design to improve ride quality. In general, unless you are an off-roader or racer you don't need to worry about this.
3. 30k miles, would be about right for when you may need to start thinking about replacing pads. However, you did mention that you have had a lot of snow recently. Surface rust build up on the rotors from all the moisture in the air is pretty common and can lead to temporarily squeaky brakes. If it happens consistently, I would get the pads checked out.
4. Lucas is a decent product, however, as long as you run good quality gas and change your oil on schedule with a good oil, you won't need any additive "treatments".
5. Nothing wrong with Castrol GTX and if that is what you are using, no point in switching. Opinions on "good" oil are generally very varied and debates can get quite heated. For me, I use German spec Castrol in my performance cars and use Mobil 1 synthetic in my regular cars. You may want to check out bobistheoilguy.com for the most comprehensive site there is regarding oils backed up with actual analysis.
You have all made my head spin. The good news is I now know that what I thought I knew, i didn't. The information I was given as fact was bogus to sell tires.
Do we have any tires in America that are not made in China? I've heard bad things about them.
You have all made my head spin. The good news is I now know that what I thought I knew, i didn't. The information I was given as fact was bogus to sell tires.
Do we have any tires in America that are not made in China? I've heard bad things about them.
I wouldn't be too concerned over where the tire was made, as long as it is still branded as a name brand tire. For instance, Michelin has a tire plant in China that operates to the same standards as their plants in other areas and the product is the same.
What you need to watch out for are tires you have never heard of. One that comes to mind was the Pegasus Advanta A/T. This tire is sold in a large midwest tire chain as an alternative to the Firestone Transforce or Destination. The Pegasus is actually made at the China state owned Ghuizhou Tyre Plant in China and is a very low quality tire.
Some brands sound "off" but are actually solid tire brands like: Kumho, Hankook, Yokohama, Pirelli and General.
When I personally shop for tires, I will consider any tire from Bridgestone/Firestone, Goodyear, Michelin, Kumho, Hankook, Yokohama, Pirelli and General.
FYI, one of the best sites for tire reviews and information is tirerack.com, they have good testing procedures and ratings and the customer reviews are plentiful and helpful.
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