y2kse

iTrader: (1)

A question for those of you running 235/45R17 tires on your OEM 7.0"-wide rims (or any other 7.0"-wide rims, for that matter):

Have you noticed uneven wear on your tires?

Specifically, I'm interested in finding out whether your tires are tending to wear more toward the center than at the edges. If they are, do you feel that your tires are wearing out more quickly than they should?

NOTE: PLEASE DON'T TURN THIS INTO A DISCUSSION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT IT'S SAFE TO RUN 235/45R17 TIRES ON 7.0"-WIDE RIMS. WE'VE ALREADY COVERED THAT ISSUE AND ALL THE PERTINENT INFORMATION IS IN THE FAQs.

serin

iTrader: (2)

yes. but not evenly uneven. meaning, my driver's side tires have worn to the belt on one occasion with the BFGs on there. but no excess wear on the passenger's side.
both set of Yokos i've used (and am using) have no such problems. i'm pretty sure it's a function of my alignment. i don't know what you mean by the center vs the edges. do you mean the center of each tire? or do you mean the center of the vehicle, so the inside edge of each tire?
the wear i'm referring to is the latter, towards the center of the vehicle.

as for accelerated wear, i don't think so at all. my stock potenzas with their v rating wore at about the same rate as my current yokos and BFGs, both with softer z rated rubber.

realtor

My experience with tires assuming that your car doesn't need alignment is that if you overinflate the tires, they will tend to wear out prematurely towards the center and if they are underinflated, they will wear out more towards the corners. I don't know what pressure you're running but try releasing some air, maybe 2 or 3 P.S.I. less. And make sure you check the pressure only when the tires are cold. Try to use a quality gauge preferably a digital one. Good luck and happy new year.

Galo

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!

realtor

Because they are too narrow or is it the other way around?

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

I'm referring to the center of each tire. By mounting a tire on a rim narrower than it's designed to run on, you force the edges of the tire upward. That would tend to create more wear in the center of the tire than on the edges. As has been pointed out, however, other factors exist that could produce a similar wear pattern, factors such as inflation and alignment.

So far there doesn't seem to be a consensus opinion about this. But it still may be too early to tell.

serin

iTrader: (2)

don't know y2kse. i'm a high mileage driver on my 4th set of tires now and i haven't seen anything that would indicate that to be the case. after my initial experiences with the oem tires (two sidewall blowouts on the highway and just strange behavior in general) i've been very mindful of the status and condition of my tires.
and i've actually been running high psi to increase mileage too. considering what you've theorized and my higher pressure on that size, i'd have seen that type of wear pattern by now.

foodmanry

iTrader: (15)

My background with tires has been pretty much the same as Serins. I am running the 235/35R17's Z-rated. I am on my second set now, 1st set were Yokohama's, and the current set is Firestone. I noticed on the last set I had severe wear on the inner portion of the tire. I always kept my tires at the max rated tire pressure to increase milage and life of the tire. Well I found the inner tire wear was a function of the alignment of my car which was pretty much out of alignment since the car was lowered with Eibach springs. Unfortunately the shop (Firestone Tire) that I have a life alignment with didn't "see" it until about the 6th time I took it in for alignment and they had to extend the strut mounting bolts. So you are probably experience something similiar. Wouldn't hurt to get your alignment checked. The other thing that is really unfortunate with most high performance tires is that they are uni-directional and assymetrical which pretty much means once you get uneven wear on the inside or outside you can't do much about it.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

Right, serin. I expect you would have seen that type of wear pattern develop if it were, in fact, a problem. Thanks.

Norm Peterson

I think you need to collect some related information as well, including usual car loadings, alignment settings, inflation pressure(s), type of driving (mostly highway, mostly in-town, how much hard cornering, etc.). Also what specific tires, since the actual section width and diameter measurements differ slightly among different makes/models of tires. And if any unusual wear patterns are present.

Norm

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

Right, Norm. I agree that a number of factors come into play when assessing tire wear. I was just looking to see if a trend toward abnormal wear existed running out-of-spec tires. What I'm gathering from this thread so far is that there is no more of a trend toward abnormal wear running out-of-spec 235/45R17 tires on our OEM rims than there is when running in-spec 225/50R17 tires on our OEM rims. I realize I'm basing this finding on a tiny sample. But perhaps more 235/45R17 owners will weigh in and we'll be able to obtain a larger sampling of opinion.

doublea

iTrader: (7)

Hey y2Kse, I've put almost 20000KM on the Ecsta Supra 235-40-17,and I've been rotating the tire frequently, check the tire presure on a weekly basis I also have the alignment and balancing check or done every time I switch tire from winter to summer or when I rotate, this may sound excessive but that has been working well for me. To answer your question I have had no uneven wearing on any of the 235-40-17 tire, exept the little faster wearing because of my occasionally heavy right foot.

Cheers

AA

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, AA. I appreciate the input. Your findings are particularly interesting give the fact that your tire size requires an 8.0"-wide rim to be in spec.

doublea

iTrader: (7)

Hey y2kse, I guess it will make you smile, I will be switching wheel soon, I wanna go 255 or 265 in the back and 245 in the front, so hopefully I'm looking at a wheel spec of 18 x 8.5 so no more out of spec wheel tire combo for me, I'm tired of arguing... he he he.

Cheers

AA

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

Well don't tell anybody, but when the time comes to change my tires, I may actually mount 235/45R17 tires on my OEM rims.

I know, I know. I basically argued against doing that for a long time. And I'd still recommend against it for those who aren't willing to prep their cars or RELIGIOUSLY maintain proper air pressure in their tires. But I have prepped my car in accordance with RsMaxMaggie's suggestions in my post on Page 6 of the FAQs. And I recently purchased a 12-volt air compressor so I can keep my tires properly inflated at all times. I also don't tend to drive my car that aggressively. So I'm relatively confident that I can safely exceed the rim width specifications, but not by as much as you have, doublea.

I haven't completely made up my mind yet about exceeding the specs yet. But as you can tell, I've softened my position substantially.

ghostrider17

iTrader: (6)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by y2kse
[B]
Well don't tell anybody, but when the time comes to change my tires, I may actually mount 235/45R17 tires on my OEM rims.

AHHHHHH-HAAAAAAA!!

You are sooooo busted my friend..>!!!!

And you thought you could slip that one in there, eh?

I must admit that I too have changed my position since the last poling, and will likely be switching to 235-45-17's when the time comes.

HOwever - you SIR (y2kse), are busted!!

g.r.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ghostrider17
[B]Hey, g.r. I have no problem adjusting my attitude in the light of sound scientific data. And if you go back and read ALL of my tire posts, you'll see that I've been looking for a rational justification to run 235/45R17 tires on my OEM rims for quite some time. It just took this long to find it.

Enjoy the ride!

ghostrider17

iTrader: (6)

hey now....I was just kidding -!

I couldn't resist the opportunity to bust your 'tires' on that one....!

I've defending your honor on many occaisions, being the ****-retentive tire afficianado that you are..!!

I wanna start hearing which tires people are mounting in these sizes to see which one is best.

Michelin will get $1000 from me the day they offer a buy one get one free sale!!

enjoying my ride

ghostrider17

iTrader: (6)

hey now....I was just kidding -!

I couldn't resist the opportunity to bust your 'tires' on that one....!

I've defended your honor on many occaisions, being the ****-retentive tire afficianado that you are..!!

I wanna start hearing which tires people are mounting in these sizes to see which one is best.

Michelin will get $1000 from me the day they offer a buy one get one free sale!!

enjoying my ride
g.r.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

NP!

Lemme know if you ever see a sale like the one you're describing. I'd even be willing to jump onto a "buy 3 get one free" sale for a set of Pilot Sport A/S's. But Michelin better hurry if they want my business. I'm negotiating to purchase a set of Kuhmo ECSTA 712s right now. And although I'm a little wary of Kuhmo's, I may buy them if I get the right price.

Eenis

Spot around the corner from me runs a buy 3 get 1 free a few times per yr., but i don't know what the deal is cuz of the backorder (may be a while). Hey y2k, what kinda mileage you expect to get out w/ the 235/45 kumho w/ the stock rim? eyeballing the sumitomo's myself for my stock shoes.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

I'll be following your lead.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

I don't know what the 235/45s will do to my gas mileage, Eenis, but I'm not that concerned. I'm a relatively low mileage driver. And I've heard lots of good things about the Sumitomos. I don't think you can go wrong with them.

Eenis

My bad...i was talking about tire mileage/life, not gas mileage.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

NP