I generally check my tread depths when I swap from/to winters/summers. When I first got my car I ran the tyre pressures a bit higher than recommended as that is what worked for me on my last car, but due to the ride I dropped them back to the recommend values almost straight away. I have noticed that mine are a little more worn in the middle, so I'm currently running them 2psi below the recommended values.

That said, I bought the car used, so who knows how they were inflated before I got it!

I can also say that my previous car was a weedy 109PS and the factory fitted conti SC2s were done on the front after 12.5k miles. Again, I didn't drive all those miles myself, but I think the SC2 is a very high wear tyre.

SC2s wear quickly in my experience.

Excessive wear in the centre only is caused by over inflation in the majority of cases.

FWD diesel engined cars with high torque tend to wear front tyres quite rapidly, dependent on driving style, types of journeys etc.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Dunno if it's because mine is DSG, but just had the fronts changed for the first time (had it since Jan 14) at 26,600 miles! Admittedly pretty low - but the rears were reported as still at 6mm from new!

 

I'm used to getting through new boots in 14-16,000 miles so impressed. Cinturato Pirelli P7s from the factory and replaced with the same. 

I've run SC2s, SC5s and Eagle F1 AS2s on the same car, and the SC2s wore very rapidly, the SC5s were a lot better, and the F1's even better. I was doing 20k+ pa.

 

This car (O2) had a stage 1 remap, was a manual diesel, and was Hunter aligned. I ran at about 2psi over recommended, and the wear was always even across the width of the tyre.

 

Another sweeping statement from me

It all goes back to the horses for courses thing again, on my current 2.0D runaround skip I am still on my second set of tyres at 60k. My other machine chews through a full set in under 8K but it is 4wd and I drive that a bit differently on occasion   I also put different tyres on it.

 

You don't get something for nothing. Another sweeping generalisation and there will always be exceptions but the ones that wear forever and give mega MPG are not the ones you want to have when cracking on in in a rain shower and you have to jam the anchors on.

 

The tyres with a rock hard compound and eco tread will last and do good MPG, the ones with a grippy tread and sticky compound will do the **** to a blanket thing but these consumables are consumed a little faster

 

You have to make sure the car is running true and you watch for handling and wear tendencies. Like a few others I run winters and twice a year I check over the wheels brakes and the tyres while I'm at it, if something needs adjusting I do it then. I'm a bit anal about pressures as I know what difference it can make on some car/tyre combinations. I use 2 gauges (one on the pump and one to check it) and i do it every 6 months with the tyres - takes minutes, if that.

 

I cant help feeling that in this case the pressure may have been within that recommended but it was not right for that particular setup. wear in the centre would mean the centre is taking more of the load, meaning the centre is providing most of the grip, meaning there is less overall grip and more wear which is in the centre

 

See where I am going with this? bit of a self fulfilling prophecy

 

Personally I think that there are so many combinations of tyre characteristics and car setup that there can not be one pressure that will do all things for a given load. Blindly following manufacturers recommendations (note recommendations) may not always be the best thing - they do get it wrong some times

What's the deal with rotating tyres nowadays (taking asymmetrical patterns into account, etc.)?

Was hoping that the factory tyres would last me the duration of the 2yr/16k lease, however it sounds like fronts may not last that long. A front-to-back swap would see them last it out, but I've seen that this isn't recommended anymore so lease company may not like.

Done it on my current FWD diesel to even out wear, but own that outright so can make my own decisions

Up to you, no real harm in rotating front to back every 3 months or so.

Current advice is to have the tyres with the most tread on the rear though .

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

What's the deal with rotating tyres nowadays (taking asymmetrical patterns into account, etc.)?

Was hoping that the factory tyres would last me the duration of the 2yr/16k lease, however it sounds like fronts may not last that long. A front-to-back swap would see them last it out, but I've seen that this isn't recommended anymore so lease company may not like.

Done it on my current FWD diesel to even out wear, but own that outright so can make my own decisions

 

There is some merit to the thinking that you keep the worst tyres on the front then the car will be more likely to understeer in braking than oversteer. Personally as I swap tyres every 6 months between summers and winters I alternate them to even out the wear. One set is never worn far from the other, and cant see that anyone would have a problem with that. Its a personal thing as I like to replace all 4 together with the same make at the same time (potholes aside)

 

If you let the fronts get down to 2mm, stick them on the back with good rubber on the front and go for a blast in the wet, you may not get round the first bend

 

Others let the fronts wear fully then put the rears on the front and the pair of new tyres on the back - nothing wrong with that either

 

The car chews the same amount of rubber either way really

Only some tyre dealers offer better prices for 4 than 2

Not really a price thing, just on some machines I prefer to have tyres the same make and age in all 4 corners, like I said just a personal thing!

What's the deal with rotating tyres nowadays (taking asymmetrical patterns into account, etc.)?

Was hoping that the factory tyres would last me the duration of the 2yr/16k lease, however it sounds like fronts may not last that long. A front-to-back swap would see them last it out, but I've seen that this isn't recommended anymore so lease company may not like.

Done it on my current FWD diesel to even out wear, but own that outright so can make my own decisions

 

I'm a fan off bringing the drive tyres directly back onto the lazy axle & cross-rotating the tyres off the lazy axle back to the drive.

 

See the comment below as it is better to keep the best tread on the rear.  I do my rotations when the front is 2-3mm less than the rear and don't worry too much about the actual mileage.  When the tyres are getting down near 3-4mm tread depth (I try & change them at 2mm) I just live with the knowledge that what I'm doing isn't worlds best practice and drive for the conditions.

 

My preferred tyre dealer is pretty good and will sell 4 and fit 2 now & another 2 in a few months if you haven't totally trashed all 4.

 

Up to you, no real harm in rotating front to back every 3 months or so.

Current advice is to have the tyres with the most tread on the rear though .

 

As an indication of mileages I've got the following kms cross- rotating the tyres when I thought it was needed. 

 

• OEM CSC2: 45,730km with 3mm remaining - about 9,000km per mm of tread.
• Kumho Ecsta KU31 (used tyres): 11,000km from 6mm down to 3mm. About 3700km per mm of tread.  Directional tyre so straight front-back rotation
• Michelin Primacy HP: 79,950km from 7mm down to 2mm. 16,000km per mm
• Bridgestone RE050A: Still on the car.  28,000km from 7mm down to 3mm.  About 7,000km per mm.

 

The OPs tread wear is really bad.  As I said earlier, I'd be contacting Continental direct & asking them to inspect the tyre as it's possible they were from a bad batch.  I know I bought some Goodyear NCT really cheap (they were basically free & I just paid the fitting cost) where the chemicals weren't to specification and the set of 4 lasted 6,000km - they stuck like poo on your shoe though.

1st April 2015 Skoda Octavia Mk3 Elegance Metallic Silver Hatch. 1.4TSI DSG fitted with Pirelli P.7. 225x45xR17. 400 miles. I had the car Laser examined on the equipment at Bush Tyres Sleaford, and they found both front wheels were pointing to the right. FOS wheel Toe was 0.04" and the FNS was 0.15". This was corrected to 0.05" both sides at a cost of£42.50. I contacted Horton. s Skoda Lincoln who informed me that the cost was not refundable. Tracking was not checked during the PDI and suspension geometry  was not covered under warranty.

I am pleased the errors have been found early on to avoid premature tyre wear, but I think factory settings should be checked and corrected at the PDI stage.

Once driven from the showroom they will not entertain any approach about these settings.(Potholes and kerbing being the stock defence.)

I suggest a request by new car collectors insisting on a print out of steering geometry before accepting the hand over. They have the equipment, and it may improve the quality control on the production line for this part of the final assembly.

I agree about the over inflation suggestion, my car was delivered with pressures set at 3.2 bar all round which is about 1 bar over inflated! Thankfully, I spotted this within the first few days. With regards to tyre wear, if you fancy a harder compound, try the Dunlop Sport Maxx GTs, I'm still on the original set with 42k on the clock!!! Rotated at 38k and still got 5mm on fronts and 3.5mm on rears last time I checked a couple of weeks ago! Personally though, I'll be opting for a softer compound if these ever wear out cos the ride quality is poor enough on the 18s and the Dunlop's make it worse.

Original tyres on mine were Dunlops, same as yours. I haven't rotated mine and renewed the fronts at 32k with 3.0mm tread left. Rears are still good with 5.0mm tread at approaching 38k miles. I replaced the fronts with Michelins, and will probably go the same route when I eventually change the rears. Well impressed with the wear rate on the tyres for a comparatively heavy FWD car.

Bit of a sober thought for vRS owners that the tyres on the vin ordinaire Octavia are lasting up to five times longer!

Original tyres on mine were Dunlops, same as yours. I haven't rotated mine and renewed the fronts at 32k with 3.0mm tread left. Rears are still good with 5.0mm tread at approaching 38k miles. I replaced the fronts with Michelins, and will probably go the same route when I eventually change the rears. Well impressed with the wear rate on the tyres for a comparatively heavy FWD car.

Bit of a sober thought for vRS owners that the tyres on the vin ordinaire Octavia are lasting up to five times longer!

 

Hi Tim

 

interesting i too have the Vin ordinare and the michelins Hp stuff lasted 22k on the front with 4 mm left only changed because i hit a kerb at speed avoiding a fox sustaining a big bulge on the OSF and replacement. Rears look hardly run in really. replaced with Hankooks already noticed quieter ride and better economy. done the 4 wheel alignment too which seems to have improved matters  too 

This has been a useful thread. We are getting a Vrs estate on Thursday on a lease deal. We can get 'wear and tear' tyre insurance for £6.50 a month for the 3 years (expected to do 24k).No idea of the tyres we have on it. I have just totted up the and averaged it out at 13150k before the fronts need replacing so I think it makes sense to go for the £6.50 a month (£236 for the term).

I hope the original poster gets his tyres sorted. Thanks.

btw I have only just got the final pair of original ones replaced on my Yeti after 40,000 but that's cos I drive it so nicely(!) I am not sure I will be able to say the same with my husband and the Vrs!

1st April 2015 Skoda Octavia Mk3 Elegance Metallic Silver Hatch. 1.4TSI DSG fitted with Pirelli P.7. 225x45xR17. 400 miles. I had the car Laser examined on the equipment at Bush Tyres Sleaford, and they found both front wheels were pointing to the right. FOS wheel Toe was 0.04" and the FNS was 0.15". This was corrected to 0.05" both sides at a cost of£42.50. I contacted Horton. s Skoda Lincoln who informed me that the cost was not refundable. Tracking was not checked during the PDI and suspension geometry  was not covered under warranty.

I am pleased the errors have been found early on to avoid premature tyre wear, but I think factory settings should be checked and corrected at the PDI stage.

Once driven from the showroom they will not entertain any approach about these settings.(Potholes and kerbing being the stock defence.)

I suggest a request by new car collectors insisting on a print out of steering geometry before accepting the hand over. They have the equipment, and it may improve the quality control on the production line for this part of the final assembly.

If the RHS was pointing right then it would have been a negative number.  Even then the wheels would self - equalise (with a slightly crooked steering wheel) to give a total toe of 0.04 - 0.11 = 0.7"  which is only 0.03" (~0.3mm on a 16" rim) different from what they set it to. 

 

If your figures are correct then only the LHS was out by 0.11" (1.1mm on a 16" rim).    It's not a lot... or I've got my conversions incorrect - I hate working in degrees & minutes for toe.  MM is much easier & more logical.

 

It always surprises me that Octavias run toe-in on both the front & rear - it goes against normal FWD principals.