Uneven Tire Wear

[TonyPSchaefer]

I was checking the tire pressure the other day when I noticed a very distinct tire wear pattern.

The two front tires are worn on the inside AND outside edges. The tread is almost entirely gone. The middle is showing normal wear as in it looks fine.
The two rear tires have even wear and look relatively fine.
My initial thought was that this is indicative to the wear pattern someone would expect if they ran their tires low. I do not run low and I check regularly.

Then I had another thought. Could it be the high-speed turns (aka "death turns") common to some hypermilers? There are times when I do not brake much - if at all - when making turns. For the most part, I decelerate/coast to the speed at which I normally turn (18-20mph for right turns and 22-24mph for left turns). There are other times, however, when I can choose between turning faster or stopping for traffic and I choose to turn fast.

These are the OEM tires that came with Priapus four years ago. I plan on replacing them before winter. But I would like to know if my next set would fall victim to the same fate if it's caused by my driving style.

[F8L]

Because you are seeing this on the front tires I am inclined to agree with your supposed cause. I see the same type of wear on my tires (at high pressure) and I corner pretty hard as well. I do not have the same extreme wear you mention though. Just a bit more wear on the inside/outside edges compared to the center.

[N3FOL]

That may be it...too fast on the turns. I was just about to say that your tires might be over inflated, but you stated that you regularly check their pressure. How many miles do you currently have on your front tires?

[TonyPSchaefer]

Originally Posted by N3FOL

That may be it...too fast on the turns. I was just about to say that your tires might be over inflated, but you stated that you regularly check their pressure. How many miles do you currently have on your front tires?

Well, N3FOL, when I say that I check them regularly, I intentionally didn't say what I check for. I'm currently running 52f/50r. Most people tell me that running high will cause the tire to bulge and wear on the inside of the tire. To that I say, "look at this!"

The tires are just a hair under 48,000 miles old.

[N3FOL]

If you can live with it for another 10K miles, then you get your $ spent worth it.

[subarutoo]

You didn't mention mileage or rotation, but my lefts are wearing faster than the rights. I think the left front is the culprit, and rotating (front to rear) causes both lefts to wear. I probably take right turns faster than lefts. I do have over 64,000 on the OEMs, and rotate (more or less) at 10K. The factory recommends 5k rotations. I run about 40/38 tp when I bother to check them.

[Highly ImPriused]

Do you rotate them? If so, it's odd that you would get this wear pattern on the front and not on the reark unless it were caused by more recent driving habits. Now if you've never rotated them then I think your hypothesis about hard cornering being the culprit makes sense.

Nice to have another source of confirmation that "over inflation" doesn't cause center wear. I've got mine a little above where yours are presently. Too new to show any wear patterns though.

[N3FOL]

Originally Posted by subarutoo

You didn't mention mileage or rotation, but my lefts are wearing faster than the rights. I think the left front is the culprit, and rotating (front to rear) causes both lefts to wear. I probably take right turns faster than lefts. I do have over 64,000 on the OEMs, and rotate (more or less) at 10K. The factory recommends 5k rotations. I run about 40/38 tp when I bother to check them.

That is awesome! 64K on OEM tires. I also maintain tire psi at 40/38 and rotate between 7.5K to 8K. As far as turns are concerned, I try not to lean the car too much since and take it nice and easy on the turns and curves. My Prius is not equipped with TRD suspension.

[TonyPSchaefer]

You are correct on the rotation aspect. I have never rotated these tires. In fact, I've never knowingly rotated any tires on any car I've every owned. Just haven't. But this is really starting to get me thinking that I should move these front ones to the rear.

Here is a picture of the front left. You tell me if this is bad.