only 15k on original tires?

[lipwak]

Hi,

My dealer is telling me I need new tires. They have 4/32" of tread on the back ones, 3/32" on the front. They were rotated for the first time at 12k. The car has 15k on it now. I bought it in May of 2011. (The tires had 7/32" all around in 5/12/13, at 12k.)

The tires are
Continental Pro Contact
175/65R 15 84 H tread wear 400, traction AA, temperature A
radial tubeless

It says "175/65R 15 84 H M*S radial tubeless" on the tire.

15k is not good mileage for any tire. (I've seen reviews on the Continental site that some people have gotten 50k + on that same tire.) True, I had to* have a front-end alignment and the tires were rotated at 12k/5/12. (*or so the dealer says. They also sold me a fuel injection cleaning then which was probably not necessary. They are on thin ice with my trusting them from now on...)

I haven't looked at them to see how they are wearing.

I drive at the speed limit, rarely over it and am otherwise a conservative driver. I don't like to drive fast but I do like to let my Mini accelerate quickly sometimes when starting from a red light. I usually brake slowly or let the car slow me down for lights.

I am willing to buy new tires but want your opinion on why this happened. My brother-in-law, who works on cars for fun, says the tires put on new cars are the cheapest the manufacturer can get away with, to save them money, which would explain why they wore so fast.

What do you think?

Many thanks for any help.

Cheers,

John L

[Angib]

My Cooper did 17,000 miles on its 15s before I gave up and fitted 16s, and the 15s were definitely only part-worn. And that's English country roads with as many twists and turns per mile as a US car will see in a year. So 15k is unusual.

Your brother-in-law doesn't sound like any sort of expert as the Contis are possibly the best tyre you can get in this size. However some people do find Contis wear fast but not 15k fast. Have you been spinning the wheels under power? Doing that a lot is about the only way I can see to wear these tyres that fast - or a seriously deranged tracking that is wearing them out in a straight line.

[Zipy]

Well, on my 2007 MC-S, I rotated the tires every 5K, and had it aligned once a year. I kept the pressures "tight" at at 45 p.s.i. all around and got 25K out of the OEM Dunlop 17 inch "Sports". Jack rabbit starts and zipping around corners will cause pre-mature wear; but, that kind of goes with Mini. You definitely need new tires, there are wear bars in the tred furrows between the tred @ about 2/32nds. Even at 3 or 4 32nds you'll notice hydroplaning at highway speeds in rain and even lower speed in heavy downpours. Your life depends on your tires; so, you should keep and eye on them and take care of them.
I replaced the tires on my Countryman at 20K which still had 4-5 32nds tred depth and now run nitrogen instead of air and picked up approx. 1 mpg in the same type of driving.

[bmwr606]

my cms all4 came with 225/45R18 pirelli p7 summer run-flats

i expect they will be at 2/32" before 12,000 miles, they started at 12/32 new and were down to 7/32 at 5,000 miles when i rotated them, i now have my winter tires mounted

if you want more mileage, then look at a higher treadwear number

michelin has tires with a treadwear number of 800 and a treadwear warranty of 80,000 miles, but i don't expect they are as grippy as other tires

wear and grip are a tradeoff

scott

[lipwak]

I think my brother-in-law meant that whatever the brand, they put the cheaper tire of that brand on. So, my tire is not on the low end? That's good to know. Do they have a low-end tire? I've been pleased with Conti's in the past (two Fords) but don't remember specific mileages with them.

It seems the consensus is that 15k is too soon no matter what. I never floor it from a stop, never spin the wheels or skid, don't corner hard often though I could go slower. It's all driving around town and highway miles. The suburban NYC roads are bad (should be better) and getting worse this time of year with lots of potholes.

Thanks and I look forward to more replies!

PS I talked to Conti on the phone and they are offering a pro-rated discount if I buy them again which is nice since they don't have to do that. I'll probably get some Conti's to replace these.

[Macguyvic]

Most sticky summer tires don't come with a mileage warranty at all. I recommend cross rotating every 5,000 miles and really watch your air pressure for even tire wear. Try to stick with asymmetrical tires because you can't cross rotate directional tires, you can only go front to rear.

[Caveman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Zipy (original)

I kept the pressures "tight" at at 45 p.s.i. all around and got 25K out of the OEM Dunlop 17 inch "Sports".

45 psi

[BlueBeastie]

I got 20000km on the Bridgestone RE050 RFT on my Cooper S. I rotated every 5000km but it was truely a terrible tyre. I've just replaced them with Pirelli P-Zero RFT's and the ride is much better.

To the original poster. Take your car to a 3rd party tyre centre and get their opinion. Also remember to rotate, balance, check alignment every 5000-10000km. If this has never been done, then there is a good chance your tyres are shot or the those tyres you have are just shyte.

Even though my motorplan does cover alignment, etc, I feel more comfortable taking it to a fitment centre and watching them actually do it.

[bmwr606]

Quote: Originally Posted by Macguyvic (original)

Most sticky summer tires don't come with a mileage warranty at all. I recommend cross rotating every 5,000 miles and really watch your air pressure for even tire wear. Try to stick with asymmetrical tires because you can't cross rotate directional tires, you can only go front to rear.

my next set of summer tires will be michelin pilot super sports for 2 reasons

first, the ratings on tirerack.com, both the tirerack ratings and end user ratings

second, the michelins come with a 30,000 mile tread wear warranty ... the michelins appear to be the only highly rated summer tires to have any kind of tread wear warranty

scott

[Macguyvic]

I have been extremely happy with the Pirelli P Zero in the 205/45/17 RF om my 2008 MCS.

[lipwak]

Well.... today I took it in to get new tires. The guy there was ready to sell me some tires but first thing he did, he checked the treads. They were fine: 6/32 on all treads except on which was 7. I checked them myself when I got home afterwards and confirmed it with the tire dept gauge he gave me, after I asked if he had any for sale. What do you know, an honest man!

So, the dealer was lying, trying to sell me some tires. It's on paper, not just my word against theirs. I will never let them do any work on my car again. They've just lost a customer. (Previously, as posted in another thread here (http://www.mini2.com/forum/maintenan...-question.html), they had me do a fuel injection cleaning and rotation and alignment. The fuel injection cleaning, at 12k/one year, was not needed as far as I can tell.)

I will rotate every 5k from now on. I was sort of expecting the OBC to remind me to do that since it overlooks so many other service functions. I figured since it hadn't, I didn't need to do it but now I now I was wrong on that.

Thanks for all the help. It is appreciated.

[BlueBeastie]

Quote: Originally Posted by lipwak (original)

Well.... today I took it in to get new tires. The guy there was ready to sell me some tires but first thing he did, he checked the treads. They were fine: 6/32 on all treads except on which was 7. I checked them myself when I got home afterwards and confirmed it with the tire dept gauge he gave me, after I asked if he had any for sale. What do you know, an honest man!

So, the dealer was lying, trying to sell me some tires. It's on paper, not just my word against theirs. I will never let them do any work on my car again. They've just lost a customer. (Previously, as posted in another thread here (http://www.mini2.com/forum/maintenan...-question.html), they had me do a fuel injection cleaning and rotation and alignment. The fuel injection cleaning, at 12k/one year, was not needed as far as I can tell.)

I will rotate every 5k from now on. I was sort of expecting the OBC to remind me to do that since it overlooks so many other service functions. I figured since it hadn't, I didn't need to do it but now I now I was wrong on that.

Thanks for all the help. It is appreciated.

Glad you sorted! Yea unfortunately the OBC will only warn you if tyre pressure is low.

As for the dealers, thats an unfortunate reality. My advice though is try and make a contact within the dealer. I'm fortunate to have one so I know my car is looked after when it goes in for services.

One last tip I can recommend is, when the time does come to replace your tyres, do some research before buying any.

[iain cooper]

unfortunately like many franchise main dealers all they want to do is make money from you by telling you that parts need renewed when they do not.

what normally happens is that when your car is with them for a service/repair they phone you and tell what needs renewed, knowing that most people agree to pay the extra. ( as all they want is their car back and no hassle )

also most people never actually check that the part has been renewed, and if by chance they do and find it hasn't, the dealer will just say that the mechanic who worked on your car made a mistake and apologise.

a licence to print money !!

Iain

[Macguyvic]

A license to steal money!

[lipwak]

Yep! (to the comments about unscrupulous dealers.)

Checking the tire depth is one thing I can do, now. It was cold out, 20 degrees (F) last week so I wasn't feeling like it then and I just assumed they'd treat me right. Nevermore for them. And now that I have a nice gauge, I'm more likely to check if the tires are called into question.

The rest of the stuff, the fuel injection cleaning mentioned in my other post and other expert matters, I have to trust the people working on the car for the most part. That's what bothers me the most, the loss of trust here.