fanaticz

Does anyone have problems with tires balling out at only 3000 miles???? Here's my setup.

Kuhmo Ecstaspt 225/45/18 Z rated. (Not sure what the tread rating is on them)

I do not take it to the track nor do I drive it hard, but my rear tires are wearing out every single oil change. I do drive about 80 mph on the interstate every once in awhile, and it seems to wear on them for long periods of constant 80 mph driving. But my thinking would be that this kind of tire can handle those speeds.

I understand that the LSD can put a little more wear on the tire since the car is made to grip the road, but come on... 3000 miles? Anyone else go through tires like that? Any suggestions as to what I can do to keep the tread on my tires, but still enjoy the handling of the RX-8? I would think that the tread on these tires will last around 20K.

dmp

do you have any suspension bits? how are they wearing? Insides? outsides? Simple driving at speed shouldn't wear a tire any faster than normal.

fanaticz

What exactly do you mean by suspension bits? The wear is all the way across the tire (not just in the center or sides). It's all stock suspension/springs. Forgive my ignorance.

dmp

Yeah - that's what I meant - stock suspension.

I'd contact the place you purchased the tires - 3000 miles is VERY weird; although it'd be hard to see a manufacturing defect with all of them wearing the same. As the wear is uniform across the tire, in my book, that rules out a VERY bad alignment. I was going to ask, IF you had aftermarket suspension, about your post-install alignment.

LionZoo

Too much toe? I have almost 8000 miles on mine and there's very little tire wear.

sharward

Actually, fanaticz wrote...
Why wouldn't this be an alignment issue?

dmp

Because they are wearing evenly...alignment issues, afaik, wear one side or the other...but even wear across the contact patch?

I dunno.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Sounds like a burnout tire issue?? Or ar all 4 wearing at the same speed?

dmp is right..you shouldn;t get even treadwear problems from an alignment problem

Spin9k

Either those are the crappiest tires ever or you've not told us some part of the story.... I'd imagine R-compounds run on the street would last = or longer than 3K miles. That's hardly run in at all for a street tire. Have you ever had an alignment done? Any drag strip us? Do you do alot of burnouts w/hi-rpm drops? Just trying to imagine how'd you do that?

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

I had those tires on an MX-6 in a previous life. They had close to 45K miles on them when I gave the car to my son. That was 2 years ago...and he just replaced them a few months ago.

They seemed to have good treadwear for me??

dsmdriver

iTrader: (3)

My brother used to complain about killing tires on his FWD DSM in 3-5K miles. I used to get 25K miles on mine and I tracked the car sometimes.

Didn't understand until I rode with him one day and realized that he thought wheelspin at every stop light was normal behavior. Some BS argument about the boost coming on so strong that it was uncontrolable.

On a more possible note- given the right mixture of negative camber and toe-in, couldn't this show up as pretty even wear?

MikeTyson8MyKids

iTrader: (1)

haha, no way tires wear that fast without being tortured. I think the issue lies between the steering wheel and the seat.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Put on some wider tires.....you won't have enough power to spin them around like the stock 225's ....either that or lift the right foot a bit !

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Mad Drifting skills will kill a tire.
It must be an alignment problem. What happened to the OEM tires? How long did they last?

sharward

There's only one way to know for sure whether or not it's an alignment problem: have a shop do an alignment check. Some shops only charge if the alignment actually needs adjusting.

I just think it's not wise to assume it's not an alignment problem just because the tires are wearing "evenly." Besides, the back tires are not wearing at the same rate as the front tires, so technically it's not "even" (notwithstanding the fact that that both back tires seem to be wearing "evenly with each other").

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

^^^I'd bite if the front tires are wearing faster than the drive wheels.............

fanaticz

Thanks guys. I know it's not my driving because I never burn out. I'll have the alignment checked. How would I know if perhaps the suspension is bad as well? I'll probably have both checked. Thanks guys for the input!