Odd tire wear on M3 Performance

[khaliq]

Hey what’s up! Hope everyone seeing this has been doing well.

I thought I’d ask some of you experts here, but I have a 2018 Model 3 Performance.
I got the tires replaced last year with original Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (all 4 replaced at the same time).

On year and 7k miles later my tread wear looks like this
Driver Front: 6/32
Passenger Front: 6/32
Driver Rear: 3/32
Passenger Rear: 2/32


On AWD cars, from what I know, uneven wear is usually concerning if it’s more than 2/32 apart.
Do you think my tread wear is normal?

I ended up getting Michelin to warranty out the old ones and give me a credit towards purchasing a new set, but I want to see if there’s any issues I need to address.

Just as a note I had my front suspension entirely replaced halfway through the year through Tesla. Warranty defect caused some insane noise while driving.

 

[JulienW]

Keep in mind the 3 is primarily a rear wheel drive. Unless you are giving it the beans or traction is needed the front motor is free spinning. This is a big advantage of using an Induction motor over a Permanent magnet motor.

 

[Big Earl]

Get an alignment. Likely too much total toe, which is a common issue. Regular rotations are important, as well.

 

[sandohno7]

most AWD cars rear biased, especially performance oriented cars. with that said, I am still very surprised to see that you wore out the tires with only 7k miles. have you been driving the car hard?

 

[BetterSlowDown]

That's pretty much what I'd expect. Rears will wear out first since the car delivers more torque and bias to the rear, and the reason the right rear tire is worn more than the left rear tire is because right turns are usually much tighter and it's also more likely a person will go WOT coming out of a right turn (exiting the intersection) versus going left (entering the intersection).

 

[polyphonic54]

That's some insane wear for 7k miles. Alignment for sure. 2/32 is the legal limit, and even 3/32 is too close for comfort IMHO.

 

[TexanEV]

My factory tires didn’t make it past 15k. Anyone else have that issue? AWD

 

[Feathermerchan]

Texan EV - assuming you have a Model 3 Perf, the tires are summer UHP so they won't last long. 15K is not too bad. If you keep them at the recommended pressure it won't help either. It'd recommend 46 psi and switching to MXM4 tires if available in your size. I have 18" wheels and MXM4 tires. They don't spin on acceleration.

 

[rincewind]

My factory tires didn’t make it past 15k. Anyone else have that issue? AWD

Yep, M3P, just replaced the rears at 14K miles. Fronts have about 5K left though.

 

[Mrcarcrazy]

I’m at 27k on my m3P Oem tires. Looking like 30k is not out of the realm of possibility.

 

[Big Earl]

My factory tires didn’t make it past 15k. Anyone else have that issue? AWD

My first set lasted 25k. Bad alignment.

Second set lasted 25k. Another bad alignment.

Third set lasted 35k+. I changed them early as I was embarking on a 13,000 mile road trip four months ago. Correct alignment.

Fourth set is getting rotated as we speak. We’ll see how the wear is after 14,000 miles without a rotation.

A proper alignment is critical. Make sure you check the alignment sheet from your shop and have them improve it if you aren’t satisfied with the results. As I mentioned, total toe is probably the most important metric; less is better.

Edit: after 14k, fronts are 8/32 and rears are 7/32. Finally some decent tire life. I’ll take it!

 

[JPP]

I have an early build P3D+ from September 2018. Stock 21" wheels and Michelin PS4S. I just had to replace the set at 16,000 miles as 1 tire got a sidewall puncture. New, the tires have 9/32 tread depth. I was at between 4/32 and 5/32 all around (I do check tire pressures regularly and rotate every 6000 miles). I would have been good to like 25,000+ miles. Not bad for sticky summer tires and a high performance heavy all wheel drive.

And FWIW when I picked up the car in Fremont, I went to my local America's Tire (also known elsewhere as Discount Tire) and bought the 4 tire certificates (warranty) for like $240 total. Yes, even if they don't sell you the tires, they will warrant them. With the certificate, I got 1 new tire for free, and they prorated the other 3. So out the door with 4 new tires mounted and balanced (and 4 new certificates), I saved about $800. I'm OK with that.

 

[Sam1]

That sounds about right when you don't rotate your tires. The driver's side rear gets a lot of torque - remember this car has an open differential so one tire is almost always going to be spinning more than another. And, the rear sees power more often than the front.

 

[Gasaraki]

Hey what’s up! Hope everyone seeing this has been doing well.

I thought I’d ask some of you experts here, but I have a 2018 Model 3 Performance.
I got the tires replaced last year with original Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (all 4 replaced at the same time).

On year and 7k miles later my tread wear looks like this
Driver Front: 6/32
Passenger Front: 6/32
Driver Rear: 3/32
Passenger Rear: 2/32


On AWD cars, from what I know, uneven wear is usually concerning if it’s more than 2/32 apart.
Do you think my tread wear is normal?

I ended up getting Michelin to warranty out the old ones and give me a credit towards purchasing a new set, but I want to see if there’s any issues I need to address.

Just as a note I had my front suspension entirely replaced halfway through the year through Tesla. Warranty defect caused some insane noise while driving.

Looks normal to me. Looks like you like "spirited driving".

 

[Gasaraki]

My factory tires didn’t make it past 15k. Anyone else have that issue? AWD

Yes.

 

[al503]

Not 100% sure but isn't regen captured through the rear wheels? This will accelerate the wear on the rears as well.

I rotate regularly and have about 22K miles on my PS4S (on aftermarket 19's, not the 20') and have about 4-5mm all around. I drive like an AARP member most of the time, though.

 

[Sam1]

Not 100% sure but isn't regen captured through the rear wheels? This will accelerate the wear on the rears as well.

I rotate regularly and have about 22K miles on my PS4S (on aftermarket 19's, not the 20') and have about 4-5mm all around. I drive like an AARP member most of the time, though.

it's recovered by both motors.

 

[Big Earl]

it's recovered by both motors.

Yes, but heavily biased toward the rear in 3 & Y. Track mode will add more front bias for weight transfer into corners.