2014 RT front tires wearing unevenly at 12k miles - what's going on?

[canamjhb]

Hi Ann. I found them at Superbuytires.com. Holding my breath to see if they are shipped or out of stock like everyone else. (Very nice meeting you and Joe at RR)

Dad-gum-it.... I spoke to the good people at Superbuytires today and these are indeed out of stock. They do have the Federal EVO tires but not the Formozas. The nice lady I spoke with said these tires sell out fast because they are on the lower end of price. Their "season" is from January through April when they get containers full of tires. When they are sold out, we just have to wait for the next season.

 

[SteveandBelinda]

I just turned 20,000 miles on my 2014 RTL with the original front tires, and still look great.

 

[Peter Aawen]

:bowdown: :roflblack: :roflblack: :roflblack: :roflblack: :roflblack: ..... I've been using CAR tires since 09 and was never sorry about the Switch ..... Mike :thumbup:

I haven't been running them on my Spyder quite as long here, (largely cos I didn't buy my RT til late 2013!:2thumbs: ) but like sooo many others, I haven't looked back since changing over to car tires.... :yes:

Funnily enough, I don't think too many people do look back after making the change, (especially those who thought the Kendas were OK - until they discovered otherwise once they made the change! :lecturef_smilie and of the few that made the change but then may have felt they could've done the wrong thing by doing so, most of them were still running the same pressures as those needed by the Kendas, which is waaaay too high for a tire capable of safely & reliably carrying a full sized car at those pressures!! :shocked: :dontknow:

 

[UtahPete]

Dad-gum-it.... I spoke to the good people at Superbuytires today and these are indeed out of stock. They do have the Federal EVO tires but not the Formozas. The nice lady I spoke with said these tires sell out fast because they are on the lower end of price. Their "season" is from January through April when they get containers full of tires. When they are sold out, we just have to wait for the next season.

Did you ask about the FD2 version of the Formoza?

 

[UtahPete]

My OEM Kenda's lasted 23,000 miles. I though that wasn't bad, I could live with that. Then I had my '14 RT-S laser aligned.
The second set lasted less than 6000. I thought they screwed up the alignment and took it back. Chuck

Makes it sound like the laser alignment shortened the life of your tires. You don't mean that do you? What else do you attribute the relatively short life of the second set of Kendas to, compared with the first set?

 

[Peter Aawen]

I did answer your original post Pete, post 3 in this thread! :dontknow:Then in my post that you quoted above, I was answering Blueknight & I quoted his post to indicate that, because he'd commented on one of my earlier posts & quoted it?!? :2thumbs:

As for your most recent question, there was a period where all the Spyder Spec Kendas made between mid 2013 & mid 2014 & then continuing to be sold from dealers 'old stock' until well into 2016 (that I'm aware of anyway, it could've been much longer in your neck of the woods) were made with a softer tread compound & most Spyders were lucky to get 5000 miles out of them!! It could be that Buckeye Chuck's second set were the soft compound short life Kendas that were even worse than the 'normal' Kendas... :dontknow:

But when it comes to the 'differences' between the Formoza's, one of those you are considering is a high performance dry weather TRACTION performance tire that sacrifices longevity for greater traction, while the other is an all season long wearing tire that sacrifices a little traction for longer life - you get to choose which feature is most important to you!

Me, I chose an all season Sport/Touring Kumho that I knew wouldn't give me quite the traction one of the dry weather performance tires would, but that gave me longer wearing all seasons performance along with reasonable traction in all weather at the cost of some ultimate dry weather traction. It's all a game of compromise, what is important to you; ultimate dry weather traction (which means a shorter life) or pretty reasonable all round traction with a lot longer tire life? :thumbup:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

TIRE THOUGHTS

And, it seems to be more readily available than the AZ01. EVOs are still plentiful.

How do you think it compares to the Kumho for the front tire? Which Kumho are you recommending?

It has been my experience that the front tires don't matter nearly enough compared to the rear .... Even the Crapenda's aren't terrible for the front , but they are an inferior tire by any standards ..... The wet traction will vary from tire to tire but ultimate traction isn't as critical for the front ... any decent Car tire will provide what you need ...... IMHO ... Mike :bbq:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

FORMOZA'S

Dad-gum-it.... I spoke to the good people at Superbuytires today and these are indeed out of stock. They do have the Federal EVO tires but not the Formozas. The nice lady I spoke with said these tires sell out fast because they are on the lower end of price. Their "season" is from January through April when they get containers full of tires. When they are sold out, we just have to wait for the next season.

Then if it were me then I'd get the FD2's ( not the EVO's )..............Mike :thumbup:

 

[jaherbst]

Not all alignments are equal. Doubt if it's the tires. Front Kenda's average between 18-23,000 miles. Balance and a Good alignment are the secret to life of any tire. Wear in the front suspension could also be a factor but I doubt it with only 30,000 miles. A lot of dealers who bought the Rolo system turn it over to less than competent tech's with little or no training. Most tire changes or alignment/balance work get's delegated to the Junior less experienced people. Same with car dealerships. It's a low priority job, so they think.

Jack

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

tire stuff

I haven't been running them on my Spyder quite as long here, (largely cos I didn't buy my RT til late 2013!:2thumbs: ) but like sooo many others, I haven't looked back since changing over to car tires.... :yes:

Funnily enough, I don't think too many people do look back after making the change, (especially those who thought the Kendas were OK - until they discovered otherwise once they made the change! :lecturef_smilie and of the few that made the change but then may have felt they could've done the wrong thing by doing so, most of them were still running the same pressures as those needed by the Kendas, which is waaaay too high for a tire capable of safely & reliably carrying a full sized car at those pressures!! :shocked: :dontknow:

:agree::agree::agree::agree::agree::agree::agree::agree: annnnnnnnd :agree:.....Mike :thumbup:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

CRAPENDA'S

Makes it sound like the laser alignment shortened the life of your tires. You don't mean that do you? What else do you attribute the relatively short life of the second set of Kendas to, compared with the first set?

Kenda's appear to have / sell a lot of DEFECTIVE tires .... as this has been reported here many, many times .................Mike :thumbup:

 

[UtahPete]

Not all alignments are equal. Doubt if it's the tires. Front Kenda's average between 18-23,000 miles. Balance and a Good alignment are the secret to life of any tire. Wear in the front suspension could also be a factor but I doubt it with only 30,000 miles. A lot of dealers who bought the Rolo system turn it over to less than competent tech's with little or no training. Most tire changes or alignment/balance work get's delegated to the Junior less experienced people. Same with car dealerships. It's a low priority job, so they think. Jack

I'm inclined to agree, Jack.

 

[UtahPete]

Kenda's appear to have / sell a lot of DEFECTIVE tires .... at this has been reported here many, many times ....Mike :thumbup:

I think Peter Aawen is on to something. No telling which batch of Kenda tires the replacements came from...that is one heck of a range of tire life within the same make and model of tire!

 

[UtahPete]

I did answer your original post Pete, post 3 in this thread! :dontknow:

But when it comes to the 'differences' between the Formoza's, one of those you are considering is a high performance dry weather TRACTION performance tire that sacrifices longevity for greater traction, while the other is an all season long wearing tire that sacrifices a little traction for longer life - you get to choose which feature is most important to you!

Me, I chose an all season Sport/Touring Kumho that I knew wouldn't give me quite the traction one of the dry weather performance tires would, but that gave me longer wearing all seasons performance along with reasonable traction in all weather at the cost of some ultimate dry weather traction. It's all a game of compromise, what is important to you; ultimate dry weather traction (which means a shorter life) or pretty reasonable all round traction with a lot longer tire life?

Peter, you are very right of course. My apologies.

I appreciate your analysis of the difference between the two Formoza tires; now I've just got to figure out which is which :yikes:. Which particular Kumho is it that you (and probably Mike) are using? Is there a model name?

 

[canamjhb]

Federal FD2

The Federal FD2 is, in fact, the new generation of the Formoza. The tire designation is Federal Formoza FD2 (instead of AOZ1).

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

MY TIRE OF CHOICE IS !!!!!

Peter, you are very right of course. My apologies.

I appreciate your analysis of the difference between the two Formoza tires; now I've just got to figure out which is which :yikes:. Which particular Kumho is it that you (and probably Mike) are using? Is there a model name?

About 5 years ago I tried the Kumho is 225/55-15 for the rear .... it was much,much better than the Crapenda's :roflblack: .... but I wasn't really impressed with it ... it did last a lot longer but the wet traction wasn't great ..... I put a Michelin -Hydro Edge in 215/60-15 on my RT ...I loved it ( but not sold anymore unless it is OLD stock )..... I was going to use a General Altimax RT43 ( 215/60-15 ) but before I bought it ...I found the Pirelli - P4 Four Seasons " PLUS " version ... I think this mat be better than the Altimax ( which is highly rated ) ..... I'll report on it next riding season ( right now some other members here are using it ) .... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Buckeye Chuck 54]

Change in pressure

The OEM tire pressure was set at 23, and after alignment and new tires I noticed after too long it was 30. The right front was worn badly on the inside and cupped all across, left cupped too. That's when I had the front end checked. I then changed to Federal EVO's, but had to balance them every 5000 miles or so. They lasted 46,000 miles then I bought Kumho Solus KH16's. Good tire, on my second set.
I've bought new motorcycles through the years. The OEM tires ALWAYS last longer than replacements of the same size and brand. Never fails.
THe laser alignment made the Spyder handle and ride better.
Chuck

Makes it sound like the laser alignment shortened the life of your tires. You don't mean that do you? What else do you attribute the relatively short life of the second set of Kendas to, compared with the first set?

 

[UtahPete]

About 5 years ago I tried the Kumho is 225/55-15 for the rear .... it was much,much better than the Crapenda's :roflblack: .... but I wasn't really impressed with it ... it did last a lot longer but the wet traction wasn't great ..... I put a Michelin -Hydro Edge in 215/60-15 on my RT ...I loved it ( but not sold anymore unless it is OLD stock )..... I was going to use a General Altimax RT43 ( 215/60-15 ) but before I bought it ...I found the Pirelli - P4 Four Seasons " PLUS " version ... I think this mat be better than the Altimax ( which is highly rated ) ..... I'll report on it next riding season ( right now some other members here are using it ) .... Mike :thumbup:

Thanks Mike, but I was asking about the front tires since I'm going to need to replace those fairly soon.

 

[Peter Aawen]

I'm currently running a pair of Kumho Solus KH17's in 175/65R15 up front with 14-16 psi in them for solo/2-up ryding.

They've clocked over 35,000 km on my 2013 RT since late 2014, still look brand new, and the Spyder handles like a rocket sled on rails on dry or wet roads - in fact, my emergency braking from 100kph/about 60mph on a wet skid pan is consistently about 1/3rd BETTER in the wet than on the skid pan when it's dry, but that is not all that uncommon a thing for 'all season' sports/touring tires like the Kumhos, even on cars! Dropping the front tire pressure to 12psi made the handling feel doughy & the steering feel heavier/harder as well as noticeably chewing more fuel, but it improved the braking by about another 5 or so metres; while increasing the tire pressure to 18 psi made the steering feel lighter & possibly marginally 'more direct' and it improved the fuel economy marginally too, but it made front end skids & understeer a real issue when pushing it a little, hydro-planing common on even just damp roads plus almost a certainty on wet roads, and it pushed the emergency braking distance out by over 1/2 again wet or dry!! :shocked:

I've ridden (tested?!?) a few different Spyders with various Performance/Dry Weather Traction tires fitted, & while my RT on the Kumho's is undeniably not quite so direct nor the tires quite so grippy on a dry surface, it's really not that far behind & the better wet road performance & braking I get plus the significantly better tire life that I get from them is, in my opinion, well worth it! And point to point on public roads in any weather/on a variety of surfaces, I'm not giving away ANYTHING AT ALL by running the Kumhos instead of a stickier tire! When the Spyders with stickier &/or more expensive (& generally shorter lived) dry road traction/performance biased tires arrive at a given destination, I'm almost always up towards the front of the pack! And I'm not that much of a better ryder! Some, maybe; possibly even arguably... more committed, quite probably.... but not all that much better! :thumbup:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

FRONT TIRES

Thanks Mike, but I was asking about the front tires since I'm going to need to replace those fairly soon.

:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:...Sorry lately I've been asked about tires do many times , I may have confused you w/another .... BUUUUUUUUUUT I did post about front tires in my post #27 & #28 on this thread ......... Mike:thumbup: