Enlighten Me -- TV Tire Wear

[clubhouse]

My Duramax is a weekend projects and tow vehicle, not a daily driver. In the 16 months I have put ~5k miles on it. Yesterday I noticed the rear tires are wearing much quicker than the front. Is this typical for a 3/4 ton truck that is used primarily for towing? The wear is even across the rear tires, no alignment issue, however I am so used to front tires wearing quicker on my daily drivers. I run the tire PSI listed on the door - 60 Front 80 Rear.

Also the tires aren't great--Savero HT Plus LT--but they were brand new so I wasn't going to replace them right away for a 350-400 miles a month average use.

Is this expected? Please share your experience.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.

[msturtz]

Check the differential and make sure that you have the correct fluid and it is full. If incorrect fluid is used it can cause problems with the limited slip differential.

[kiwaon]

Here's my experience with my 2500HD. Rear tires wore out more quickly than the front tires. They wore out the center treads first, probably because it tows a fifth wheel for only about 50% of the time. The tire man said it was because the rear 80 psi requirement is for maximum rear axle capacity (6084 lbs) and without a full load the 80 psi tends to overinflate the tire and thus wears out the center of the tire first. It is also a drive axle which generally causes more tire wear.

As for the comparison to your daily driver wearing tire more qucikly on the front versus the back on the Duramax? Is your daily driver a front wheel drive vehicle versus rear wheel drive on the truck?, if so that would probably explain it, drive axle more wear.

[FPM III]

I think that's normal. On both my current 2009 GMC (see sig. below) and former 1996 Ford F-250 HD Supercab with PowerStroke diesel, the rear tires always wore faster than the fronts. Rotating them on a regular basis will help them wear more evenly. I also find that I have to replace tires more frequently. I've yet to find a tire brand that lasts for even 20k. I have about 36K on my truck and I already know it's going to need tires again (this will be its third set) when I take the truck in for its annual state inspection this month.

You don't say what make you drive for your daily drivers, but if it's front wheel drive, it's normal for the fronts wear faster. On my DW's Escape, if I didn't rotate the tires, I think the rears would last almost forever.

[clubhouse]

Thank you, my daily driver is Front wheel drive, so what you are saying makes sense.

It's certainly the centers wearing more the edges, I may reduce the pressure to 60 all around when I don't have a load or towing. We'll see what that does other than reduce fuel economy :-)

This is my first 3/4 and truck with LT tires. Little surprised at how quickly they wear, on my previous 1/2 tons I always ran P rated Michelins and easily got 60k+ miles. I attributed what appears to short tread life on the type of tires I have on the Duramax, but maybe it's just LT tires in general.

Did some reading on the Duramax forum and rear wear, as well as 20-30k mile tread life sounds typical. Which I guess is ok for me since tires on this truck will likey rot with time before they wear out from use at rate I drive it.

[clutch]

I have dropped the rear tire pressure on my 1 ton Dodge to 50psi empty. I expect to get at least 60k from my Michelins.

[Flyrotor]

Think about it, the rear tires are pushing the truck every mile down the road, also when the engine gears down and or the throttle is off, the rear tires begin to slow the vehicle, every time. The give and take here is friction, the tire wear is from the friction as the tire hits, drags, and pushes on the road, this is what is wearing out your rear tires faster.

On your truck, the friction on the front tires is from turning and braking,

Your daily driver is likely a front wheel drive vehicle, this causing increased front tire wear due to the front wheels doing the blunt of all the work when driving.

Your best solution - Rotate your tires every time you change your oil. This will keep them on a regular schedule and will enhance your tire life.

[Bassdogs]

Very interesting! Just got our first Duramax so all this is new to me. Also got great tire wear [78k] on our 08 1500. Didn't know of the much higher tire pressures for the 2500 and plan on going out and checking them today. Maybe another thread needed for this, but are there any other hints for the correct "care and feeding" of a duramax?

[troutslayer]

Originally Posted by clutch

I have dropped the rear tire pressure on my 1 ton Dodge to 50psi empty. I expect to get at least 60k from my Michelins.

I need to check out Michelins cuz I have the same issue as the OP. I've been running with Toyo tires and only get somewhere around 20K miles. BTW, I have 60PSI all around unless towing the 5er. Then I have 80 in the rear tires.

[clubhouse]

Follow Up Question...

Is there a way I can disable TPMS on my Duramax. I have a known bad sensor that I don't care to pay $80 to replace. Now everytime I start the truck I get the TPMS idiot light and DIC message that says "Service Tire Monitor Systems". The message I can make go away, but that light is always on.

Further, if I reduce my rear pressure to 60PSI, the of couse the TPMS will call out low pressure.

Lastly, since the **** things need to be programmed everytime the tires are rotated it cost $8-$10 for the tire shop to run their bluetooth progammer to set the sensor.

All in all - when I learned to drive checking tire PSI, oil, coolant, etc are all things we did. Maybe I am old school (still in my 30's however) but I still check those things. I dont' need a TPMS -- but I can't figure our how to disable the **** things.

**** I guess D.A.M.N is not a family friendly word on the forum -- my applogies.

[clutch]

We had a GMC Canyon and the TPMS light was on for most of two years. Three diffeent dealers couldn't make the light stay off. We just ignored it and one day when we were having it serviced at a friends private shop he noticed the light and hooked up his code reader. Wouldn't you know it was a bad sensor. The dealerships just kept resetting it and never ran a check for codes. Several hundred dollars later (now out of warranty) the problem was fixed.

[msturtz]

Originally Posted by clubhouse

Follow Up Question...

Is there a way I can disable TPMS on my Duramax. I have a known bad sensor that I don't care to pay $80 to replace. Now everytime I start the truck I get the TPMS idiot light and DIC message that says "Service Tire Monitor Systems". The message I can make go away, but that light is always on.

Further, if I reduce my rear pressure to 60PSI, the of couse the TPMS will call out low pressure.

Lastly, since the **** things need to be programmed everytime the tires are rotated it cost $8-$10 for the tire shop to run their bluetooth progammer to set the sensor.

All in all - when I learned to drive checking tire PSI, oil, coolant, etc are all things we did. Maybe I am old school (still in my 30's however) but I still check those things. I dont' need a TPMS -- but I can't figure our how to disable the **** things.

**** I guess D.A.M.N is not a family friendly word on the forum -- my applogies.

You can program them yourself. I have done it. There is a procedure in your manual. I recently purchased 4 TPMS sensors for under $50 off EBay. You can also get them off of Amazon. The ones I got were not OEM but are compatible replacements. The have worked well on my 2007 Tahoe. As to the low pressure alarm level you my be able adjust that,

[clubhouse]

Originally Posted by msturtz

You can program them yourself. I have done it. There is a procedure in your manual. I recently purchased 4 TPMS sensors for under $50 off EBay. You can also get them off of Amazon. The ones I got were not OEM but are compatible replacements. The have worked well on my 2007 Tahoe. As to the low pressure alarm level you my be able adjust that,

Thanks for the input. I have read where you can put the ignition in ACC and use the button on the dash as well as the brake peddle I believe, however that doesn't work on my LMM, rumor is GM eliminated that on diesel LLY models -- in gasser LLY = 2005-2007.5. Mid year '07 GM changed from LLY to LMM

[FPM III]

Here's the procedure for reprogramming the TPMS for my 2009 GMC (LMM). It's from the 2009 GMC Sierra Owner Manual. I would think this (or a similar) procedure would be found in the owner's manual for your truck, if you have it.

[edatlanta]

I can't imagine only getting 20-30,000 miles on a set if tires. My original OEM set lasted for 55,000 and my second set (Michelin LTX MS) lasted for 70,000. They had probably another 10,000 in them, but I just didn't want to load them up heavy with them getting a bit thin. I'm now on another set of LTX MS. I run 60 psi in all four tires all the time except when towing when I put 80 in the rear. I also rotate the tires every 5,000 miles.

[FPM III]

Originally Posted by edatlanta

I can't imagine only getting 20-30,000 miles on a set if tires. My original OEM set lasted for 55,000 and my second set (Michelin LTX MS) lasted for 70,000. They had probably another 10,000 in them, but I just didn't want to load them up heavy with them getting a bit thin. I'm now on another set of LTX MS. I run 60 psi in all four tires all the time except when towing when I put 80 in the rear. I also rotate the tires every 5,000 miles.

I guess it's a mystery, Ed. The OEMs on my truck were Bridgestone and they were toast at around 18-19K. I replaced them with Cooper. I have around 34K mileage on this truck and I know if did the Lincoln penny test, I'd see all of his head. My truck is equipped with the optional locking rear differential. However, I don't think it would be a contributing factor as to why the tire life is so short.

The only difference between us that I can think of is maybe the terrain. I live in a hilly, somewhat mountainous, area with winter weather conditions. I've never been to Alabama (but we do like the Wintzell's Oyster Bar that recently opened here in Pittsburgh- their first restaurant location outside of Alabama), so I don't have any knowledge of the terrain. However, I'm quite certain that, overall, your winters are much milder than here.

I tried a set Michelins on my previous truck (a 1996 Ford F-250 Supercab w/PowerStroke diesel). While they did last longer, I didn't feel it was long enough to justify their additional cost.

[msturtz]

Limited slip differentials do increase tire wear slightly especially when you drive on curved roads in wet conditions. The limited slip differentials work by friction plates that only allow the wheels to travel at a different speed after a certain amount of force is applied. The net effect of this is the tires are effectively dragging in turns especially in low traction conditions such as wet roads. Rear tire wear is usually related to acceleration in pickup trucks. I got just under 50k on my factory tires. I had a 2004 Silverado 3500 LT. I did rotate my tires about every 5k. The other thing I did was run studded snow tires in the winter and my factory tires in the summer.

[edatlanta]

Our winters here are pretty mild and since I full time I'm glad. It keeps the heating costs down.

[Panhead]

On a recent month long trip through out the rockies I had a lot of wear on the outside rib of my rear tires which is odd, the tire pressure was maxed but so was the load. Lots of pulling in the hills and lots of weight = lots of wear to the rear tires. I do rotate every 5K miles.

Steve

[Larry G.]

Ours were getting to 'skinny' for my liking and replaced all 6 before heading South for the winter last year.

It was just time.