In March I had a new set of rims and tires (17 inch rims on KUMHO ECSTA 711 215-45-17) put on my 96 accord and the tires have already worn down and need replacing. I noticed something was wrong when the front driver's side tire was wearing faster than the rest of the tires. So I took a closer look and noticed that all the tires were really low. I went out and did the penny test to check the tread depth and saw it was useless because they were already down to the wear indicator.

I thought the wearing on the front tire was weird because none of the other tires were worn in this matter, just evenly worn. To give more info, when I had the car aligned at Pepboys when I put my new rims on they first aligned the car with my old stock 14 inch rims on it. So I thought it was weird, but they assured me it would not make a difference. Well it did, because as soon as I left the shop the car was pulling hard to the right. So I took it back and they checked all the rims because they were so sure I had a bent rim, it couldn’t be that you know they should have aligned it with the bigger rim. So they went and checked all the rims and said one of my rims was bent, which was total crap because I saw it on the balancing machine and it was not bent at all.

So I took their story on face value and returned two days later. Surprisingly the manager that day agreed with me that the car should have been aligned with the 17 inch rims on it. They checked it and told me it was WAY OFF and fixed it. So of course the car was driving straight after that, but I still didn’t feel right about the alignment.

My question is, could a bad alignment alone have caused these tires to wear this fast or what else could it be? I have the sheet from the alignment if that helps.

 

First of all, Kumho 711 tires (treadwear rating 320) should not wear out after only 7K miles on an Accord. You already know that. I'm just guessing but I would guess they ought to typically last 30-40K miles, maybe low to mid twenties worst case.

I'm sure you know that driving style can affect treadwear, and so can improper inflation pressures. You probably already are aware of both of these facts. Have you been checking your tire pressures regularly?

Yes, an alignment problem could cause more rapid treadwear. However, usually alignment problems cause uneven treadwear, rather than rapid treadwear - such as wear along one edge more than the rest of the width of the tread.

Otherwise, my guess is that it's a suspension problem - wheel bearings, control arms, bushings, something like that. You may want to take your car to a good mechanic and ask him/her.

Have you been rotating the tires during that period? If so, they could "spread" a suspension problem (for example, the problem could rapidly wear tires at one end of the car, but if they're rotated to the other end during that time, all four could be wearing rapidly).

You might try calling Kumho customer service to ask them about it:

1-800-Hi-KUMHO
(1-800-445-8646)

Even if they don't actually do anything for you, maybe they can point you in the right direction regarding what the cause might be.

FWIW, the Kumho 711 does not come with a treadwear warranty.

The Kumho 711 is pretty poor when it comes to traction and handling (although I haven't heard about any treadlife problems before). If you're interested in replacing them with a really great tire for not much more money, consider the Kumho SPT (or, if you're really leery about buying Kumho again, consider the similar Yokohama ES100, Dunlop Direzza DZ101, or Avon Tech M500).

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.



Modified by nsxtasy at 8:25 AM 8/13/2006

 

Thank you for your lengthy response. I guess Ill have to look at suspension issues because I REALLY don’t want this to happen again because it can get a bit pricy. I had thought because it had a higherish treadwear they should have lasted long. As far as the driving style, I would say I am very gentle on the tires and don’t race, drift or anything that would adversely affect their treadlife.

It's really weird though, because when I bought the car it had 70k miles on and the guy told me he had change the tires on it at about 65k. They still had a little bit of tread on them when I put these on, so that's why I thought it was related to the rims or alignment. Btw, I did'nt rotate the tires during that time period because I thought that with such little miles they didnt need it yet.

I will confess too, that I was not checking the pressure regularly and when I did it was when I noticed the wearing on the outside of the tire. When I checked it at a gas station, which I know is not the most accurate thing, three of them were at 40 when they were heated it up and my rear driver's side one was at 24ish. I couldnt even tell that the back one was low but I guess it was. I checked it like about 6 times to make sure it wasnt an error in me checking it. But once again, would that alone wear the tires that quickly?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by biggusf &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I guess Ill have to look at suspension issues because I REALLY don’t want this to happen again because it can get a bit pricy.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yup. And if there are any suspension problems, you would want to take care of them anyway.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by biggusf &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Btw, I did'nt rotate the tires during that time period because I thought that with such little miles they didnt need it yet.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Hmmm... that's odd. When it's suspension-related, it's usually at one end or the other, not both at the same time. (Although it sounds like the previous owner may not have really been keeping up with problems on the car, since his tires wore out quickly too.) Still, I would definitely get the car up on a lift to check out the suspension.

Another reason it's odd is that, with our FWD cars, usually the front tires wear out a lot quicker than the rear.

Oh, and I wasn't in any way criticizing you for not rotating them. I wouldn't have expected them to wear out so quickly, either, so I wouldn't have thought to rotate them.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by biggusf &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I will confess too, that I was not checking the pressure regularly and when I did it was when I noticed the wearing on the outside of the tire. When I checked it at a gas station, which I know is not the most accurate thing, three of them were at 40 when they were heated it up and my rear driver's side one was at 24ish. I couldnt even tell that the back one was low but I guess it was. I checked it like about 6 times to make sure it wasnt an error in me checking it. But once again, would that alone wear the tires that quickly?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I really don't know. I mean, 7K miles is REALLY quick, and I'm not sure how that can happen. I'm still betting it's the suspension; problems with wheel bearings or bushings etc can essentially make the tires "wiggle" back and forth as you're driving down the road, so you can imagine why they can wear quickly.

Regardless, get yourself a good tire pressure gauge and check your inflation at least once every 500 miles or so. Check them when they're cold, i.e. when the car has been sitting for several hours, not in the sun (like when you start out in the morning). If you find that they're down by X pounds, then you can fill them when they're warm; just check the pressure at that time and add enough air so that it goes up by X pounds.

 

if your suspension is stock, you can compare the numbers in the printout with the oem numbers in the owner's manual. basically, it deals with camber, caster and toe. camber requires a kit to restore, but caster and toe maybe adjustable without spending more money. outside of this, lack of rotation and variation in tire pressure maybe cause increased wear. wear along the outside edge indicates a positive camber condition (not the norm like a lowered suspension where it is negative) so there may have been physical damage to that one corner (hit a curb, too many potholes, ran over something, etc)??? underinflation should have wear on both edges while the middle is less effected.

 

wheels shouldnt affect alignment AT ALL