premature premature tyre wear

[AndyF987]

I religiously inflate my tyres on my IS220d to Lexus specs, 38psi rear and 35psi fronts on R17s. I have now had both a set of Avons and now Goodyears both wear out (very quickly) in the centre of the tyre, i.e. from over-inflation. My issue is that I do not over inflate I follow Lexus recommendation to the letter. The front tyres wear perfectly evenly at 35psi, same brand etc as rears. Once after a service at Lexus, even the tech only inflated the rears to about 35 from memory and I just thought they had got it wrong.. It seems to me that the recommended pressure for rears is simply not right. comments?

[steveledzep]

My IS250C is 35psi front and 38psi rear, just like yours.

Only had the vehicle for 5 months and I check the pressures every Sunday too 

I don't have any sign of excessive wear to the centre tread of the rears.  All four tyres are wearing evenly.

How accurate is your pressure gauge ?

[AndyF987]

Whilst I was running the Avons, I used to go to a variety of garage service stations and use their air/gauge. I now have my own compressor and a £40 digital gauge which I believe is exceptionally accurate and have checked weekly on my Goodyear Eagle Asymmetric F1 tyres. I upgraded as I thought the Avons were not up to standard after the centre of the tyre wore so quickly. I've dropped the rear pressure down to 35 and hopefully that will do the trick but it's very odd. 

[steveledzep]

I agree, I'd do the same if I was experiencing excessive wear.

[AndyF987]

Thanks, i'll see if this does the trick. its an expensive experiment. Actually, which tyres are you running?

[J Henderson]

It could be that your wheel alignment is out.

My previous car (an IS200) used to chew through a set of rear tyres within 5K miles before I realised what the problem was - excessive toe out, or was it in? I can't remember which it was exactly tbh, but it was so far out of spec that the tyres were basically being scrubbed sideways as they were rotating.

A 4 wheel alignment cured the problem in the end. But because the tyres were wearing out evenly and the car drove straight with no pulling to the side etc, it never occurred to me that anything might be wrong.

[steveledzep]

9 hours ago, AndyF987 said:

 which tyres are you running?

Nothing special on mine Andy.  Falkens on the rear and new Nexens that the dealer fitted to the front when I bought the vehicle.  I know they're budget brands, but are more than adequate for my driving style.  I like to make good progress, but don't tear-arse !!  Your post caught my eye, because irrespective of brand, I always look after my tyres.

I'll consider replacements when they wear out, I've always used Bridgestone in the past.

I think John makes a very good point, worth checking out I'd say.

[AndyF987]

Thank you for your input both, very much appreciated. Steve, you have touched on my next dilemma, like you I drive assertively but not like I'm in a sports car, so the question is, am I really better off spending £100+ on each tyre (especially the rears) or would a £50-£70 tyre give me comparable wear, fuel economy and stopping in the wet (keeping in mind that i'm a pretty safe driver anyhow). 

I do my own servicing and havent had alignment checked in a very long time so in any event thats probably worth doing..good point! Do either of you know of a good independent Lexus/Toyota mechanic or am I best off just going to Lexus?

[PCM]

"Do either of you know of a good independent Lexus/Toyota mechanic or am I best off just going to Lexus?"

I guess it depends where you're located?

[AndyF987]

West Midlands but also travel to london 

[rayaans]

Ultimately if you're not pushing the car you're not going to noticeably benefit from any extra grip. Therefore get a mid range tyre that does everything well rather than something like Goodyear Eagles which are great on wet and dry roads but are seriously bad in cold winter weather. Go for Uniroyals or Hankook, however,  having said that if you find not much price difference, go for the best tyres you can get as they can help out in emergency braking

[AndyF987]

Thanks for your comments, think I'll try the Hankooks next. It seems that 35 psi on the rears instead of 38 prevents uneven wear. That just so happens to be the pressure the Lexus dealer pumped them to but at the time I thought they had made a mistake.

[rayaans]

On 05/04/2016 at 8:06 AM, AndyF987 said:

Thanks for your comments, think I'll try the Hankooks next. It seems that 35 psi on the rears instead of 38 prevents uneven wear. That just so happens to be the pressure the Lexus dealer pumped them to but at the time I thought they had made a mistake.

Id assume the pressures are for a completely filled car with 5 passengers and luggage. In that case the 38psi would be correct and not cause middle tyre wear due to more weight placed over the rear axle and therefore more tyre contact with the road.

If you're the only person in the car most of the time then 35psi should be fine and cause no issues.