Model 3 OEM Tires Bald at 19,000

[ZOMGVTEK]

Is it common for people to get massively more than 20K miles out of a set of tires? I've never got more than 6K, usually its more like 2-4. It's kinda interesting any tire manufacturer would be willing to do much about elevated tire wear since the factors that go into it are massively variable. A smidge more toe will dramatically accelerate wear, along with how the tires are used and the conditions they are used in.

I'm genuinely curious if 20K is widely considered to be unacceptably low by most people, not trying to start a fight here.

 

[Snow Drift]

Is it common for people to get massively more than 20K miles out of a set of tires? I've never got more than 6K, usually its more like 2-4. It's kinda interesting any tire manufacturer would be willing to do much about elevated tire wear since the factors that go into it are massively variable. A smidge more toe will dramatically accelerate wear, along with how the tires are used and the conditions they are used in.

I'm genuinely curious if 20K is widely considered to be unacceptably low by most people, not trying to start a fight here.

For a Tesla or other cars? I've never had to change tires prior to 30k miles on an ICE. Usually just before a lease ends (~36k miles) you change the tires bc they want newer ones for the return process.

6k is when you rotate. How could that be the end of life?

 

[VQTRVA]

Is it common for people to get massively more than 20K miles out of a set of tires? I've never got more than 6K, usually its more like 2-4. It's kinda interesting any tire manufacturer would be willing to do much about elevated tire wear since the factors that go into it are massively variable. A smidge more toe will dramatically accelerate wear, along with how the tires are used and the conditions they are used in.

I'm genuinely curious if 20K is widely considered to be unacceptably low by most people, not trying to start a fight here.

My tires usually last 40K + on ICE cars wit All Seasons & I am by no mean a meek driver either.

 

[mswlogo]

My tires usually last 40K + on ICE cars wit All Seasons & I am by no mean a meek driver either.

Ditto, that's around about what I get. I know someone with a RWD Model 3 that looks on Target for 30K miles easy.

6K miles, something is very wrong with the car or the driver

On my Xi3 Snow tires after around 5K miles the wear was practically not measurable.

 

[Thunder7ga]

I'm genuinely curious if 20K is widely considered to be unacceptably low by most people, not trying to start a fight here.

To me YES. I rolled passed 30k miles last Friday, and I checked my tread depths and they were at 4/32 across the board on each tire. Still, a smidge of life in them and will hope to make it to 40-45k (may not).

 

[ZOMGVTEK]

I didn't know those kinds of miles were common. I thought I was doing great getting ~6k miles out of snow tires in my Leaf. Most of the 'car guys' I know tend to get a few thousand miles out of tires for a street car as well. And for track use, maybe a few hundred at best.

Presumably most people here are primarily doing highway driving and not a lot of cornering sideways?

 

[Ejl80]

I didn't know those kinds of miles were common. I thought I was doing great getting ~6k miles out of snow tires in my Leaf. Most of the 'car guys' I know tend to get a few thousand miles out of tires for a street car as well. And for track use, maybe a few hundred at best.

Presumably most people here are primarily doing highway driving and not a lot of cornering sideways?

Most of the posters in this thread care more about tread life instead of performance in cornering. You aren't unusual if you buy fun tires.

 

[Hank101]

Here are some good options for new tires - LRR - Quiet/smooth riding - High Wear (>700 UTQG, Tesla stock 400 UTQG):

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...utoModel=Model 3&autoModClar=Rear-Wheel Drive

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...utoModel=Model 3&autoModClar=Rear-Wheel Drive

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...utoModel=Model 3&autoModClar=Rear-Wheel Drive

 

[GoCartz]

Having worked in the tire industry I can tell you that there are not two different production processes and formulae for the same model tire. OEM tires are same materials and construction as aftermarket. IMO, there are 2 reasons drivers of performance cars get longer life out of second set. 1) they drive first set harder because the car is new and exciting. 2) if they were unhappy with first set, they seldom get same tire again, so it is not apples to apples.

Teslas are heavy cars with very strong acceleration and sporty suspension that make them feel much lighter. The tires bear the brunt, especially if you don’t rotate and there is even the slightest alignment issue.

Thanks for this info, Tomas.

 

[lynnpt2001]

Let us know what the insurance company says running an under spec tire. Just tell them “my tire guy said...”. Or what Tesla says in the event of a problem down the line.

Just the fact the Max pressure is 44 instead of 50 is a red flag.

Nobody drives 145 mph. These metrics are used to measure a tires parameters.

Perhaps in a crash prevention situation the car puts an incredible amount of stress on tires. Yours blow out and slam in, instead of safely stopping.

With 42 psi cold, my tires easily reach 46 psi on a hot highway. What will your tires do?

A tire with a Max 44 is normally set to 36 psi. Not 42 !!!

You said the tires run great and you don’t even know how much air you have in them !!!

I wasn't going to chime in until I got this far. Several years ago a friend replaced his boat trailer tires, the garage sold him a tire that ended up not heavy enough to carry the weight, under specd. 2 weeks after the replacement tire blew on the interstate, trailer flipped over and boat and trailer totaled. No one was hurt, he had to fight the insurance for over a year just to get them to go after the tire shop. Learned a valuable lesson about tires the hard way.....it changed how I look at tires as well. Why buy the safest car then jeopardize by replacing tires with ones that don't meet the specs?

I have used these on other cars, they really do well in wet and snow, quiet, last, and they are cost effective. I hope that someone soon puts them on a 3 and post results on here.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/Tire...ipOver=true&minSpeedRating=V&minLoadRating=XL

 

[Kevy Baby]

Having worked in the tire industry I can tell you that there are not two different production processes and formulae for the same model tire. OEM tires are same materials and construction as aftermarket.

Thanks for posting this as it is very true.

 

[Venomized]

I posted earlier in this thread and still running stock tires for P3D and currently have 34k miles. I just bought the same Michelin PS4S through Costco Black Friday deal. The tires turned out ok mileage wise and could probably squeeze out another 2-4K miles out of them.

 

[GPinzone]

Anyone have an opinion of Goodyear Assurance MaxLife?

 

[tyseft163]

8/32” vs 10/32” is somewhat common thing to see, check the Tire Rack spec lists.

Actual poor overall quality factory tires aren’t as much a thing anymore, especially as you go upmarket in vehicle price, but times past & budget end of the market it’s a real thing.

If this is true, it would explain why Michelin's treadwear warranty page says OEM tires aren't covered.

 

[DionG]

I get pretty close to 40k on all my tires I’ve had so far. Will be interesting to see how the model 3’s hold up. If it’s less than 30k I’ll get a diff brand definitely.

 

[PianoAl]

I've never got more than 6K, usually its more like 2-4.

Same here. Trying figure out why.

 

[JCtx]

I'm a little confused by this thread. First of all, what's the real weight of a LR AWD M3? I read somewhere that it weighs 3,600+ lbs. That's the same weight of my wife's Kia Optima SX Limited, with the exact same tires the M3 LR AWD we tested a few days ago (Michelin Primacy MXM4 235/45/18s), and it requires 32 psi cold. Anything above that, and the tires feel like bricks. Can't imagine running them at 40+. No wonder our test car felt exactly like that. Salesman couldn't find how to check tire pressures via TPMS, but thanks to this thread I know they were in the 40s indeed. As a side comment, the tire rating is COLD, so you can theoretically air them up to that pressure, and nothing will happen when the pressure goes up several psi after rolling them at speed, especially when hot outside. Another fact is due to being the most litigious country on earth, lawyers mandate exaggerating everything IMO. Tire pressures posted nowaways are for GVWR, meaning maximum weight capacity, which is hardly ever the case with most of us.

Unless the M3 weighs north of 2 tons, those pressures are ridiculous. And somebody posting his tires wore at the middle, only confirms that. Hopefully somebody can post the real weight of an M3 LR AWD from a certified scale. If it's around 3,600 lbs, then a 94 load tire is absolutely fine indeed. Thx.

 

[Kevy Baby]

Unless the M3 weighs north of 2 tons, those pressures are ridiculous.

• Standard Range RWD: 3,552 lb (1,611 kg)
• Standard Range plus RWD: 3,627 lb (1,645 kg)
• Mid Range RWD: 3,686 lb (1,672 kg)
• Long Range RWD: 3,814 lb (1,730 kg)
• Long-Range Dual-Motor AWD (including Performance): 4,072 lb (1,847 kg)

 

[dfwatt]

So, I have been going to Tesla to service my car regularly (fixing a rattle in back that still persists, replacing a corrupt MicroSD card, fixing a loose dashboard, alignment) and they just told me on my last visit that my tires were down to 3/32.

The PSAs here are that a) Michelin treadwear warranties do not apply to OEM tires 2) Tesla will not cover the tires under the treadwear warranty 3) call Michelin directly to see if they can help 4) if you get aftermarket tires, make sure you rotate them (and get receipts) every 6,000-8,000 miles.

After a couple of calls to Michelin, getting friendly people to help, and going to a local authorized Michelin retailer, I was able to get my tires covered at 50%.

I learned that OEM tires are generally made with inferior rubber than the exact same aftermarket tires, so OEM tires generally last much shorter than rated.

I had considered the Michelin CrossClimate+ as a replacement and my tire shop warned me they would be super-loud with the tread that looks similar to the discontinued Goodyear Aquatred. I am going with Michelin Premier A/S tires as recommended by the retailer. He said it was the best balance of performance handling, noise and treadwear. He said the Primacy MXM4 were sh*t tires. Given he is not making money of the sales of the new ones and is recommending cheaper tires, I have to believe he is being honest. Neither was in stock.

I have a M3 LR DM.

Whoever told you that OEM tires are made with inferior rubber was just trolling you. The OEM Tesla spec Michelin Pilot 4S is the best Performance Tire for the car. Not the best mileage tire but the best Performance Tire for the street. Not the best track tire either but again for the street they are the best performing rubber you can buy. Not cheap however. I suspect your nineteen thousand miles of tread life comes from how much you're enjoying the instant on torque of the motors, although you also could have a mild alignment issue.

I'm pretty confident that if you take your Ferrari into the shop with the same complaint about the same Tire you'll get the same results. It's on you. I'd say you did pretty well to get 50% off on your next set.

 

[hcdavis3]

Whoever told you that OEM tires are made with inferior rubber was just trolling you. The OEM Tesla spec Michelin Pilot 4S is the best Performance Tire for the car. Not the best mileage tire but the best Performance Tire for the street. Not the best track tire either but again for the street they are the best performing rubber you can buy. Not cheap however. I suspect your nineteen thousand miles of tread life comes from how much you're enjoying the instant on torque of the motors, although you also could have a mild alignment issue.

I'm pretty confident that if you take your Ferrari into the shop with the same complaint about the same Tire you'll get the same results. It's on you. I'd say you did pretty well to get 50% off on your next set.

Thanks Doug are those tires all season?