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Excessive tire wear

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Kory Matthew, Nov 4, 2013.

  1. Kory Matthew

    Kory Matthew Junior Member

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    I have put 100k miles on my prius and need to order a third set of tires. After the used tires I bought it with wore out, I put on a set of energy savers and only got 40k out of them. Towards the end they started to wear unevenly so my wheels were aligned right before I put a set of Michelin Defenders on. These are projecting to last 50k-55k before they need to be replaced at 2mm.

    I am a courier and travel 275-300 miles per day. I carry between 400-500 lbs, including me, for about 50% of the miles and the rest is about 200 lbs. the load is evenly balanced. I would say 85% is highway miles.

    The tires are wearing evenly except the front tires will wear a little faster than the rear tires. I get the tires balanced and rotated every month which is usually between 6000 and 6500 miles. I get them at Sams club and the tire techs always tell me they balance out every time and are wearing evenly. I keep them at factory recommended PSI so that Sams doesn't give me any trouble honoring the tread life warranty.

    Could all this really be because of the tire pressure? Is it possible there is something wrong with my suspension? I am going to get another alignment when I replace this set to see if that has anything to do with it, but it can't be off by much if the tires are wearing evenly.


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    #1 Kory Matthew, Nov 4, 2013
  2. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Before buying my first Gen3, I saw numerous comments from Gen2 owners that the recommended tire pressure seemed to produce uneven tire wear consistent with underinflation. They got more even wear at higher pressures. Having had similar problems on my older nonhybrids, I upped their pressures somewhat and it seemed to help. But I didn't do any rigorous tests.

    Are you setting your tire pressures in the morning cold, before the car is driven at all, or at least any significant distance? If you set them to recommended pressure after the tires have already warmed from the highway, then you are actually leaving them underinflated.
     
    #2 fuzzy1, Nov 4, 2013
  3. Tony D

    Tony D Active Member

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    I personally would be happy enough with 50-60k from a set of tyres, especially considering the weight that you are carrying.
     
    #3 Tony D, Nov 4, 2013
  4. Kory Matthew

    Kory Matthew Junior Member

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    I don't check my tires as often as I should but they are checked and inflated cold. I would be happy too if these weren't 120$ tires warranted for 95000 miles. I can handle only getting 75k-80k out of them, but 50k seems unreasonable considering I used to always get within 15k miles of the warranty when I put Michelin x radials on my old Camry. It's nearly the same tire, I was carrying the same load and the struts were broken on that vehicle.


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    #4 Kory Matthew, Nov 4, 2013
  5. vskid3

    vskid3 Active Member

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    I would up the pressure to 40PSI or more (I go all out and do the sidewall max). If you're worried about it messing with the warranty, just lower the pressure before taking them in. They probably won't even check or keep track of it, so it might not even matter unless you're going in to get them replaced.
     
    #5 vskid3, Nov 5, 2013
  6. Kory Matthew

    Kory Matthew Junior Member

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    I think I'm going to try running them at 40 and 38 and see if that helps tread life. I really didn't think that would be the issue because they wear so evenly. They actually do change the pressure and keep track of it, but if it extends the tread life I don't have to worry about mileage warranty. Winter is here so I don't want to do max PSI and sacrifice grip.


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    #6 Kory Matthew, Nov 5, 2013
  7. Bruce Cameron

    Bruce Cameron Junior Member

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    My gen2 came with Michelin Energy Xm1's standard. I ran them at max pressure doing mostly highway K's. They lasted for 87,000km without a single balance or alignment. I did rotate every 5-10k and they wore perfectly even till the end. 51psi is the max here, just what I found....
    The second set were federals, only got 50k now just fitted Michees again, already feels more connected, love em!
     
    #7 Bruce Cameron, Nov 7, 2013
  8. Tony D

    Tony D Active Member

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    51psi! Did it not feel like you had no rubber at all!? I have 40 in mine and I think that it's quite hard/stiff at that. You must have great roads around Victoria!
     
    #8 Tony D, Nov 7, 2013
  9. Bruce Cameron

    Bruce Cameron Junior Member

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    It did with other tyres that didn't take those pressures but that is the reco pressure for the michees here, so what can I say? They were fine and wore very well. I have noticed that the xm2's I just fitted feel a little harsh at max pressure so who knows, maybe they've changed something about them since.
     
    #9 Bruce Cameron, Nov 7, 2013
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