Petscar

I have 7 k miles on Continental Extreme Grip tires. I had them rotated only to find the rear tires were worn down to 3/32" . Is this normal??

The first 3k miles were put on by the previous owner who babied the car. I do spirited driving. On 2 occaisions i spun the tires briefly. Overall they have not been abused.

i read the posts on tire recommendation. Eeryone has their own opinion.This question is for those who have gone through 3 sets of tires or more. Which tires gave you the longest life with good traction?

Loki

iTrader: (1)

That's not normal. Possible you have excessive toe in the rear? That would definitely wear tires down quickly.

Petscar

I had the tires aligned when i rotated them. One rear tire was only slightly out of alignment. Any other ideas? What is normal mileage wear for the average tire on the rx8?

Loki

iTrader: (1)

The tire you have seems to have a 50,000 mile warranty. The 8 doesn't wear tires differently than any other car. What did they align them to? Might be worth checking.

There is no 'average' tire, but I'm pretty sure I got more than 7k out of my track tires, and have lost track of mileage on my street and winter tires.

Ermintrudew

Your tires are worn out quickly, depending on the weather as well as the road you are traveling, and your driving habits. These tires give you the longest life with good traction like Hankook Kinergy ST, Toyo Versado Noir, Hankook Kinergy PT, and Continental TrueContact Tour. That's some tires that have a long life with good traction that I know.
Hope to help you make the best choice

Petscar

Thanks. Talked to a tire center today and he said red lining can contribute. That didnt sound right to me as i am usually traveling in a straight line in 2nd & 3rd. But i do redline a few times a trip. Any opinions?

UnknownJinX

Unless you are drifting, your tires shouldn't wear out that quickly. It's kinda hard to break traction with the amount of low-end torque we have unless the ground is wet or you dump the clutch above 4k RPM.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Your tire doesnt care about your engine speed.....

Did the tires wear out evenly across the tread surface? Or did you have uneven wear?

Petscar

They were perfectly even. Someone told me Continentals give a great ride but tend to wear faster than other tires. But 7k miles????

Any other recommendations on good tires that last? Any thoughts on Michelin?

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Plenty of good options for tires, but you need to fix the problem first, or you'll wear the new ones out too.
I know you had it aligned but clearly it was either done wrong or had changed. You want 0 toe in the back for regular driving, or OEM spec, which is I think 1/32 toe in.

My go-to daily tires have been Yokohama S. Drive. The girlfriend mobile is on Pirelli Centurino P7 all seasons which also seem to be doing well. Not expensive, surprisingly.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

If the alignment was out...especially the toe they would have worn on the edges of the tire and not even all the way across. Camber will also eat the edge that gets the extra pressure... usually the inside. Think BMW's they are notorious at cording the rear tires on the inside edges doesnt matter what you seem to do

You have to decide what you want for performance.... and then pick a tire that goes with that. Most tires that are sticky wear out quickly.... and ones that wear better dont grip as well..

Have a look at some of the tire sites and read the reviews... and edit with a bit of common sense.

Often I will buy what I can get a decent price for... as they dont last very long at the track anyway.

There is a new site that is just starting out...

It is called tires4track.com might want to see how things progress on there... they are hoping to get lots of input for tires from track guys....

Petscar

I think you may have misunderstood. The car was aligned last week. When they rotated the tires last week, was when i discovered the excess wear. One of the rear tires was slightly out the other was good. The wear occured on both tires. I believe the Continental s to be sticky/soft. Great grip. Longevity, not so much. I guess my next set will be the determining factor.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

I did misunderstand, makes sense.
So I guess then you have a warranty claim to make with Continental. Most of their Extreme Contact models have some kind of warranty. It's not clear which exact model you have, since 'Extreme Grip' doesn't seem to be a valid name, but long story short I would call Continental.

Petscar

They were purchased by the previous owner who lives 75 miles away. Not sure if the warranty is transferable, but definitely worth looking into. Thanks.

furansu

Hey Pete,

Did the shop provide the alignment settings before and after the alignment? Can you post those numbers for us to review? That amount of wear in 7k miles is odd, but it is possible the previous owner actually drove more on the tires than stated, or that the alignment or driving conditions were varied more-so than inferred. Do you have the exact tire model? I'm only seeing Continential ExtremeContact branding, not ExtremeGrip, and there are several variations within the product line for different driving conditions.

Petscar

Kris,
I have the receipt for the tire purchase. That is how i determined the 7k miles. Your right, it is Extreme Contact. I need to look for the alignment receipt for those numbers, also the exact tire model. I will post the info shortly.