Tire Pressure and Tread Wear question

DarcShadow

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I run my tires at the factory recommend pressure and center of the tread wears down faster then the edges.

To me, this would indicate that perhaps the recomend pressure is a bit to high and the tire is "ballooning" so that the edges of the tires are not in contact with the road as strongly as the center.

Is this an accurate interpertation of the wear, or are there so many other factors that tire pressure is only a small factor and the center wearing down faster then the edges is just the natural wear of a tire and there's no real way to get a tire to wear eveanly.
 

Chuck 98 RT/10

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I run my tires at the factory recommend pressure and center of the tread wears down faster then the edges.

To me, this would indicate that perhaps the recomend pressure is a bit to high and the tire is "ballooning" so that the edges of the tires are not in contact with the road as strongly as the center.

Is this an accurate interpertation of the wear, or are there so many other factors that tire pressure is only a small factor and the center wearing down faster then the edges is just the natural wear of a tire and there's no real way to get a tire to wear eveanly.

Yes you probably have too much pressure for your style of driving.
 

Dom426h

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i noticed this as well, when i purchased my viper a few months ago the PS tires were actualy 6,7psi LOW. surprizingly the rear tires were wore More in the middle. this didnt make any sense to me.

o well, new tires on the way
 

rcl4668

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I keep my 2008 at 29 psi (factory spec) all around for street driving and bump it to 32 psi rear 36 psi front (cold) for driving schools. I wonder if camber and alignment also play a role in your wear pattern?

/Rich
 

qtr_mile

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I have an '03 Viper with 17K miles on it with the stock Michelin run-flats. Most people report much less such as 10K miles. But I don't burn rubber at every stop light or take the car to the track -- mostly normal driving and most on the highway.

I've kept the pressure at spec (i.e. 29 psi cold). And need a set of rear tires (i.e. worn to the wear mark indicators). I'd guess that 60% of the 17K miles has been on the highway.

I just measured the following tread depth using a toothpick by marking it with a sharp pencil. I don't have a tread depth gauge. I also show more wear in the center of the rear tires compared to the edge. The front tires are evenly worn.

Rear tire 2/32" measured at the center
Rear tire 6/32" measured about 2 inches from the outside edge

Front tire 8/32" measured at the center
Front tire 8/32" measured about 2 inches from the outside edge

If I can find some more run-flats for the rear, I'll knock a 3 pounds off the rear tire and expect them to wear more evenly.

What do yours measure?
 

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