Tire life
 

I am running OEM Pirelli P-Zeros on my '01 S, with 17-inch wheels. I did 2500 crazy miles in Europe when I got it, and after that did another 6500 miles in two summers of wild miles on the twisties of the upstate NY Adirondack roads. I just finished a 4000 mile road trip, half interstate slabs, half backroads, plus some sliding around on the Deal's Gap "Dragon" (Eastern Tennessee's route 129 through the Smokies into NC).

I have been experiencing (during the road trip) a little wobble at 75mph-plus, and my rears look shot, at 12500 miles. Tire pressure has been maintained at or maybe 1 to 2 psi higher than the recommended 29/36.

With this kind of history, is this what I should expect for tire life on my rears?

You tire wear is about right. t

My P-Zeros lasted 11K in the rear. They probably had another 1-2K left but I was anxious to replace them.

My replacement set of Yokohama ES100s only lasted 8K in the rear due to an alignment problem on a cross country trip(including the "DRAGON" leaving knoxville, TN). 8K included 3 track DE days and some very high speed driving.

My second set of rears have 7K and look like they will go 4-5K more.

Fronts last almost twice as long as rears.

If your rears are shot - DON'T drive in the rain. My first indication my rears were gone included hydroplaning 100 miles into a 200 mile rainy trip. It was ugly. If I hadn't had PSM I would have spun on the interstate. EVERYBODY was passing me as I couldn't keep her straight over 55MPH.

As another data point, I'm just short of 12K miles on the stock Conti SportContact tires that were delivered w/the car. I don't beat on the car, but use it to full potential fairly frequently (including a 2-day DE event and an autocross clinic) and the tires still have plenty of tread, ranging from 0.185" to .240" (about up to Lincoln's eyeball vs. the traditional "top of Lincoln's head" measure using a penny). The rears ranged .185-.205, the .240 was on one of the fronts. It seems like the wear was greatly influenced by driving in a left hand drive/clockwise rotation world predominantly, as the larger measurements were consistently to one side of the tires.

How well do the Michelin Pilot's stand up? Have not driven Michelin tires in years.

I have Bridgestone SO3s with about 17K on them on my '99 and they still have some good tread left on them. They should go 23K or more I think. No track, some aggressive driving now and then in the twisties. Great tires!

re:>>>It seems like the wear was greatly influenced by driving in a left hand drive/clockwise rotation world predominantly, as the larger measurements were consistently to one side of the tires.<<<

Sounds like Lime Rock to me. Am I close?

Standard cloverleaf intersections and New York's "Thunder Road" - Watkin's Glen!

So yes, you are close - just a short drive... ;)