Yoko OEM tire treadwear

[johndoh]

I'm currently on my second set of rear tires and I've only put about 1k miles on it on my 2000. After inspecting my tires tonight, I noticed that it looked like I'm already down close to 50% tread left. I haven't driven my car hard at all due to the weather we've been having in Seattle, but it just seems very odd that I have this little tread left. Since this is only my second set of tires(and I really didn't pay attention to treadwear on my first set), I really can't compare the treadwear on past history or experience.

I got about 5500miles on my first set and since replacing them, I've only driven about 1k miles. Doing the math, I should have about 80% tread left. Anybody find this odd or does the treadwear slowdown at around 50% treadwear?

I also noticed that I seem to have slightly more tread on the insides of my rears than the outside. My rears are 32psi at cold. Lastly, I noticed that they(discount tire co.) swapped my rims when mounting the tire. They put the left rim on the ride side and vise versa(I don't think that should have any impact on anything).

 

[1HOT NSX]

My '99 came from the factory with double the toe out the specs call for - my front tires lasted 7,500 mi with this setting. The rear alignment was within specs and my rears lasted 9,800 mi - the right tire was down to the markers and the left still had a little tread left. I run 33 psi in front and 37 in rear. I'm on my second set of Yokos and the wear seems normal for the miles they have.
If I were in your situation, I would find someone with a late model Hunter alignment machine and check the alignment first. I would also increase the tire pressure in the rear. I hope this helps.

 

[sjs]

Never mind the wheels, but make REAL sure the tires on on correctly. They should be clearly marked for "This Side Facing Out" and direction of rotation.

 

[johndoh]

I should have checked my psi after I got my new tires put on. 32psi is probably the "standard" pressure they used and probably left all 4 tires at 32psi. I'll have to double check that when I get home tonight. Maybe that's why my treadwear has been so horrible. What is the correct pressure for F/R that I should use?

 

[David]

The uneven wear across the tire is due to the large amount of negative camber in the NSX suspension. You can extend the life of your tires by remounting them on opposite sides if they are unidirectional, but not corner specific, as I believe the Yokos are.

You have to remount them and not just swap sides because if you just trade sides, the inside is still inside and the outside is still outside. Does this make sense?

I use Pilot Sports and swap them half way through the tread wear. I got 14K miles out of my last pair of rear tires.

 

[sjs]

Originally posted by johndoh:
...I also noticed that I seem to have slightly more tread on the insides of my rears than the outside.

If this is accurate, it is NOT a negative camber problem, which is why I suggested checking that they are properly installed, particularly if total wear is excessive. The OEM Yokos are corner specific, do NOT swap sides. They have built in scrub, and mounting them wrong can result in a variety of serious problems, some dangerous. It could also be that the camber is positive, but very, very unlikely. 32 psi cold is probably a bit low, but not to the point of such extreme wear and certainly not wearing faster on the outside.

 

[David]

Oops, my bad. I read it as more wear on the inside edge, not more tread. Sorry.

 

[DShaw]

I am in the same situation, I need to change the rear tires on my 2000. Only 5,000 miles. The fronts are fine.
Do you know of any other tires I can put on that will last longer?

Thanks

 

[SJJ28]

Originally posted by David:
You can extend the life of your tires by remounting them on opposite sides if they are unidirectional, but not corner specific, as I believe the Yokos are.

NO NO! If you have the OE yoko AO22's, they are corner specific, and CANNOT be used in any other position that what they are called for. There is a specific tire for each corner of the car!
Bump up you pressures, and have your alignment checked!

Steve

 

[nsxtasy]

Do you know of any other tires I can put on that will last longer?

Yes, but your car won't handle as well as it does with the OEM corner-specific tires. And you didn't buy an $80K car only so that you could compromise its performance to save a few hundred bucks on tires, did you?

 

[akira3d]

I am in the same situation, I need to change the rear tires on my 2000. Only 5,000 miles.

Wow...and I thought I was doing something wrong when I only got 6,500 miles on my first set of rears (Bridgestone OEM). But apparently this is the norm. My fronts are on pace to get roughly twice what I got on the rears.

As for johndoh, I'm guessing the problem is more to do with tire pressure. I was bad about checking tire pressure during the first six months I owned the car and allowed my tires to run a little low in the rears (at the lowest I was down to the low 30's in the rear, high 20's in front). The tires were wearing a bit faster on the inside.

I'm now checking my tires with every fill-up and maintaining the factory recommended 33 up front and 40 in the rear.

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--akira3D ('00 NSX-T red/black #113)
"Reality is better than the dream..."

akira3d.com/nsx

 

[DShaw]

I agree, just looking to see if I could get some more wear from some different tires.
Stock market kick my ass.

 

[dswartz]

Check your alignment. Positive Camber or too much toe in can cause excessive wear on the outside of the tire.

 

[1HOT NSX]

I second dswartz and I agree that your problem is probably due to a combination of too much toe-in and low pressure. Start with a good alignment before you switch to a different tire. I took almost all the toe out in front (less than 1mm toe out now) and I left 2 mm toe-in in the rear - everything else the same. My tires seem to be wearing better now.

 

[BobsYT]

Originally posted by 1HOT NSX:
I took almost all the toe out in front (less than 1mm toe out now) and I left 2 mm toe-in in the rear - everything else the same. My tires seem to be wearing better now.

The car is set up from the factory with toe-out in front and toe-in in rear. Yes, it causes 'excssive' tire wear but by changing from the factory specs you change the handling characteristics of the car. If tire wear and not performance is what you want, by all means change the alignment and put a lower performing tire on. Tires as a consummable is part of the cost of ownership of an exotic, or any performance, automobile IMO.

I went through the first set of OEM Yoko's in about 7k miles - caution, check the INSIDE of the front tires, turn the wheel to lock to check. The toe-out causes the inside, not the outside to wear. I'm now using Toyo Proxes T1S, almost as good dry, better wet, and a little longer life. Killer looks IMO also.

Much more info in the FAQ's under tires, alignment, etc

Good luck whichever way you choose


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BobsYT
2000 Red/Black #81