Tire Life

[Bigkart]

I'm assuming that most FFH drivers have an easy-to-moderate driving style, and am curious what kind of tire life one can expect with 15-20k rotation schedule and 35-40psi. Anyone worn out a set yet?

 

Bob

[rfruth]

Not to hijack this thread but I run between 32 - 38 psi, wonder if there will be excessive wear at the center of the tread, anyone know ? (not sure about my rotation 'schedule' yet)

[DJE]

I always run what the door jam says. It should give me the best combination of handling, mileage and tire life. (Sometimes I run an extra pound in the fronts to compensate for the weight of the engine.)

[Oman]

I like to enjoy driving when I have to drive. I drive my Fusion pretty hard. I can get better mileage but when you work out the numbers the difference between 35 and 38 just isn't worth the loss of enjoyment for me. I especially like the look on peoples faces when I merge onto the highway... if they noticed the hybrid badges they expect me to merge like an underpowered scooter. I believe that when you merge you should be GOING THE SPEED OF THE TRAFFIC ON THE HWY. Not many other people seem to think that.

 

I'll likely be taking the edges off my front tires before the centers.

 

Jon

 

 

I always run what the door jam says. It should give me the best combination of handling, mileage and tire life. (Sometimes I run an extra pound in the fronts to compensate for the weight of the engine.)

[bbf2530]

I'm assuming that most FFH drivers have an easy-to-moderate driving style, and am curious what kind of tire life one can expect with 15-20k rotation schedule and 35-40psi. Anyone worn out a set yet?

 

Bob

 

Hi Bob. :D Just an FYI concerning the tire rotation schedule (if you care): If you check your Owners Manual or Scheduled Maintenance Guide, you will see that the Ford recommended tire rotation schedule for the Fusion Hybrid is every 5,000 miles.

 

If you rotate every 15-20k, you will most certainly shorten your tires effective lifespan and adversely affect your cars handling with those unevenly worn tires.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

Edited March 9, 2010 by bbf2530

[DJE]

I'll be sure to rotate tomorrow when I swap out the wheels. It's only been a thou or two. Then I'll have a fresh start on my rotation schedule.

[sullied]

Anyone have opinions of filling tires with nitrogen? I know there's benefits, but it costs more. Anyone have it done that can tell me if it's worth it?

[lolder]

I think tire rotation is like religion. If you don't believe in it at all, you'll replace the two front ones every 20,000 miles and the back ones probably never. If you rotate, you'll replace all 4 every 40,000 miles. The maintenance schedule is every 5,000 for the first 2 and then every 10,000. I'll be following the book. This car is so smooth that round tires are essential.

[akirby]

I think tire rotation is like religion. If you don't believe in it at all, you'll replace the two front ones every 20,000 miles and the back ones probably never. If you rotate, you'll replace all 4 every 40,000 miles. The maintenance schedule is every 5,000 for the first 2 and then every 10,000. I'll be following the book. This car is so smooth that round tires are essential.

 

It does seem to be optional nowadays - unless you have an alignment problem that causes uneven wear, then rotating might even out the wear across the tire and allow it to last longer. Although in that case you should get the alignment fixed.

 

Certainly not a bad idea - especially if you like to replace all 4 at the same time.

[akirby]

Anyone have opinions of filling tires with nitrogen? I know there's benefits, but it costs more. Anyone have it done that can tell me if it's worth it?

 

I've been using a 78% Nitrogen blend in my tires for as long as I can remember. Works fine! :hysterical:

 

Seriously though - pure nitrogen holds less water so over a long time you'll get less corrosion inside the wheel. Theoretically it doesn't leak out as easily but I think the jury is still out on that one. It doesn't expand as much when heated but for a street car that's no big deal.

 

The downside, other than cost, is that you can't air up the tires at home or at a service station - you have to go back to the tire place to get nitrogen. If they're doing regular rotations for you then that's easy. Otherwise you'll just end up putting air in it down the road or making a special trip.

[Oman]

Tire rotation has more to do with safety than tire life these days. Front wheel drive cars wear the front tires much faster than RWD because of the turning forces plus the traction forces. Having more traction on the rear is actually much more dangerous than lower overall traction. Proper rotation (both sequence and timing) are designed to prevent this problem. An added benefit is that you should/might get longer life.

 

Jon

 

 

It does seem to be optional nowadays - unless you have an alignment problem that causes uneven wear, then rotating might even out the wear across the tire and allow it to last longer. Although in that case you should get the alignment fixed.

 

Certainly not a bad idea - especially if you like to replace all 4 at the same time.

[Bigkart]

OK, back to the original question... it seems that nobody (who reads the forum) has replaced a set yet because nobody has come close to answering what I asked. I do notice that the edges of the front tires are a lot more square than I'm used to on other cars I've owned. I attribute that to geometry/alignment.

 

As for nitrogen, I just get mine out of the bottle in my race trailer. I expect that there's a pretty high concentration of (relatively dry) air in there from the factory. With a race tire, we typically pressurize and bleed the tire a couple of times with the valve at the top (nitrogen is heavier than "air") to purge it. It is much more stable at all temps, is better on the rubber (like a racer cares about THAT!) and is dry (which contributes a lot to pressure stability). It also doesn't "disappear" over time which, I'm told, is due to larger molecules. For most, checking air with a good gauge each month is probably enough.

 

Maybe I just need to measure tread depth and make an estimate about pressure, rotation, wear and tire life.

 

Bob

[Waldo]

OK, back to the original question... it seems that nobody (who reads the forum) has replaced a set yet because nobody has come close to answering what I asked. I do notice that the edges of the front tires are a lot more square than I'm used to on other cars I've owned. I attribute that to geometry/alignment.

 

Hybrids have only been available for about 12 months, so it would take a heck of a lot of driving to wear out a set of tires in 12 months.

 

You should expand your question to ask Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ owners about tire life, since they are the same tire.

[EntropyAvatar]

You should expand your question to ask Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ owners about tire life, since they are the same tire.

 

Really? I thought the tires on the FFH were 'low rolling resistance' versions.

[Oman]

As far as I know all the FFHs have shipped with LRR tires.

 

Jon

 

 

Really? I thought the tires on the FFH were 'low rolling resistance' versions.

[Waldo]

As far as I know all the FFHs have shipped with LRR tires.

 

Jon

 

Low compared to what? The Lincoln tires are pretty low rolling resistance.

[Oman]

It would be nice to get the actual numbers but the tires on the FFH meet the "Fuel Saver Low Rolling Resistance" requirements for that manufacturer, and the ones I could find spec'ed on the Lincoln don't. How much difference that is - I can't tell. Just about all of the tires sold today are lower rolling resistance than the tires sold even 5 years ago.

 

I wonder why they chose the wheels they did on the FFH. They could have gone lighter and an inch smaller - getting even less RR and saving maybe 50 pounds.

 

Jon

 

 

Low compared to what? The Lincoln tires are pretty low rolling resistance.

[Waldo]

It would be nice to get the actual numbers but the tires on the FFH meet the "Fuel Saver Low Rolling Resistance" requirements for that manufacturer, and the ones I could find spec'ed on the Lincoln don't. How much difference that is - I can't tell. Just about all of the tires sold today are lower rolling resistance than the tires sold even 5 years ago.

 

 

The FFHs all have the Michelin Energy MXV4 S8 - DOT code B90ANNHX. That's the same tire that's been on the MKZ/Zephyr since 2006.

[Fuze-ion]

I'm sure the wheels could have been made lighter, except most people buying these Hybrids are young or highly Tech people. These folks would want the larger diameter size. I think Ford took the happy medium with the Aluminum and 17-inch.

[tonifan]

I was watching a program which had Pat Goss from "Motorweek" offering various car-care tips and advice.

 

He explained that, when tires are rotated on a Front Wheel drive vehicle, the rotation should follow the "modified X" format; that is, rather than being rotated as with a rear-wheel drive car with all tires being rotated to diagonally opposing wheels, that instead, the left front tire should go directly back to the left rear wheel, the right front tire should go directly back to the right rear wheel, the right rear tire should go to the left front wheel, and the left rear tire should go to the right front wheel. Thus, the "modified X" format. Ask your service department if they are aware of the "modified X" format. I'm curious to see what they say. I'm going in for my 10,000 service this weekend, which includes a tire rotation, and I'm going to ask them if they perform the wheel rotation using this method.

Edited March 18, 2010 by tonifan

[bbf2530]

Hi guys (and gals). :D Just to add to the correct information tonifan provided above, regarding tire rotations (I also enjoy Motorweek): Like most things concerning our cars, the correct tire rotation format is contained in our Owners Manuals.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

Edited March 18, 2010 by bbf2530

[rpreuss]

I was watching a program which had Pat Goss from "Motorweek" offering various car-care tips and advice.

 

He explained that, when tires are rotated on a Front Wheel drive vehicle, the rotation should follow the "modified X" format; that is, rather than being rotated as with a rear-wheel drive car with all tires being rotated to diagonally opposing wheels, that instead, the left front tire should go directly back to the left rear wheel, the right front tire should go directly back to the right rear wheel, the right rear tire should go to the left front wheel, and the left rear tire should go to the right front wheel. Thus, the "modified X" format. Ask your service department if they are aware of the "modified X" format. I'm curious to see what they say. I'm going in for my 10,000 service this weekend, which includes a tire rotation, and I'm going to ask them if they perform the wheel rotation using this method.

 

What you describe as the "modified X" format is EXACTLY what is diagrammed in my FFH Owner's Manual. :beerchug:

[bbf2530]

Just to add another bit of information to tonifan's excellent advice: If a vehicle (even FWD) has "directional tread" type tires mounted on it, then the correct rotation format will vary. It will no longer include any type of X pattern (no swapping of sides). Direct front to back/back to front. Good to know/remember when the time to buy or rotate new tires comes around.

 

So as tonifan correctly stated (via Pat Goss) and I previously agreed, the correct rotation format for our cars as equipped with factory tires (non-directional) is the "modifed X". And a convenient place to find that information for verification is the Owners Manual.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

Edited March 18, 2010 by bbf2530