I'm surprised at this ..... most Auto tires wear fairly evenly at that psi. .... Another member here just reported He currently has 25,000 mi. on the new RIKEN tire ( a tire I discovered and recommend - especially if money is tight ) ..... Mike :thumbup:
It's not all that surprising to see this 'centre of the tread' wear
start to develop in just about any tire as the tire ages and the tread compounds get compressed thru use and harden thru age/exposure/heat & cold cycles, especially on lighter vehicles like ours.
They ALL do it to some extent, but it's seen even more than usual in the more 'performance oriented' Kumho's, as they (often... generally... well, sometimes anyway, depending on which actual tire spec it is!
) have different layers/strips of compound materials in & across the tread compound & face to improve the tires' traction abilities and tread longevity throughout its life in a way that few other manufacturers do! These layers/strips give the tires better traction at lower temps/higher pressures
initially, but then as the tire tread gets compressed, hardens, & wears down over time, the operator needs to modify (lower
) the pressure in the tire to better suit the changes that are developing in the compound in order to maintain the traction and avoid wearing out the centre of the tread quicker than is really necessary. :thumbup:
So seeing a Kumho tire that
started out running at something close to the 'right' pressure for the load/temp etc it was exposed to when it was first fitted, giving great traction and pretty good tread wear characteristics for maybe 10-15,000 miles or so, then starting to wear the centre of the tread and drop off in traction isn't all that uncommon, especially if the operator 'sets and forgets' &/or fails to review their tire pressure as things change over time. However, it's not something that can't be avoided, as this occurs because the tread layers have been compressed or 'packed down' thru use as well as hardened and worn as the tire aged, so that they're now effectively a harder compound tire than they were initially;
so as time/wear progresses, the tread needs to get hotter to work at its best, and that means that the tire doesn't need quite so much air pressure in it any more - in fact, as the operator you
NEED to marginally drop the pressure you're running in order to maintain the tires' ability to work at its best for you!
hyea:
Failing to keep an eye on your tire pressures & tread wear so that you can respond to those changes appropriately means that you'll very likely end up wearing the centre of the tread quicker than you really need to as the tire ages, and it's also one of the reasons you'll see
some who
haven't done this complain that
their Kumho's didn't grip so well in the wet as they got older :shocked: Yep, it's true - just like any other tire
that's being run at too high a pressure, they certainly won't grip so well, especially in the wet; but that's only because the user/operator didn't actively monitor their tire wear & pressure &/or respond to the signs that the tire was beginning to
need marginally lower pressure in order to maintain the tire's initial traction levels and to avoid that abnormal 'centre of tread' wear pattern! :lecturef_smilie:
Which all adds up to being just another reason to regularly check or monitor your tire pressures,
AND to regularly inspect each tire itself for signs of abnormal or changing tread wear! These things we call tires are the
ONLY things on our vehicles that should be contacting the ground, and they're one of, if not
THE most significant part of the braking, steering, and safety systems on any of our vehicles,
so you really should keep an eye on them, look after them, & watch for any changes that might suggest you need to do something sooner rather than later! Kumho tires are pretty good quality tires that
WILL perform very well and wear evenly across the tread face for their entire life,
IF you do the right thing by them, check their pressures regularly; inspect them often; and check/adjust them as necessary/appropriately whenever it's called for! If
they aren't working well for you or wearing/lasting as long as you expected, then there's a very good chance that
you haven't been looking after them!
Just Sayin' :cheers:
Ps: I don't have any current or ongoing business relationship with Kumho Tires, nor do I currently run Kumho Tires on any of my vehicles, but that's only because I got a better deal elsewhere when I purchased the tires I'm running now. However, I have run them in the past; got much better milage than most here report from them despite the extreme traction demands, high temperatures, and outright abuse they were subject to; and I wouldn't hesitate to run Kumho's again on my Spyder, or any of my other vehicles for that matter. But I would keep an eye on their tread wear & tire pressures in order to get the best ride, traction, and tread life from them that I could. :thumbup:
