Tread Life & Curvy Roads

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Nick1994

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I have heard CapriRacer say on here that driving straight roads is almost like free miles for tires, that tread wear is near zero. But when turning, that's what is doing a majority of the wear on your tires.

I found this pretty interesting, and I get pretty good tread wear here in Phoenix, as well as all of the other vehicles I maintain here. Phoenix is based on a grid so it is all straight roads, all of those in that map are 1 mile apart. There is literally almost no curvy roads here. Yes, you have to turn to get onto the next street, but many cities are constant curves like the San Diego area or Boston. Below is a screenshot of a map of Phoenix and Boston so you can see the dramatic difference.

Sometimes you hear of someone with a car and a set of tires and they only got 25k miles out of them, but someone else with the same car and tires might get 60k miles out of them.

So what do you guys think? Does it make a huge difference?

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Yes, makes a huge difference, along with driving style and condition of roads.
 
Yep...why I will not get full miles out of my tires. I do a fair amount of turning in sort trip driving..
 
yes, I got mostly highway miles on the Primestone?(firestone cheap brand), after 40k miles its got 6/32 left and I think the mileage warranty is 40k if I remember correctly, but all my cars have new KYB OEM/Moog suspension components after purchasing the vehicle.
 
Definitely makes a difference - when I read on here of people getting 100,000km (60,000 miles) plus out of a set of tyres, I have trouble believing it! Here, most people wouldn't get any more than 50,000km (30,000 miles).

My parents 2008 Corolla, for example, consistently wears a set of tyres out every 40,000km (25,000 miles), and that's with my 75 year old dad driving... We have lots of roundabouts, and some of the best driving roads in Australia. Driving in straight lines all the time is boring!
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I think of course there is going to be sone difference but to jump out that its foinf to be one of the most important differences I think is not right. Especially when you're comparing curvy roads to straight roads. The curve is not nearly as significant as taking turns. So if you got 1 extra 90degree turn on your grid route it's going to trump and account for more wear than all the differences between curved and grids.

Next comparing boston to Phoenix is ludicrous because boston has this thing called snow and winter so tire rubber is frozen solid every night for 1/4th the year then subjected to chemical salt torture and jagged ice crystals and the road surface also goes to [censored] from the above.

This reminds me of some ewually misguided logic that someone had that one should only take walks in the daytime and never at night not because of safety or other logical causes but because thats when trees are photosynthesising and producing more oxygen.
 
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Of course-a little common sense tells you that it makes a difference. Constant driving in an area with curves and turns wears tires (and other components) at a faster rate than straight driving does; all other things being equal.

We live in a rural area; the majority of our driving is straight down a highway for 20+ miles. I rarely "wear out" tires, they are usually replaced due to age. As an example, before it was sold, I replaced the Michelin Harmony tires on my wife's Subaru Outback. They had 102,000 miles on them and had somewhere around 4/32-5/32 tread left. Same with brakes-I don't think I've ever had to replace brakes with less than 100,000 miles on them.
 
The same tires on a different vehicle can make a difference. As can how much pressure is kept in them, if they are rotated regularly, how hard a person drives, what the roads are made of in that area etc.
 
I don't think it is so much curves, but 90 degree turns. Most of my driving anymore is in town, close to home. I probably make at least 10 turns per mile. My tires wear twice as fast as my wife's tires,that are mostly highway miles.
 
Let's try a thought experiment:

Imagine driving slowly in a very large circle - say 1000 foot diameter circle at 10 mph. The amount of force being generated to turn the vehicle is pretty low.

Now let's speed up to 100 mph. I think everyone would agree that the driver would need to turn the steering wheel more to keep the car on track. That's because the tire needs to develop more sideways force, so it also needs more slip angle - hence more steering input.

Then lets go back to 10 mph, but the circle is now 100 feet in diameter. Again, more force is needed and therefore more slip angle.

So it isn't just the diameter of the curve, it is also the speed. That should lead everyone to the idea that mountainous roads would also wear tires more quickly - as would cloverleaf exit ramps.
 
If you're having fun you're causing wear.
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Let's not forget about wheel bearings and maybe suspension bushings.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
If you're having fun you're causing wear.
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This. Between running mostly performance tires and snow tires, plus driving it hard and having some fun, it's been a long time since a set of tires has seen the far side of 20k miles under the Jeep
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Then again, I haven't run tires with any kind of treadwear warranty in ages either...
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My dad's work truck used to get 80k miles driving 100% highway but his personal truck that was always driven in the mountains only got 18k-20k per set. I get about 50k in mixed driving but more highway than mountain. All 3 of these trucks are Chevy 1500 s.
 
What about stopping and starting on steep hills? It would seem that that would cause all kinds of tire wear.

The combination on curvy roads and the steep hills in the area I live must be the reason my tires never last long.

I hear people talking about mountain driving but those mountains don't have a stop sign or red light every 100 yards like the roads around here do.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
If you're having fun you're causing wear.
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My wife drives her E430 with 2 positions: either gas or brake pedal to the floor, the original tire lasted 14k miles, replacements on average lasted about 18-20k miles, none lasted more than 25k miles.

My S2000 rear tires on average lasted only 10k miles, front was about double that mileage.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: eljefino
If you're having fun you're causing wear.
laugh.gif


My wife drives her E430 with 2 positions: either gas or brake pedal to the floor, the original tire lasted 14k miles, replacements on average lasted about 18-20k miles, none lasted more than 25k miles.

My S2000 rear tires on average lasted only 10k miles, front was about double that mileage.
I'm guessing very sporty-style driving with the S2000?
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: eljefino
If you're having fun you're causing wear.
laugh.gif


My wife drives her E430 with 2 positions: either gas or brake pedal to the floor, the original tire lasted 14k miles, replacements on average lasted about 18-20k miles, none lasted more than 25k miles.

My S2000 rear tires on average lasted only 10k miles, front was about double that mileage.
I'm guessing very sporty-style driving with the S2000?

I do. After engine warmed up to normal temperature I usually dropped the clutch at 4k and WOT to 7-8k several times a drive when it was safe to do so.

Also, I kept RPM above 4k on winding mountain road in So Cal (CA74 to lake Elsinore), the S2000 can easily stay with any high performance car on mountain road.

Instead of drinking $2-3/bottle beer, I enjoy the near limit of the S2000 on beautiful afternoon drive on winding road.
 
A friend drove from Wilhoit, AZ to Prescott daily and the curves ripped the tread from his truck tires rather quickly, so he switched to snow tires. He said that he gets 6 months' use before they, too, are shot.
 
I could make an argument Boston is easier on tires. Gradual turns are easy. Its all the sharp turns on that phoenix grid pattern that wears more. Its the sharp turns that cause the tires to scrub.
 
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