Just wondering what is considered normal tyre wear for a typical small family SUV type wagon with hwy type tyres driven 50/50 Fwy/Hwy and suburban roads?

The current set are the stock tyres fitted to a new vehicle and are looking like needing replacement after only 60,000km. Is that normal?

Are manufacturers putting less tread on their tyres, or are the compounds a bit softer?

I'm sure I used to get a lot more out of my tyres... I recall doing 125,000km on a set before changing them over - and even then they still had some tread on them (but were worn well into the indicator lugs). NB: This was many years ago, before we were putting kids in the car

Dawn Patrol said...

Depends of what type of tyres you have. Some will be softer/better and not last as long. Others will be hard/not very good and last forever.

60,000kms sounds pretty decent I recon.

60,000 is great I recon. What brand?

doggie said...

Dawn Patrol said...

Depends of what type of tyres you have. Some will be softer/better and not last as long. Others will be hard/not very good and last forever.

60,000kms sounds pretty decent I recon.

60,000 is great I recon. What brand?

You reckon? Bridgestone Duelers H/T on a 2009 Forester...

Carantoc said...



Working in the Pilbara, doing 300km+ a day on gravel roads we used to get 5,000km from a rear and 8,000 km from a front (we never really drove in 4wd, only rear wd), so long as we didn't puncture them before that. Bridgestone V steels, 6 ply light truck tyre on 80 and 100 series 'cruisers. Standard toyota springs and shocks were good for 15,000km, you could get aftermarket brands that would go for a bit longer.

Whoa!! That's gonna get expensive real quick... I might be quiet about 60k then!

Sometimes I leave it til there is some metal coming through. I can get some miles out of tyres. My late old man was a mechanic and would shake his head when I told him I wait until the warning light comes on before I change oil, water,etc.

GPA said...

doggie said...

Dawn Patrol said...

Depends of what type of tyres you have. Some will be softer/better and not last as long. Others will be hard/not very good and last forever.

60,000kms sounds pretty decent I recon.

60,000 is great I recon. What brand?

You reckon? Bridgestone Duelers H/T on a 2009 Forester...

85000k so far on my09 forester with bridgestone duelers, still some to go but not much
50%fwy45%sububan about 5% "light"off road

still a bit pricy for these tyres - quoted $270 ea

I am lucky to get 10k on the rears of a couple of mine, only the rears but. strange.

ggf said...

GPA said...

doggie said...

Dawn Patrol said...

Depends of what type of tyres you have. Some will be softer/better and not last as long. Others will be hard/not very good and last forever.

60,000kms sounds pretty decent I recon.

60,000 is great I recon. What brand?

You reckon? Bridgestone Duelers H/T on a 2009 Forester...

85000k so far on my09 forester with bridgestone duelers, still some to go but not much
50%fwy45%sububan about 5%off road

still a bit pricy for these tyres - quoted $270 ea

Sh!t - at that price I'm gonna have another look and see if I can milk some more miles out of them... just the last service they told us they were due - I said - nah, just rotate them to put the best two on the front.

We found our work 4wds, with showroom tyres, to be absolutely hopeless off road in the wet. We got a set of chunky Coopers. Solved the muddy track problem, but would then lock up on bitumen under only moderate braking.

Road tyres seem to work OK in sand, but anybody with offroad/onroad pretentions on the east coast who doesn't have two sets of tyres is going to get a surprise if they do get off road and it rains.

I'd say one of those falcon utes with diff-lock RWD and two chunky spare tyres in the back would be a better go anywhere vehicle than a 4wd with only a set of showroom tyres.

I can't understand the tyres I see on some 4wds. It's like putting ballet shoes on a lumberjack.

Ian K said...

We found our work 4wds, with showroom tyres, to be absolutely hopeless off road in the wet. We got a set of chunky Coopers. Solved the muddy track problem, but would then lock up on bitumen under only moderate braking.

Road tyres seem to work OK in sand, but anybody with offroad/onroad pretentions on the east coast who doesn't have two sets of tyres is going to get a surprise if they do get off road and it rains.

I'd say one of those falcon utes with diff-lock RWD and two chunky spare tyres in the back would be a better go anywhere vehicle than a 4wd with only a set of showroom tyres.

I can't understand the tyres I see on some 4wds. It's like putting ballet shoes on a lumberjack.

You are right that highway tyres are best on sand. Anything aggressive just digs - and digs - and digs. HT's ride over the top as more rubber and less grooves sits on the sand better and wheelspin doesn't dig in. Gotta laugh at the young crew with 12" wide muddies who think it is the duck's nuts ..... but on sand and they don't get as far as a retiree in his bog stock fourby
But yeah, not much good in mud....

I reckon forget Coopers for real 4WD'ing, their tread guarantee is largely due to increased tread depth, which is great on-road but in rocky stuff they tear blocks off really fast..... that would be the reason nobody else feels the need to make ridiculously deep tread for 4WD's

ok said...

i have had my xr6 turbo for about 9000k's now and i have only had to replace the rear tyres twice is this normal?

The newer models have a great handling tyre but yes it wears quick. Whatever you do, don't replace with the standard tyre. It is subject to so much torque we had tread separations - MAJOR separations - on all the rears within about 10,000km

I got 105k on my falcon, should of got a wheel alignment and they would of lasted a lot longer

I got 108,000 out of Michelin Pilot Primacy on a Suby Impreza RS. Could have got 'em up to 120,000 too. But I like the extra grip of new rubber. Put Good Year Eagle F1's on after that, and they were 97% as good as Pilot Primacy but only 60% of the price.

Can't believe you're having a moan about 60,000 on a SUV. Depending on tyre and the way you drive, I think you can expect anything from 50,000 to 80,000. 90-100 I would expect to be upper limit, and 35-50 would mean that someone is doing some dodgey driving !

Mark picks his nose so much that he pokes his eye out !

60k for a set of tyres on an AWD SUV is more than fair. I'd be lucky to get that on my front wheel drive wagon.

It is possible to do better though, but it means buying harder compound tyres. This will compromise grip so you really need to ask yourself one question. "Do I want my tyres to last a long time, or do I want my tyres to do their job well?"

You can't have it both ways so choose wisely. Being able to turn corners and stop is important to me so I always go for softer compunds (within reason based on the design of the vehicle). Most car manafacturers put a fair amount of thought into choosing stock tyres, based on the weight, suspenstion set up and expected use of the vehicle. You don't have to stick with that decision but be aware that you will effect the way the car performs and be prepared to take well intentioned advice from experts at the shop when you purchase.

Given how fast my bike can chew through tyres, I see the car as being pretty cheap . Duel compound tyres make life on the bike a lot better though. It's a pity cars don't lean over so they could take advantage of that technology. :)

^^^
Thanks buckles (and everyone who replied). I reckon we'll get 'em done shortly... prob start with a call to Subaru to see what rubber they are now putting on the new Foresters...

Thanks again.