Tyre Wear

[STANLEY, Murray]

Do tyres wear faster on the front wheels or the rear wheels? I want to
ensure that my tyres all wear out at more or less the same time because I
want to replace them with something different. One pair of tyres is about a
year newer than the others and I would like to know whether to change their
position front to rear (or vice versa) so that they can carry a greater
share of the wear.

Cheers
Murray

[zorruno]

50/50 balanced cars should give 50/50 tyre wear.

All corners should be ideally be set up exactly the same to promote this
balance. This includes same tyre size all round (preferably same tyres),
same tyre pressure, same tyre tread wear (not always possible, as you can't
just throw out 4 good tyres if you get one damaged!), same offset, same
unsprung weight etc. The main difference is that front brakes will always
need to be larger on the front, as that is where the weight transfers to
when you stop.

HOWEVER... you should rotate your tyres as often as you feel appropriate.
Slight differences in alignment and balance will mean that all tyres will
wear slightly differently. Therefore I tend to swap them over every few
months. If you have directional tyres, you'll obviously only be able to
swap them front to rear (not side to side) to keep the direction of the tyre
spinning the correct way. That is unless you take the tyres off the rims
and remount them.

250rwhp and smoking up the tyres a lot may mean that the tyres wear faster
at the back with a rear wheel car, but my 1.8 n/a seems to wear tyres pretty
evenly all round.

H.

[Charles Lynch]

but my 1.8 n/a seems to wear tyres pretty evenly all round.

AHA,
First it was 'hard top ownership' and now it's 'Even tyre wear'.
zorruno your reputation is reaching new lows in cyberspace.

PS
My rear tyres wear out about twice as fast as the front ones.
Presumably because they are the ones that spin at every light
and travel sideways at every corner

Cheers

Chic

[zorruno]

First it was 'hard top ownership' and now it's 'Even tyre wear'.
zorruno your reputation is reaching new lows in cyberspace.

Hi. My name is zorruno, and I... own a hardtop. (everyone 'Hi zorruno')

[Gary Morrison]

I hope you're wearing your name badge and your party hat.

[Gary Morrison]

its easier to control a rear wheel skid than a front one

understeer is safer than oversteer, even if its less fun... I KNOW this.

[Ray]

Murray
As zorruno says, a good wheel aligment to manufacturers specification, front and back,
tyre pressures set to 30-32lb and the wear should be even all round, even my supercharged
car with 200hp, the tyres still wear fairly even all round, and i have a wheel alignment
done religously every year, if you are experiencing uneven wear the above should
be checked, and if you have uneven worn tyres, always put the best pair on the front,
its easier to control a rear wheel skid than a front one, as zorruno said most of
your braking goes onto the front of the car, most MX5 drivers drive enthusiastically,
is that the word, so sometimes the outside edges will wear first especially on the
front tyres.

Ray

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