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

[AeroPilot]

Happy with the wear on the Kumho KH16's on front of our RT's

When the OEM front Kendas wore out around 25,000 miles, we put a set of Kumho Solus KH16's on the wifes 15 RT-S and they were wearing even at 44,000 when we traded off this April. Based on that I ordered another set and have them on my base RT since 23,500 and just got back from Red Rocks and have a little over 30,000 miles so just getting started. We are mainly cruising type riders at the speed limit and enjoying the myles of smyles. Running about 17-18 psi cold in the front Kumhos, 25-26 psi in the rears. Just mounted a General Altimax RT43 on the wifes F3T to try it out after several Kumho Ecsta AST's with great service on the rear. YMMV.:2thumbs:

 

[jaherbst]

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!

The new compound for the rear tire began in May of 2014 or 2015. I can't remember. I got this information from Ann and think it would included the front tires also. Evan so the front tires have lasted a reasonable amount of mileage and no one has had only 6000 miles before changing the fronts.
,
Regardless, if buying the Kenda's as I do, check the manufacture date and make sure it is recent production. This should be done in any case with any brand. Some of these tires have been sitting on the shelf for an extended period of time. I am talking about all brands here. The tire size on the Spyder is odd for any brand and could be quite old. I personally do not run any tire whether in constant use or sitting more than five years.

All tires sold in the USA are required to have a date of manufacture stamped on the sidewall.

​Jack

 

[UtahPete]

The new compound for the rear tire began in May of 2014 or 2015. I can't remember. I got this information from Ann and think it would included the front tires also. Evan so the front tires have lasted a reasonable amount of mileage and no one has had only 6000 miles before changing the fronts. Regardless, if buying the Kenda's as I do, check the manufacture date and make sure it is recent production. This should be done in any case with any brand. Some of these tires have been sitting on the shelf for an extended period of time. I am talking about all brands here. The tire size on the Spyder is odd for any brand and could be quite old. I personally do not run any tire whether in constant use or sitting more than five years. All tires sold in the USA are required to have a date of manufacture stamped on the sidewall. ​Jack

Good point, Jack. Sometimes those 'clearance' priced tires are just plain old!

 

[UtahPete]

...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

Mike, I saw those responses, thanks. What I'm asking now is which Kumho's you like for the front? What model and size? Thanks.

 

[UtahPete]

When the OEM front Kendas wore out around 25,000 miles, we put a set of Kumho Solus KH16's on the wifes 15 RT-S and they were wearing even at 44,000 when we traded off this April. Based on that I ordered another set and have them on my base RT since 23,500 and just got back from Red Rocks and have a little over 30,000 miles so just getting started. We are mainly cruising type riders at the speed limit and enjoying the myles of smyles. Running about 17-18 psi cold in the front Kumhos, 25-26 psi in the rears. Just mounted a General Altimax RT43 on the wifes F3T to try it out after several Kumho Ecsta AST's with great service on the rear. YMMV.

Thanks, that's helpful.

 

[jcthorne]

Just throwing it out there for consideration but,

We sell and install Yokohamas for front and rear and have been very impressed with them. Since this thread is about the fronts,

Yokohama Avid S34FA 175/55R15 is a perfect fit and GREAT handling tire on the Spyder.

 

[UtahPete]

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:

Great feedback Peter, thanks.

 

[UtahPete]

Just throwing it out there for consideration but, We sell and install Yokohamas for front and rear and have been very impressed with them. Since this thread is about the fronts, Yokohama Avid S34FA 175/55R15 is a perfect fit and GREAT handling tire on the Spyder.

Thanks JC. Sounds like another great option for the front tires. How is the wear life on them?

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

KUMHO FRONT TIRES

Mike, I saw those responses, thanks. What I'm asking now is which Kumho's you like for the front? What model and size? Thanks.

As I have reported before .... Any good Car ( that fits ) will be fine ....getting that tire perfectly aligned is Key ..... the rear tire is VERY critical and that's what I have strong feelings about ...... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Peter Aawen]

.... Evan so the front tires have lasted a reasonable amount of mileage and no one has had only 6000 miles before changing the fronts.
.......

The soft compound Kendas here were date stamped between June 2013 & June 2014, but many Spyders were manufactured between those dates & then dealers sold them later (my 2013 RT was manufactured late in 2013, & so, it scored them!) and even more dealers had stocks on hand of those tires for months (if not years) later, so they were sold & installed over the next couple of years too.

I didn't quite get 4800 miles out of the rear 'soft compound' Kenda with fairly sedate 'run in' ryding, and from there, the two Kendas up front went from looking like I needed to replace them sometime soon to having canvas show thru in LESS than the next 200 miles (the trip home!) so the fronts were changed out just before 5000 miles, & I wasn't alone in needing to do that here in Aus - there are very definitely people & Spyders around who DID NOT get even 6000 miles out of the 'soft compound' Kendas - I was one of them!! :gaah:

But you are definitely correct about the tire age thing Jack, Aus & EU countries have the same requirement for date stamps. In fact it's illegal for a tire dealer here to sell a tire older than 5 years old as 'new' & in some State they aren't allowed to fit a tire older than 7 years without warning the owner, & a vehicle running tires older than 10 years old can be declared unroadworthy & put off the road until it's rectified.... But some pretty old tires definitely DO get sold off as 'clearance specials' & there's always some people who will buy them!! Hey, some people even go on-line here to buy dodgy imports cheap that aren't in any way up to the standards required for their or anyone else's safety on the roads, but they saved 10 bucks on the single most important thing between them & the road!! :shocked:

 

[Gator37]

2014 front tires

Just ordered two Federal Formosa AZ01 tires on Ebay at $55 each with free shipping. Dealer only wanted to put on Kendas at $85 each. My local tire dealer said he could mount them for me.
Ken

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

NOT A GREAT DEALER ???

Just ordered two Federal Formosa AZ01 tires on Ebay at $55 each with free shipping. Dealer only wanted to put on Kendas at $85 each. My local tire dealer said he could mount them for me.
Ken

Un-fortunately a lot of folks here don't realize that the Spyder wheels can be done by 99% of garages that do car tires .... Even Walmart and Costco do them .........Yes you have to bring to the shop , but the fronts aren't any different to remove than a car wheel .... the rear is a bit harder but can be done with all the video help available ......jmho....Mike :thumbup:

 

[jcthorne]

Thanks JC. Sounds like another great option for the front tires. How is the wear life on them?

On the fronts, we really do not know. I have one customer at over 30k on them and they are nowhere near worn out.