Excessive rear tyre wear nm petrol

[dkr059]

Hi all,
I have an nm pajero petrol. I am not a great fan for tyre rotation and I find that I only get about 25-30000klms out of my rear tyres I have had the alighnment checked numerous times and I run desert dueler a/t tyres. I am wondering if any other members have the same problem. I live in Darwin so the roads are always very hot, this wears tyres a bit quicker, but not that quick, friends are getting nearly double the wear on tojos and nissans using the same tyre. I may have to rotate frount for back ever 3-400klms or change the tyre brand, any sugestions, cheers and beers D.K.

[psproule]

I find you must rotate front to rear on these. Soft factory rear springs also dont help - particularly vehicles that carry a load regularly. Make sure your alligner is checking and setting camber - not just toe as all the tyre joints will only do.

[kevshaz]

Hi DK.
This may be a silly question but are the tyres rated LT?? I ran bridgestone duelers D694's last year and they weren't Light Truck Rated. Only expect around 30thou kms out of them if there not LT's. Got rid of them and went Coopers ST's, Now done 30 thou on them and not even halfway there yet.

Cheers
Kev

[pjchris]

Hi DK.
This may be a silly question but are the tyres rated LT?? I ran bridgestone duelers D694's last year and they weren't Light Truck Rated. Only expect around 30thou kms out of them if there not LT's. Got rid of them and went Coopers ST's, Now done 30 thou on them and not even halfway there yet.

Cheers
Kev

I got 60,000 km out of my Bridgestone D694's...

Peter

[kevshaz]

Yep, My mate also got 60 thou from a set on his NP but his were rated LT's and mine weren't, Hence only 30thou kms.
Kev

[pjchris]

Bridgestone don't make any of the D694 range in LT. Check their website, the entire D683/693/694 range are Passenger car construction.

Bridgestone Australia

Having said that rotation and decent alignment does seem to be a must. On my NM the insides of the rears seem to wear while the fronts wear the outsides... If the suspension sags (or changes height at all) you must get the camber adjusted as the independent suspension will change the camber of the wheels as they move up and down.

I have also been to tyre places that refuse to admit that the rear is adjustable in any fashion on the NM/NP and rear alignment is as critical as front on the NM/NP due to the IRS. You should have the alignment done with the vehicle at it's normal load weight too. No good getting an alignment and then whacking 200kg in the back.

Peter

[marquis]

LT's have nothing to do with it.

It's simple:
1) If you load the vehicle the rear tyres will wear on the inside.
2) If you put tyres on and then drive for 20k-30k your rear tyres are going to wear fast because the sulphur (and some other rubber additives) have not had a change to leech out (ie makes the rubber go harder).

[dkr059]

Thanks people I think it will be a case of rotating the frount for rear every 5 or so thousand k's I have had many four wheelers over the years and have never seen so much wear before, but this is by far the most user friendly, capable and comfortable 4WD of the lot, I put the rear tyre wear down to the independant rear end. My mate with an np has the same problem, he is trying out some coopers now so I will see how he goes, personally I have heard some bad reports, but again only hearsay. As for only driving less than 20k-30k to release sulfer content and rubber additives , think about it, how far is the local tyre place, how hot is the road, how fast do you go, how long do you have to wait before you can go further,I think that is a bit out there with the fairies, or just plain BS, thanks again, Cheers and beers D.K.

[psproule]

I would still be looking at springs and camber settings. I have never worn the inside of the rears on either our NM or NP since changing springs. I regularly carry a load.

Pat

[gaz1]

I agree that getting the rear alignment settings (especially camber) checked by an alignment specialist would be useful. Lots of places can't/won't do it - but the specialist truck & 4WD places will.

I got 80,000 out of my original Geolandars, some of which included towing a heavy caravan. But they were rotated at least twice during their life.

Gaz

[pjchris]

....As for only driving less than 20k-30k to release sulfer content and rubber additives , think about it, how far is the local tyre place, how hot is the road, how fast do you go, how long do you have to wait before you can go further,I think that is a bit out there with the fairies, or just plain BS, thanks again, Cheers and beers D.K.

Actually there IS a grain of truth to this... Many motorcycle riders used to buy their tyres in advance, throw them up in roof storage (Warm-hot) and only put them on their bikes after 6-12 months. Tyres do go harder with time.

If you read the caravaning forums you will find many lively discussions on tyre life as on many vans they only travel very short distances bu the vans are sored in the sun all year. The consensus of van owners is that tyres have a life span of about 6 years. After that the rubber has lost so much flexibility that the failure rate (Nearly always a blowout) rises dramatically.

Tyre manufactures will also recommend replacing tyres after 5-6 years, worn or not, as they are also aware of the hardening issue.

One thing to remember, of course, is that the harder the rubber compound the better the wear rate but the less grip they have, especially in the wet.

Peter

[Mitishi]

In my opinion your tyre wear indicates something is wrong.
For what its worth I have run 30000km on the Geolanders that came with the car. Even wear and still roadworthy. New BFG muddies went on 15 months ago. Same even wear with more than half the tread left after a further 40000km. The car has done 200000km is used as a daily commuter and is in the bush every other weekend. Load varies from empty to full. 35mm lift and standard shocks followed by an immediate wheel alignment.

Cheers, hope you find the answer you are looking for.

[Mitishi]

Perhaps - wheel bearings? Does your friend with the same problem go to the same aligner? If you have the last wheel alignment figures, perhaps you could compare them with someone else who is not wearing so much.

Cheers , hope this helps.