Fast tyre wear

[S_94]

Hi all,

Been a while since I've posted, hope everyone is doing well!

Bit of a frustrating one with the Polo GTI lately. Put a pair of brand new Michelin Pilot Sport 4s on the front of the car in May, I believe since then I've done about 5-6000 miles. Unfortunately the front tyres are looking close to worn out.

My driving habits are very relaxed these days, foot does go down every now and then but I am in no way driving it harshly on a regular basis. I'm thinking I might need to get a front wheel alignment booked in, as it definitely looks like uneven wear.

Has anyone experienced similar, is there something else that could be causing quick wear?

[OomStu_ZA]

Hi S_94 hope you are well, indeed it has been a while.

I'm inclined to agree the excessive tyre wear is probably due to poor alignment, and or camber. When the new tyres were fitted did they not balance and check wheel alignment? When I have mine done it is standard for the installers to check everything is in order.

[SRGTD]

Hi mate; yes, it’s been a while. Hope everything’s OK with you. If they’re wearing unevenly, that does suggest you might have an alignment issue. A quick internet search suggests that in addition to possible misalignment, uneven tyre wear can also be caused by worn or damaged suspension components, incorrect tyre pressures or unbalanced wheels.

I had a set of Michelin PS4 on my GTI+. When I sold the car last year, the PS4’s had been on the car for around 17k miles and they still had a decent amount of tread left on them; around 4mm on the front pair and 5.5mm on the rears. I rarely drove the car ‘enthusiastically’

[S_94]

Hi S_94 hope you are well, indeed it has been a while.

I'm inclined to agree the excessive tyre wear is probably due to poor alignment, and or camber. When the new tyres were fitted did they not balance and check wheel alignment? When I have mine done it is standard for the installers to check everything is in order.

Thanks mate all good on this side of the world!

I'm 99% sure they did check the balance and wheel alignment which is what's making me even more confused, I'll definitely get it booked in for some further checks as 6000 miles on the PS4s isn't right. Have stretched them to about 12,000 before.

Hi mate; yes, it’s been a while. Hope everything’s OK with you. If they’re wearing unevenly, that does suggest you might have an alignment issue. A quick internet search suggests that in addition to possible misalignment, uneven tyre wear can also be caused by worn or damaged suspension components, incorrect tyre pressures or unbalanced wheels.

I had a set of Michelin PS4 on my GTI+. When I sold the car last year, the PS4’s had been on the car for around 17k miles and they still had a decent amount of tread left on them; around 4mm on the front pair and 5.5mm on the rears. I rarely drove the car ‘enthusiastically’

Thanks mate doing well here, glad to see some familiar names still posting here!

Hoping it's nothing big and costly now, car has just hit 50,000 miles so I'm hoping no issues with the suspension. Tyre pressures are something I always keep an eye on, always run 36psi on the front and 33psi on the back... wondering now if that's too high but I remember monkeyhanger who posted here was running the same.

Interesting that you got 17k out of yours, I've always found around 10-12k I've needed to replace... maybe my foot is too heavy!

Appreciate the advice both, will get it booked in and post an update.

[SRGTD]

Interesting that you got 17k out of yours, I've always found around 10-12k I've needed to replace... maybe my foot is too heavy!

17k probably a consequence of the heavy traffic congestion on the roads I primarily drive on where all you can do is go with the flow of the traffic at a fairly leisurely pace these days. Very few opportunities for enthusiastic driving if that’s your thing .

[MikeDO]

Personally, I don't think the ludicrous high pressures that VW recommend help! It certainly contributed to the premature demise of my front tyres. And that's what the tyre fitter thought as well.

[S_94]

Interesting that you got 17k out of yours, I've always found around 10-12k I've needed to replace... maybe my foot is too heavy!

17k probably a consequence of the heavy traffic congestion on the roads I primarily drive on where all you can do is go with the flow of the traffic at a fairly leisurely pace these days. Very few opportunities for enthusiastic driving if that’s your thing .

Luckily no commuting for work and driving at non peak times means being able to enjoy the GTI... not as much these days though considering how much I'm spending on tyres.

[S_94]

Personally, I don't think the ludicrous high pressures that VW recommend help! It certainly contributed to the premature demise of my front tyres. And that's what the tyre fitter thought as well.

What are you running yours at Mike?

[OomStu_ZA]

When I first took delivery of my Polo in 2019 the salesman said tyre pressure is 2.8 PSI front and 2.6 PSI rear. The reason the front was so high is apparently for fuel economy. Every tyre place I spoke to subsequently said this is unusually high so I now run a square 2.6PSI and my fuel economy averages6.7L/100KM .

On the Mechlin PS4 tyres, I have had 2 sets of 4 already and averaged 35000 KM's with the set and am keen to see what the newer PS5 tyres offer since Mechlin claim they last longer.

[S_94]

Quick update. Garage did the wheel alignment today as well as two new Michelin Pilot Sport 4's fitted. They said the alignment was 'slightly out' so I'm not sure if that was enough to cause the fast wear, but we shall see. Pressures set to 36psi on the front and now we wait to see how long they'll last...

They did confirm no other signs of damage/potential causes which is good news.

[OomStu_ZA]

Quick update. Garage did the wheel alignment today as well as two new Michelin Pilot Sport 4's fitted. They said the alignment was 'slightly out' so I'm not sure if that was enough to cause the fast wear, but we shall see. Pressures set to 36psi on the front and now we wait to see how long they'll last...

They did confirm no other signs of damage/potential causes which is good news.

Please keep us posted S_94. Do you also rotate your tyres for even tread wear? I change mine every 6000KM's.

[S_94]

Will do mate. I never have, but really should start doing it. very tempted to get that done at the 4-5000 mark on these new ones.

[SRGTD]

Will do mate. I never have, but really should start doing it. very tempted to get that done at the 4-5000 mark on these new ones.

I’ve not either. I’d go as far as saying that rotating tyres isn’t that common a practice in the UK.

The only downside I can see from tyre rotation so all four wear at the same rate is the cost of replacing all four at the same time rather than just replacing two.

[S_94]

Looking at the discussions online it seems to be another case of 'how to cook a steak', nobody can agree!