[jeremicium]

So I took a look at my tires this morning. After 14,000 miles they are definitely wearing on the inside rear. I understand this is somewhat normal. They are the oem Bridgestone RE050 RFTs. So, for the experts...how long do you think these have left? I need to know how soon til I need to drop $1,000-$1,500.

I do plan to go with non rfts next. I'm open to suggestion. Handling is my number one priority...though i'm not made of money so I'm willing to give a litte for a very good, but cheaper tire. tread life is also a consideration, as well as maybe a directional tire that I can rotate to even out the rear tire wear. Thanks for your help peoples.

[cb1111]

Dead

[Alexander]

IS it just me or do the outside edges have more tread wear?

[Alexander]

Go with Falken 452s. Cheaper and great rubber.

[SilverII]

you can try swapping sides and try for another 6K miles

[Alexander]

Originally Posted by SilverII

you can try swapping sides and try for another 6K miles

[cb1111]

Originally Posted by Aonarch

IS it just me or do the outside edges have more tread wear?

The inside is worn and damaged and the rib just outside of center is worn as well.

The water dissipation of this tire is badly compromised in addition to having odd damage on the inside edge.

[Jonny550]

check out tireseasy.com

[jeremicium]

Originally Posted by SilverII

you can try swapping sides and try for another 6K miles

My understanding is that the Potenza is an assymetric tire and cannot be switched from side to side. If you look at the pictures the inside of the tire is different than the outside.

Originally Posted by cb1111

The inside is worn and damaged and the rib just outside of center is worn as well.

The water dissipation of this tire is badly compromised in addition to having odd damage on the inside edge.

Thanks cb....informative. what sucks is that the outside edge and the tread depth at the middle of the tire are great.

[noro]

The tire itself in the middle is about 50% into its life, the inner edge though looks absolutely abnormal, something like too much toe out. It doesn't seem like a camber problem because with camber the wear would have been more gradual and spread across a larger part of the inner side of the tire.

So to that effect the tire is shot but because of the abnormal inner shoulder.

[cb1111]

How much is your safety worth?

That tire is no longer safe and swapping it to another spot won't make it safer.

[HTran]

looks like camber wear. You can flip the tires and use the other sides. How low are you?

[jopa489]

Originally Posted by VolcomFrenzy

looks like camber wear. You can flip the tires and use the other sides. How low are you?

RE050A's are asymmetric, I wouldn't recommend doing that.

[tntsE90]

Judging from the tire wear, you may also need a alignment when you replace those tires.

If you go with non-rft tires, should look into the Sumitomo HTZ III, great price and excellent tires. Rank #1 in a test among 3 other top brand tires from major tire makers on tirerack.com

[jeremicium]

So if the tire wear is due to an alignment issue...toe, camber, whatever. Do you suppose that with only 14k miles and no modifications or damage to the car...I can expect the dealership to replace the tires due to it being delivered to me with bad toe/camber...etc.

I know its not likely.

[VTECaddict]

No. 14k miles is a lot any any number of things could have happened within that time to throw off the alignment (potholes, etc). 1400 miles you might have a case, but at 14k you're looking at paying for new tires yourself.

And like jopa said, RE050A's have an inside and outside, so you can't flip them.

[jeremicium]

I figured as much...just questioning out of desperation. What have you guys that have ordered online been paying a 3rd party for install?

Right now my 4 contenders priced through discount tire are :
Pilotsport2 $1400
Potenze re 050 rft $1650
continental extreme contact dws $1000
falken 452 $900

these prices include installation and fees.


Leaning towards the continental. Seem to have good reviews, they aren't rfts, and at $1000 without doing hours of research they seem to be a bargain. Thanks for the help guys.

My goddamn Bridgestone Dueler at revos on my 4runner have 60,000 miles and are just now dying. And i've driven cross country, gone on several jeep trails and abused the shit out of them. Stupid sportscars.

[dreamingat30fps]

$900 for Falken 452s seems high. Most places will charge $15-$20 per corner to mount and balance.

[VTECaddict]

The DWS is an all-season tire. Go with the DW, which is a summer tire (all the other ones you listed are summer tires too).

But yeah, get an alignment first and try to find out where the problem is. Otherwise you would just chew through your new tires as well. Is both sides like that or just the left side?

[dreamingat30fps]

They recommend putting on the new tires before getting the alignment. I was having the same wear pattern as you and went with the Falkens and an alignment right after.

[HTran]

Originally Posted by jopa489

RE050A's are asymmetric, I wouldn't recommend doing that.

whoops, didnt notice the different treads just saw the camber wear.

[Craigito]

I replaced my OE RFT's with the Eagle F1 and they have been awesome. 30k miles on them..but I do mostly easy freeway miles. Don't wait too long to get them replaced!