Over the weekend I rotated my wheels with 235/45R17 Sumitomo HTRs. I immediately noticed that my front tires exhibited excessive wear along the center tread in relation to the shoulders. The center tread of the tire is already worn out 50% in 7000 miles The rears looked brandnew with no strange wear problems. It looks like I'll be lucky to get 30K miles with these tires.

Everything I know about tires and wear like this points to one thing and one thing only, OVERINFLATION. This is what is strange though, I run 32psi in the front and 29 psi in the rear. How is that overinflated for a 45 series running on a 17" rim? I've only made 5 1/4 mile passes on the tires and I never do any sort of burnout so that's not the culprit. I've backed down the front pressure to 28psi cold and the tires don't show any problems with bulging. The ride is even better.

The wheels are 17X7 with 235/45. Yes, I know, it's pure evil to run 235/45s with 17X7s. The Tirerack recommended the size and a call to Sumitomo confirmed it was a safe combo and I've run 235/45s on another set of 17X7s I had 3 years ago. Is it possible that the wide foot print, 7" rim, and relatively light car are somehow contributing to this odd wear? The alignment is perfect, the springs are H&R, and the struts are Koni's. I calculated out the ideal cold psi for the 235/45s and it came out to 32F and 29R.

Anyone got any ideas?



Dave

 

you've hit the nail on the head. drop pressure and drive happy.

~30psi is correct pressure for a 215 wide tire, let alone a 235 that's even wider.

 

I wouldn't really call a FWD maxima w/ most of it's weight over the front wheels "light".

Maybe call the maker's tech line?

 

if you keep them at 32PSI by the time you run them down on the highway the pressure goes up just a little.

 

OT but hey dave are u working now at south point parts dept?

 

Your tire pressure is correct. 32psi is what I use in my 235/45's.

 

you might want to read his sig.

 

Actually I have had the same problem with my Dunlop Sport SP9000s. Except at 17k, they are bald. All four of them. Tire pressure is correct, they've been rotated on time, and no burnouts. TireRacks excuse was, "they're a high performance tire, therefore will not last as long. They also dont offer a treadlife warrantee for that model either."
So after 7 months, I have to get new tires on top of everything else..

 

How many miles? Their utog is only 280. BUT their utog could be different than other tire makers. As they only have to base their utog relative to their own brands.

 

I assume neither Tirerack nor Sumitomo were willing to state that it in writing, were they? And yes, I'm running 235/45R17 tires on 7.0"-wide rims. But I'm not about to suggest that what I'm doing is without risk. And just because I'm willing to run out-of-spec tires on my OEM rims doesn't mean that I'm going to try to convince anyone else to do the same.

As far as center wear is concerned, think about this. If you push in the sides of the tires beyond their design limits, what will the edges of the tires do?

 

All the weight in a FWD car is up front. Combine that with a so so tire/rim combo and you have a recipe for uneven ware.

234/45/17 should be on a wider rim, especially on the front end of a front wheel drive car. Maybe on a car like a BMW where the weight distribution is nearly 50/50, you can get away with it, but were not even close to that ratio.

 

 

Dave,

i too put my 17's back on after the track, and noticed the center of the front tires are WAY more worn than the rears. the rears looked untouched. i am running the Sumitomo HTR+ in 225.45.17 on 17x7 wheels. i have them inflated to 32 up front and 31 in the rear. i wonder what this could be?

--Paul

 

Paul and dave,
Seems that you both are having the same issue. I would maybe see if there is a trend of this problem on this tire at www.tirerack.com I would seem to think that you are running them correctly in regards to correct PSI, I am running 32psi in my Nittos and have been for some time and they are fine.

 

oooooooooop!!!! name is so closed to each other.... arggg.... hahaha

 

Very interesting. I wonder if Sumitomo runs a different compound of rubber for the center tread. It's just weird that the shoulders show very little wear compared to the middle. I through this thing thru the turns pretty dang hard. When it comes to getting new tires, I'll probably go with the narrower 215/50R17 which is probably closer to the right size. Overall diameter is exactly the same as the 235/45.


Dave

 

I'm seeing an increase of 1-2 psi between cold and hot pressures. I love having a digital pressure gauge


Dave

 

my yokohama AVS do they same exact thing, they wear in the middle and not the sides, and I run about 32 psi as well. 225/50-16

 

yes I have a expensive digi myself I got for christmas at 50% off the $34.00 plus ones @ sears. They do come in mighty handy.

 

Because I have HTR+ in a 235/40WR-18 and usually do 36F/33R, and have about 17k on my tires with the treads still very deep, I think something must be wrong with your setup. I know that 7" is not recommended but I'm surprised that it could be that detrimental to wearing out the center. I have an 18x8 and I think a 9" is probably optimum with a 235 but not doable on our cars. The monkey wrench is that you say you've used 17x7 before without issue. I dunno, if your tires are 50% shot in 7000 lucky the HTR+ is relatively cheap.

On my car I notice mild scalloping of the tires though, so either the Nissan suspension is worn out at 70k or Tire Rack's balancing is suspect (not likely). I was looking at restoration parts for the Volvo front suspension, and based on how many parts are involved with getting the new car feel back, I would never spend the money. I can envision more than 2 thousand to restore our front-ends. I really wish it wouldn't have worn out so fast. 2 grand wouldn't even include fixing the leaking rack!!

 

Besides the funny wear, how is everything else?

Ride? Handling? Noise? Wet/dry traction?

Thanks.

 

I'm going through a Blizzard right now in Colorado, and I just installed 235/45/17 Sumitomo HTR+ on a 17x7.5 rim. The tires grip very well in the snow, and are decent on ice. Wet traction is excellent. Road noise is hardly noticeable at highway speeds. So is 32psi the correct tire pressure? I have mine running at 30psi, but they are new...thanks!

 

Ride = excellent after they heat-cycle

Handling = You'd never believe these were all-season tires

Noise = excellent after they heat cycle

Wet traction = stable, no hydroplaning, confident

Dry traction = amazing stick, easy to read at the limit, no tire howling



Dave

 

ditto for me, couldnt have said it better myself. this is baffling me.

--Paul