tire wear
 

I have about 13.5k miles on my car and I have noticed cupping on the inside and outside tread of the front tires. I have already rotated and balanced them twice and had the alignment checked.

When I did a search on this it seemed sporatic and I was wondering in anyone else had this problem. I would think that after spending 30k on a car that the tires should last least 20k miles. At the rate they are cupping they will be usless soon.

any thoughts?

I hope mine last at least 12k :(

The rubber on these tires are soft.

I called the dealer this morning and they are going to check the suspension, alignment and balance of both the tires and brake rotors to see if there is an issue before they call Mazda.

He said the tire's are under warranty.

Hmmm - I did know they were


Anyone else ?

I was looking at the specs on the side of the tire and was surprized that the treadware on them is 140!!
I didn't think they would be that soft.
They are going to wear out quick.

The tires kinda suck, I wouldn't expect to get more than 15k miles out of them... The worse news is they aren't cheep either. I replaced mine after 7500 w/ pilot sport a/s for about $1250 and haven't been happier.

The tires don't suck. You’re just expecting more miles - these tires weren’t designed for longevity.

A light that burns twice as bright burns half as long:
The softer the tire, the faster it wears - but the performance is increased.

A harder tire will wear longer, but don't expect it to have the same performance.

It is a matter of what sucks more for you, lower tire performance (but they’d cost less per mile), or higher performance tires that wear out more frequently.

Think logicly, not emotionaly.

I'm having the same wear patterns on my tires. So bad that the "fluttering" noise they were making going down the highway was about to drive me nuts. The car has 11k miles on it and the tires have been rotated 3 times.

It did not seem to exhibit a feel of being out of alignment (pulling to one side or the other), but I had an alignment done last week by the dealership (for $90!!!...WTF). They did not elaborate on how far out the alignment was....I was in a hurry to get out of there.....and didn't even realize that they did not have the before and after readings like they usually give you.

We'll see if that helps at all.

I have had it with Mazda.

I took the car in.

They confirmed that the inner and outer tire wear is abnormal.

They would not warranty the alignment due to that fact I had 13k miles and the warranty covers only to 12k.

I was told matter of fact that my tire pressure was to blame. I said the tps never went off but the service advisor said that it could be low enough to cause the tires to cup.

They checked the pressure and it was fine.

I was then told that the alignment was out and that I needed to pay $80 for it. They also said that they had to sub-let the job because the dealer did not have an alingment rack that would work on the 18 rims. (WTF?)

Guess what, The alignment is with spec. I had to pay to prove them wrong.

I was then told it was my driving style. I said an 80 mile highway commute @ 70-80 is the issue? He then said...."yes"

Next step...Calling Mazda NA.

Actually, the tires DO suck. My 7 has Toyo Proxes T1-S's on it. Those tires a calm, cool, and collected in slush, gripping like you wouldn't believe. These POS bridgestones on the 8 panic driving through a shadow, sliding all over the friggin place. Unfortunately, the tires aren't wearing out fast enough. I don't really have an excuse to get the toyos.

Yeah, my fronts (which were the rears before a 14K-mile rotation) are down to the bars AND the grooves between the center-most rows are no longer grooves! The rears, formerly the fronts, are about marginal. With the penny-test I can see the top of Lincoln's head.

I agree.....I am trying to wear mine out as fast as I can on purpose to have an excuse to get rid of those pieces of shit.

I plan on doing some autcrossing at the Rotary Revolution in Indy this weekend, so maybe I'll chew off a few thousand miles of tread doing that :D

I honestly think that there is a design error with the 8. similar to the 350z. I am a conservative driver. I do not track my car. It's a commuter. There is no reason for the tires to wear out within 10 - 15k miles.

There is a trend.

Front tires cupping on the inside AND outside tread.

If any tire was going to wear out fast it would be the rears in the center.

That is how mine have worn. I just rotated mine for the 1st time (at 13,800 miles), and the rears were worn badly.

Now on the front, I'm curious to see how they handle in the rain. If they become a safety issue, time to replace all four.

I have noticed the rears are now howling at highway speeds, much more obvious after doing the rotation.

Anyone else notice this?

you particular tire wear does sound strange but there is no design flaw with the 8 in regards to the tires. these tires are not meant to get more than 15k miles out of them.

The tires should have a warranty from the tire manufacturer. If anyone has their tire warranty information it should tell you how long the treadlife is warrantied for and that should give you an expected tire life. I have 9K on them and had them rotated 1500 miles ago. They seem to be fine and I haven't had any problems in rain or on the twisties. Thanks to all for the warning though. I'll make sure and complain about mine before I hit 12K. ;)

My dealer contacted Mazda because my tires were in bad shape and Mazda told them to do an alignment and replace 2 tires.

I have 7,000 miles.

Our shop deals primarily with tires and with the propper maintinence i've managed to make it to 11K miles and my tires are still at about ~45-50%

We don't autocross yet but i do drive the piss out of the car. i've rotated the tires twice and set the alignment once (the toe in the front was slightly negative - inwards). I also make sure to check the tire pressure often.

When it is time for new tires i'm going to go with Toyo Proxes P4's.

Ray

Key to tires is checking them once a month for air pressure, rotate every 5-7k mi. If you rotate them every 15k mi, you are going to replace them by then. Keep in mind that these aren't your Toyota 15 inch rims that lasts 30-40k miles. So, you are going to have to maintain them well.

After inspecting mine today at 9,000 miles, they look good. I rotated them at 5K, and it looks like I might get 18-20K out of them. The best price I have found so far on the exact replacements is $211/each at the Tire Rack. Does anyone have a better source than this? I really liked the feel of the Potenza's.

Mine were bad at 8,000 with one rotation, managed to get them to 11,000 miles, then just replaced them with Falkens 245/40/18's

As people start changing out their tires I'd like to hear feedback and comparisions to the stock Potenzas. How do you like the Falkens? How are they different from the Bridgstones? Do they work as well in the wet?

i was going to rotate my tires @ 5000 miles when I had it up I could not believe my eyes! the fronts were cupped ,chopped what ever you want to call it so I called the dealer and told them.Made an appt. for a wait for car appt. arrived at dealer and they asked me to turn the wheels all the way to the right.they looked at the fronts (cupped real bad) and then the rears and to my surprize they were toast! worn to the tread markers.
Soo..... they gave me a loaner and called me back and told me to take the car to a tire dealer they use.got there and the dealer said we don't sell Bridgestones......but for 140 a piece we can fix you up with some Hanook's ventus sport......yeah ok
so I called the dealer back on my cell phone and they mumbled and put me on hold ,came back and told me they were sorry but I would have to find a dealer for my tires and ask for an adjustment.
I said my front end is off and the tires are worn because of this and any tire dealer is gonna say so. they would not even check the front alianment to see if it was off.
and don't forget the rears!!!!!
I drive the car hard but have never spun the tires,frankly I don't think the clutch could handle it and didn't want to pay for one.
there is no good reason these tires wore so quickly and the fronts are a Mazda problem
can you say F$$ked.
I am really getting fed up with my dealer and Mazda

these tires have a 140 wear life and I expected to get at least 10,000 miles from them.now I gotta lay out near a grand on tires.
and if I buy the same tire it will cost 2,000 a summer for tires???
and my frontend dosn't get fixed all they did was give me the big run around I spent all day to get screwed over by Mazda
and this is how my whole warrenty has been just play me a tune and don't do anything to my car
car floods
oil in airbox
car misses
no high a/c
car floods
dealer don't care
tires we don,t sell them
car floods no new plugs for you!

The Falkens have a softer ride, I intentionally oversteer, but I would say they aren't as sticky as the Potenza's unless it's under 40 F°, that being said, I think the Potenza could last a while longer if you only drove them in warmer weather, and if you have them rotated every 4 or 5k miles.

I like the Falkens, good treadwear, slick enough to drift when you want, but sticking when you need them to, also softer over bumps, they actually seem to have a sidewall.
Plus Falkens are cheap good tires. At least for $540 for 4 shipped I think so.

From reading this whole thread, we seem to have a wide array of loves and hates for the Potenzas. Personally, I like mine. They are wearing better than I expected. I drive hard but controlled, maybe it's racing experience, can't know. They are wearing evenly and stick quite well. Someone mentioned Pilots above......garbage. They came stock on the Acura CL and after changing mine to Goodyear RSA's, I drove the six speed demo car when they came out and nearly crashed it with those shit Pilots.
I'm a bit surprised Mazda didn't use the Potenza 03's on the car. They are the highest rated tire for this size and are only a few bucks more than the 041's from Tire Rack. These will be my next set. At the current wear on the stock 041's, I should get around 20K out of them.
I'm not trying to be an ass here but I have a friend that cups the hell out of ANY tire on a 300ZX because he yanks his car around corners, rather than bending it. When you get new tires, try practicing on being extremely smooth on corners. You'll also soon find you're going around them faster, to boot. I am also very aware of pot holes and shitty seams on the roads, they're hell on your alignment, as well as, suspension bushings and shocks.
I would NEVER go with 19's and 40 series tires. Not on the roads I've driven on, all over the country. You'll be buying tires and wheels every two weeks.