jms_w

Dad has '03 S430 sport which has Bridgestone RE750's. The car has 17K miles on it and the rear tires are literally bald. The fronts are okay. These tires are the original set. I had always thought that the front tires would wear out first since all the weight is on the front tires when you're braking. Is this normal? btw, my dad does not track this car or do burnouts. Thanks in advance.

esntrk1

Sounds like an alignment problem. Install a new pair on the rear and have the car aligned at the dealer. Then rotate (remove the tire and swap sides) every 4-5k.

jms_w

Thanks. Not sure what swapping sides will help, though. They'll both still be in the back.

esntrk1

Where were the tires worn the most? Inner, Outter or Middle?

jms_w

They were worn perfectly even. Still, is it normal for the rears to wear out before the fronts?

esntrk1

Sweet ride!! Yea I would say that is normal for rears to wear out before the fronts if you do not rotate at all. I would still have the dealer check the alignment just to be sure. 20k is about right for high performance (ZR) summer tires. If you are looking for a bit more mileage go with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S.

jms_w

Thanks, man. The sport package really adds to the appearance of this car. Seems pretty rare on the S430 since most people would opt for an S500 w/o sport for the same price.

Saud

I had the same problem and I was wondering how could this happen for a car that only made 27,000 Km only(s 500 /2002). I had the factory installed Pirelli 18 on. Now I must change the whole 4 tires the dealer told me. I thought the problem was with the previous brand so I asked to have the Michelin sport pilot installed.
My other car(sl 500 amg/2004 ) has only 2000 Km and has a Pirelli p zero Russo tires.... I am scared of the same problem happening again .
Cheers,

jms_w

I can only guess that it's the weight of the car and the soft compound of the tires. Not sure if harder-compound tires would last that much longer. I guess it goes with the territory in that if you can afford this type of car, you can afford to maintain it. The front tires still have decent tread on them but I don't think it'll last another 5K miles. My dad will probably get the same 'ol Bridgestone's. How are the Michelin's holding up?

esntrk1

I have a new set of Pilot Sport A/S (UTG 400) on right now with less than 10k and they are looking good. Before that I had Pilot Sport XGT-Z (UTG 300) and they lasted for 24k miles. I'm expecting over 30k from the new ones.

jms_w

Not sure if tirerack.com has all the possible tire sizes available in 265/40R18 and 245/45R18 but it looks like the A/S is not available in this size. They do have a Pilot Sport but treadwear is 220. At least it's better than the 140 for the Potenza RE050's. Not sure if the RE750's are the same rating though. I'm sure you can get 30K from a 400 tire.

Kev-AMG

Hi there,
Yes it is normal for the rear tires to wear faster than the front tires, as your Dad's S430 is a rear wheel drive car. The weight transfer is actually on the rear tires under aceleration. Unless your car experiences a lot of hard cornering, the front tires are not going to wear as fast as the rears. I've seen this happen on my 740i which is also a large rear wheel drive sedan with similiar horsepower capabilities (and is not tracked, or driven hard).
You may wish to try switching to a different performance tire, like Pirelli or Dunlop. I know Michellins tend to wear faster than say Dunlops in my experience. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Kev-AMG

Saud

IMS W,
Actually I just had them installed less than 2 days ago and I really can't tell at this point how are they.
Cheers

esntrk1

I think it will be close. Going from 300 to 400 UTQG is 33% more tread life. So if the Pilot Sport XGT Z4s lasted for 24k then the A/S should last for 32k. I know it sounds like a stretch... 32k from a high performance tire? But A/S is completely different from the Z4 mainly is because of the Michelin C3M Process.