After only 10,000 miles of ordinary driving, the rear tires on my 2004 X-fire are almost ready to be replaced. The front tires are wearing much better and still have another 10,000 to go I would estimate.

A couple of questions: first, has anyone else experienced what seems to be premature treadwear on the rear tires? Second, I am thinking of only replacing the rear tires (with Pilot Sports) and leaving the fronts on until it's time for their replacement. Is this advisable under normal driving conditions? I live in Texas so driving in snow is not a factor. Opinions are appreciated; thanks.

 

this is the main reason i went with the optional "Continental ContiTouringContact CW95"...all season tires...great longevity but not a great performer.

the michelin pilot tires in the rear (new) are 1/2 the tread depth of the new front 18" pilot tires. this always bothered me when i was looking to purchase a crossfire.

i would recommend the "Continental ContiSportContact 2" tire currently available on the crossfire. great performance and equal tread front & rear a time of purchase. (these will be my replacements!) much better pricing for near equal performance imo.


see "tire rack" link below:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....h=true&index=2

Continental ContiSportContact 2
(Max Performance Summer)

Front: 225/40WR18
Serv. Desc: 92W
Price: $184 Clearance
Estimated Availability: In Stock


Rear: 255/35WR19
Serv. Desc: 92W
Price: $139 Special
Estimated Availability: In Stock






_______________________________________________

ALL SEASON conti's (for other's that may have an interest for replacement of oem tires) great pricing!

Continental ContiTouringContact CW95
(Grand Touring All-Season)

Front: 225/40WR18
Serv. Desc: 88W
Price: $139 Clearance
Estimated Availability: In Stock

Rear: 255/35WR19
Serv. Desc: 92W
Price: $132 Special
Estimated Availability: In Stock

 

This very interesting as I didn't notice a treadwear number difference between the fronts and rears, I thought they were both 220. While I was at Discount Tire I had my buddy Ken look up tires for the Crossfire and as of right now, I could get a set of Hankooks for about $950 OTD or a set of BFG KDW2's for about $1100 and change, but like I said, that was as of right now and I say this because he told me the price is going to drop as time goes by, we shall see about that. I guess when it comes time to change out my tires I too will go with longer life rather than perf because by that time I will have already hit the Dragon with the car to see what its about it and will not need as much perf. Who knows, maybe I'll keep the car when the lease is up and stick with perf tires, probably BFG KWD2's, those are sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet tires!

 

the treadwear rating is probably the same...however, the original tread depth is different between front & rear tires.

hope this makes sense.

 

I am having no problem with tread wear with the Michelin Pilot 2's. With 20k miles on them, I still have 7/32 tread remaining, which is more than half. I would expect another 10k out of them easy and 30k on a performance tire is pretty good in my book. As for replacement tires, some people have installed the Goodyear F1 Eagles for under $1k and have given them a good review.

 

Depends on what you call 'ordinary'
I met a xf-driver who's doing a lot of mountain cruising (a lot of curves, accelerations etc.) After about 12k miles the tires still are more than ok.

Usually it's no problem as long as they are the same on the same axle. The only disadvantage is the look ...

Like andrew wrote, Continental is always a good choice! Good performance for real good price.

 

Thanks for the responses; Andrew, I purchased a set of those Conti's from Tire Rack today and the dealership will install them for $20 per tire.

It came down to replacing the 2 rear tires with Pilot Sports for about $615 and leaving the 2 front tires, or buying 4 new Conti's for just a little bit more. The Conti's are W rated, not a big deal for the type of driving I do.

I am still disappointed to only get 10,000 miles on the rear Pilot Sports, especially when I read about people getting twice that mileage.

 

i thought the ps2 front tires were 10/32" tread depth and the rears were 9/32"?

 

20,000 plus on my Pilots and they still look brand new. Of course all my driving is mostly highway. That does make a difference.

 

head to the dealer and take a gander at a new crossfire...big difference in person.

the depth you posted above is no way correct imo.

 

I too do alot freeway driving (11.5 miles one way to work) and one thing you might wanna try is checking the psi about once a week, I mean it doesn't hurt, right. Also, what about running a bit more air as I've heard that helps as well. When it comes down to replacing tires I'm going to see how much I get out of my Pilots and if they last about 20-25K, I'm going with BFG KDW2's as those tires kick as* and have a 300/AA/A rating and look bad as* to boot, for what that's worth.

 

There is something not right with having to replace the back tires with only 10k. There is a guy named Wes (on another xf forum) who auto crosses and got more than 15k on his rears. If it was me I would get chrysler to check alignment (ft to rear, side to side, toe in toe out, everything) as long as I was sure it wasn't driving style. I.E. alot of power break burn outs.

 

My 15k tires would have lasted up to 20k or more but since I have a bubble in my passenger front and rear tires I don't have any choice but to replace all 4's. Be careful with potholes 'cause no matter how slow you go Michelin will give you the bubbles!

 

Should they not be Z rated?


Norrie.

 

Z is an older speed rating. It indicates that the tire is capable of speeds in excess of 149 mph, but doesn't say how much over 149 mph they can go. When Z rated tires were popular, there wasn't much of a need for tires that would go over 149 mph. Newer tires typically use V, W, or Y, which have the following top speeds:
V 149 mph
W 168 mph
Y 186 mph
There are also tires that have the (Y) is parenthesis, which indicates that the tire is capable of speeds over 186 mph, but don't state how much over.

 

you don't trust the michelin man?

http://www.michelinman.com/assets/pd...otsportps2.pdf

9.5/32" on the rear and 10/32" on the front. note how the right column lists only two tires as OE for DC - the front and rear tires for the crossfire. i think the reason the tread depths may look different is because the grooves on the rear appear shallower because the tire is wider. but rest assured there's almost as much tread depth on the rear ps2s as on the fronts on our crossfires. i have at least 7/32" left on all my ps2s after 9K miles. they should last around 25-30K. great summer tire though overpriced a bit. not a good choice for a leased vehicle due to treadwear.

 

Okay, here is the scoop on my car which has been driven 75% highway @ 65-80 MPH and 25% street. Both my front and rear PS2's have 7/32" tread remaining with 20,160 miles on the odometer. They have never been rotated and are wearing even with no cupping. I have kept the tire pressure at the factory specs of 32 psi front and 33 psi rear. As mentioned above, the front start life with 10/32" and the rear at 9.5/32". With my current wear rate I expect to get at least 35,000, maybe 40,000 from them. IMO not bad at all for a performance tire.

As for replacement cost using Tire Rack prices:

Goodyear Eagle F-1 GS-D3 = $986.00
Front: $188.00 each
Rear: $305.00 each

Michelin Pilot Sport 2 = $1,026.00
Front: $206.00 each
Rear: $307.00 each

 

NOPE...i trust my eyes at the dealer.



go take a look at a new one...you'll see about 1/2 the tread front to rear. and take a penny for the depth test!

 

I hope they've never been rotated, LOL!

 

Check your owners manual... they recommend the tires be rotated sided to side, but then you knew that right?