[slimdraw]

Hoping to get some people’s opinions on a problem that I’ve been having with my Leaf. I live in London and have been driving around my 24kw Leaf since 2015. And during that time, I cannot begin to tell you how many tyres I have gone through, it’s insane. I’ve probably gone through more tyres on this car than all previous cars combined. The mileage on the Leaf has just hit 37,000 so it’s below average mileage. I must’ve gone through about 8 or 9 different tyres during this timeframe. I generally keep the tyres pumped up to 42 PSI.



Am I doing something wrong here? We do mostly city driving so I wouldn’t expect to go through so many tyres. Any help here would be really appreciated.

 

[Tooks]

When the tyres are ‘gone’, where are they worn?

Is it either of the edges, or the centre?

Is it front or rear tyres?

 

[slimdraw]

It's a mixture of the front and rear tyres. They are worn evenly across the entire tyre tread.

 

[husoi]

What brand and model of tyres you use?
How fast do you drive?
Driving style?

 

[slimdraw]

In all honesty, I've been going for the cheapest brand available. This usually costs between £50 and £60 per tyre. My wife and I drive the car, although my daily driver is an ICE. I drive it maybe 10 miles a week and she uses it for the rest. I'm based in London so driving fast is not much of an option. Our driving style is mostly relaxed although I have been known to put my foot down on occasion when I can.

 

[Tooks]

I’m at a loss then, but will say that budget tyres can be utter rubbish and don’t really save money in the long run.

I presume you’ve had the wheel alignment checked at some point when you’ve been on the frequent visits to the tyre shop?

If yes, and it all checks out, then it must be the budget nature of the tyres? Something with the torque and weight of a Leaf will still test the tyres during even normal acceleration, steering and braking.

 

[markweatherill]

I wonder what prompts you to change the tyres, and how much tread is left on them when you consider them worn out?

 

[slimdraw]

I haven't had the alignment checked, maybe this is something I'll do on my next visit. Thanks for the help.

 

[husoi]

Get some Michelin or GoodYear tyres and you will see that they will last a lot longer.
Budget tyres are a false economy as they last far less and aren't safe.
I would set the pressure to 40PSI \instead of 42 and make sure you have the wheels aligned properly.

 

[slimdraw]

I wonder what prompts you to change the tyres, and how much tread is left on them when you consider them worn out?

The last tyre that I replaced was on Saturday because it resulted in the Leaf failing the MOT.

 

[slimdraw]

What brand of tyres do you recommend for the Leaf?

 

[husoi]

For the 24kw and you're not greatly affected by snow I would go for the energy saver summer ones.
If you want to have proper grip then CrossClinmate are your tyres

 

[Hilltop Dave]

There is a very long (over 1000 posts) thread Abnormal Tyre Wear on Sunderland built Leaf about rapid wear on older Leafs due to poor manufacturing tolerances on the rear beam leading to the rear tyres wearing more rapidly than the front tyres. However, this usually caused uneven wear across the width of the tyre (as the rear beam errors caused a tracking problem). I found I went through rear tyres in just under 20,000 miles, but the front ones lasted 38,000 miles and then were replaced because winter was coming.

 

[Chrisb]

My 2016 30kWh has 31,000 miles on it and i am on the original Dunlop Enasave tyres so i can recommend those and i dont dawdle about either with it, my 40kWh has Michelins on so interested to see how they last.
On other cars i have found budgets to not be cost effective, on my old Fiesta the original Bridgestones on the back lasted 48,000 miles before hitting 1.6mm.I think my Dunlops are still around 4.5mm even across all four.

 

[freddym]

Michelin's lasted 45k miles on our turbodiesel and that twisty roads driven briskly mostly.

 

[slimdraw]

Thanks for your feedback, everyone. Looks like I simply need to stop being so tight and shell out some decent money for some decent tyres.

 

[motco]

There is a very long (over 1000 posts) thread Abnormal Tyre Wear on Sunderland built Leaf about rapid wear on older Leafs due to poor manufacturing tolerances on the rear beam leading to the rear tyres wearing more rapidly than the front tyres. However, this usually caused uneven wear across the width of the tyre (as the rear beam errors caused a tracking problem). I found I went through rear tyres in just under 20,000 miles, but the front ones lasted 38,000 miles and then were replaced because winter was coming.

That thread came to mind for me too. IIRC it was mainly Teknas (presumably because of the different wheel size) and mainly earlier Sunderland built cars. I have one such but it's a local shopping car in the main so the mileage isn't much.

 

[JDleaf]

Thanks for your feedback, everyone. Looks like I simply need to stop being so tight and shell out some decent money for some decent tyres.

if I shop around, I can normally find a Goodyear Efficientgrip 16’s for our acenta at around £60.