Tire wear

[freedc]

I bought my Leaf in January 2012, and the OEM tires are now worn out at 29,000 miles. Most driving is commuting on city streets, about 25% freeway. While Denver is a dry place, I need more tread for the occasional rainy days. The Leaf has never been good in snow, so I take the cover off my old SUV, hook up the battery, and take on the storm. 95% of city trips are still with the Leaf.

Lithium battery still good. Drove 70 miles to Colorado Springs last weekend at 65 to 75 mph with 4 miles left on the battery on arrival. 24 months ago made the same trip with 6 miles to spare. Last year 12 miles extra. Have never been stranded with zero charge.

Has Bridgestone honored the 65,000 mile warranty for anyone?

 

[RegGuheert]

I bought my Leaf in January 2012, and the OEM tires are now worn out at 29,000 miles.

I'm at 37,000 miles and still have good tread. Are you running at 40+ PSI?

Has Bridgestone honored the 65,000 mile warranty for anyone?

I do not think there is any treadwear warranty on their OEM tires. You only get that when you purchase them in the aftermarket.

 

[RockyNv]

The OEM Bridgstones carry a 6 year warranty or until they are worn to 2/32 inch tread depth whichever comes first which is covered in the warranty booklet in your owners manual however there is no mileage statement included in the warranty:

Warranty statement from the Bridgestone section of the 2014 owners manual"
"ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT PASSENGER
AND LIGHT TRUCK TIRES INCLUDING
RFT TIRES WITH RUN-FLAT
TECHNOLOGY ELIGIBILITY
This Limited Warranty covers BRIDGESTONE and
FIRESTONE brand passenger and light truck tires, in-
cluding RFT and temporary spare tires, originally in-
stalled by the vehicle manufacturer on a new vehicle.
You are covered under the terms of this Limited War-
ranty if the tire was produced after July 4, 2004 (DOT
serial 2704 or later) and has been used only on the
vehicle on which it was originally installed in non-
commercial service.
WHAT IS WARRANTED AND FOR HOW
LONG
Before wearing down to 2/32 inch (1.6 mm) remaining
original tread depth (i.e. worn down to the top of the
built-in indicators in the tread grooves) and within
6 years from the date of purchase (proof of purchase
date required; without proof of purchase date, then
within 6 years from the date of tire manufacture), for any
reason other than those excluded in the section entitled
“What This Limited Warranty Does Not Cover,” any
eligible tire that becomes unusable for any reason within
the manufacturer’s control will be replaced with an
equivalent new tire on the basis set forth in this Limited
Warranty."

Link to full warranty booklet for the 2014 Leaf:
https://owners.nissanusa.com/conten...ides/LEAF/2014/2014-LEAF-warranty-booklet.pdf

Now that I have been driving the Leaf for a month my observation is that if you don't drive in echo mode that you may be engaging traction control quite easily and potentially quite often therefore wearing out the tires very quickly. In the old days before ABS and ATC the tires would squeal and announced that you were more than likely driving inappropriately however now these systems take over and more silently grind away your tires. A lighter right foot on the accelerator pedal and allowing a bit more following distance to the cars in front of you may be required by some.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

what is the load rating on newer LEAF ecopias? wonder if that has changed over the years?

 

[rogersleaf]

what is the load rating on newer LEAF ecopias? wonder if that has changed over the years?

The load rating is likely slightly higher at "91H" rating vs. "89H" depending on the Ecopia model purchased. Most 205/55/16 H-rated tires I looked at were 91 load rating. In early October, I got the newer model "Ecopia Plus" rated at 91H. Running them at the same 41 psi front/38 psi rear as the originals. If not, can't make my commute range. The original Ecopia's came off at 38K miles, could have run them longer but became too squirly on wet roads.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

what is the load rating on newer LEAF ecopias? wonder if that has changed over the years?

The load rating is likely slightly higher at "91H" rating vs. "89H" depending on the Ecopia model purchased. Most 205/55/16 H-rated tires I looked at were 91 load rating. In early October, I got the newer model "Ecopia Plus" rated at 91H. Running them at the same 41 psi front/38 psi rear as the originals. If not, can't make my commute range. The original Ecopia's came off at 38K miles, could have run them longer but became too squirly on wet roads.

Picked up a 2016 S30 yesterday and it has the same old 89H tires

 

[BrockWI]

Could it be the S has the regular 89H's and the SV & SL have the 91H's?

 

[rogersleaf]

what is the load rating on newer LEAF ecopias? wonder if that has changed over the years?

The load rating is likely slightly higher at "91H" rating vs. "89H" depending on the Ecopia model purchased. Most 205/55/16 H-rated tires I looked at were 91 load rating. In early October, I got the newer model "Ecopia Plus" rated at 91H. Running them at the same 41 psi front/38 psi rear as the originals. If not, can't make my commute range. The original Ecopia's came off at 38K miles, could have run them longer but became too squirly on wet roads.

Picked up a 2016 S30 yesterday and it has the same old 89H tires

Congratulation on the new ride.

Got mine through a local Walmart, had several of the old style 89H's in stock along with the newer model. Both models were the same price. The bill was roughly $500 for all 4 installed with sales tax, and lifetime rotation included. There is a big advantage to picking a tire product that can be replaced relatively cheaply at any Walmart in the event that one gets trashed.

When my Leaf had it's first battery check at 1 yr/15K miles, I had the alignment checked. They found the toe adjustment way off and had it fixed before loosing significant tire life. However, would have never known of a problem by the handling of the car. To be fair, my cars get driven on frost-damaged cratered city streets in ghetto areas of Cleveland, Oh where the streets rarely get fixed. Thus, the conditions destroy cars so having annual alignment work is regular maintenance and accept that tires are expendable. Have a gut hunch that a combination of bad alignment, under-inflation, relatively heavy car with low center of gravity for the tire size, and ability to push this car hard into turns makes tires prone to wearing out quickly for some drivers.

 

[rogersleaf]

Could it be the S has the regular 89H's and the SV & SL have the 91H's?

Think the S still has Bridgestone Ecopia on 16" steelies. SV & SL has 17" on alloy wheels so different tire size. Last I looked, the 17" were a Michelin product with a special extra load rating.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

The load rating is likely slightly higher at "91H" rating vs. "89H" depending on the Ecopia model purchased. Most 205/55/16 H-rated tires I looked at were 91 load rating. In early October, I got the newer model "Ecopia Plus" rated at 91H. Running them at the same 41 psi front/38 psi rear as the originals. If not, can't make my commute range. The original Ecopia's came off at 38K miles, could have run them longer but became too squirly on wet roads.

Picked up a 2016 S30 yesterday and it has the same old 89H tires

Congratulation on the new ride.

Got mine through a local Walmart, had several of the old style 89H's in stock along with the newer model. Both models were the same price. The bill was roughly $500 for all 4 installed with sales tax, and lifetime rotation included. There is a big advantage to picking a tire product that can be replaced relatively cheaply at any Walmart in the event that one gets trashed.

When my Leaf had it's first battery check at 1 yr/15K miles, I had the alignment checked. They found the toe adjustment way off and had it fixed before loosing significant tire life. However, would have never known of a problem by the handling of the car. To be fair, my cars get driven on frost-damaged cratered city streets in ghetto areas of Cleveland, Oh where the streets rarely get fixed. Thus, the conditions destroy cars so having annual alignment work is regular maintenance and accept that tires are expendable. Have a gut hunch that a combination of bad alignment, under-inflation, relatively heavy car with low center of gravity for the tire size, and ability to push this car hard into turns makes tires prone to wearing out quickly for some drivers.

wait a sec! you picked up 89H tires from Walmart recently?

Cause I bought my 91H tire from Firestone in 2012 so they are far far far from new. so I checked and guess what? despite the labeling being the same, there is an "Eco" @ 89H (no mileage warranty) and a "Plus" @ 91H with a 70,000 mile warranty. interesting...

http://www.bridgestonetire.com/tire/ecopia-ep422-eco

http://www.bridgestonetire.com/tire/ecopia-ep422-plus

 

[iwitzel]

YES, excessive tire wear on front tires on the outside edges.
I have 80K miles and I put on 2 new front struts and 2 new rear shocks.

I purchased 2 camber adjusting bolts for my 2013 Leaf

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HPQ1E...13&ie=UTF8&vehicleId=4&vehicleType=automotive


I bought a camber measuring tool as I wanted to get the camber where it was before I removed the front struts and I adjusted it to the same degree after I installed the new strut.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EPL6BB6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


I got 4 new tires, Ecopia Plus. I told the tech to adjust both the camber and toe to the maximum allowable specification that would shift the tire wear from the outside edges toward the center of the tire. So far the wear pattern on both front tires is really good - centered on the tread's width.
I am running the tires at normal recommended pressure but I plan to increase the tire pressure in 3-pound increments to see how increased pressure affects ride/handling and economy.