Is This Tire Wear Normal?
- Thread starter BlaineBug
- Start date
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BlaineBug
Full Access Member
What's the treadlife "warranty?" Curious.
I remember back in the day there as another brand of tire that just about copied BF Goodrich's (also owned by Michelin) All Terrain tread pattern.
EDIT - if it's the Starfire Solarus HT then it's 50,000 miles. Not incredibly different, I think my Michelin's are 75,000?
swathdiver
Full Access Member
I don't like it. It's in the green but not exacting for optimum performance.
What is the tire size? Sign up for your shop manual at AllDataDIY and get the alignment specs for your truck with those tires or close to them.
I like more spread in the caster, the camber and toe is off if I compare those specs to a GMT900.
I was in the tire business. For reasons lost to my memory, the first rotation should be short and then it is good practice to rotate them every oil change or about 4-5K miles.
7-8K rotations with lots of city driving does more harm than good. We do make lots more right turns than left turns.
Having said that, something MAY be up with your truck. There should be no more than 1mm of play in the outer tie rod. There should be no more than .5 mm of play in the upper and lower ball joints. Rotate them every oil change and keep on top of the air pressure. If someone else is driving, ask yourself what their driving habits are like compared to yours. My wife gets 3 or 4 mpg less than I do and drains the crankcase of oil when she drives it, like a scalded dog!
This is a photo of my Defender, all of which look the same, P265-70-17 with 20K miles (60/40 City/Hwy Driving):
This is the rotation log for these tires:
Our suspension setups are slightly different but these are my specs and the alignment that the technician and I agreed upon when the tires were put on back in 2021:
I accepted it but would like a little more cross caster for more of a performance feel and better stability going over train tracks or gravel roads. It's fine, just slightly different than before. Rides like a Cadillac on a cloud on the highway.
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BlaineBug
Full Access Member
It almost looks to me like your treadwear on the very outer edge of that outer tread block is similar. I assume your Michelin Defender sipes are originally connected and do not get cut off there at the edge when the tires are new.
Edit - Yes, the sipes flow through to the sidewall when new on the Defender LTX M/S. (My Michelin X LT were slightly cheaper than the LTX but by all appearances they appear to be identical tires. I read reviews and there was no one way or the other that signified which was superbly superior with the exception of having their letters reversed.)
swathdiver
Full Access Member
At that late hour, I forgot that there was another truck in the yard with Defenders on it. An old Ferd with a brand new set, less than 5K miles, have not been rotated yet. P255/65R17 @ 35 psi.
BlaineBug
Full Access Member
Looks better, but that is a Ford.
They are the HT's. I paid under $100/pc carryout and mounted myself. I'll get a better pic/s.
BlaineBug
Full Access Member
Your center picture exhibits similar wear.
The center picture started it's life on the R/F and is now on the L/R.
The top and bottom pics is the R/R moved to the L/F.
And when I first mounted them I used 32 psi per the tire label on the door jamb and I hated it. They looked like saggy balls sack tire bulge. So I bumped them up to 34-35 and much more content.
These are about a year and a half old. I purposely wanted a cheap tire to beat the crap out of because I have been tinkering with some suspension drop and alignment projects so I knew I would get some fast wear until I get things more dialed in and finalized.
But overall they have been a very good tire and worth every penny. I'm really surprised how well they ride and handle in all conditions so far.
