Disaterous inside tire wear

[REvans2001]

In March 2024 I bought 4 Bridgestone Ecopia 600's and promptly paid for an alignment. 2500 miles/3months later I'm already down to 3/32nd tread! Inside treads are wearing aggressively front and rear. Consequently, I paid Discount Tires to turn the tires inside out, swap then left to right and rebalance. Going to mechanic on Wednesday to check for suspension issues and re_alignment.

What in the world could be causing such disastrous wear? I'm spending almost 50cents/ mile on tires!

 

[Dutchi3]

What in the world could be causing such disastrous wear?

Probably the only reason might be alignment of the suspension (or very agressive driving, but in that case the wear should be even distributed). Didn't you notice a range drop, as it takes energy to wear the tires out?

 

[REvans2001]

Probably the only reason might be alignment of the suspension (or very agressive driving, but in that case the wear should be even distributed). Didn't you notice a range drop, as it takes energy to wear the tires out?

Thanks for your input. No range drop, about 4.3 mi/kwh consistently with old-man-driving in eco pro. I'm completely shocked.

 

[Dutchi3]

Thanks for your input. No range drop, about 4.3 mi/kwh consistently with old-man-driving in eco pro. I'm completely shocked.

You said that you paid for an alignment when you purchased the new tires. I suspect it wasn't a bmw dealer. Maybe you can hold the supplier liable for a bad alignment?

 

[alohart]

An Ecopia 600 shouldn't be mounted with its inside sidewall on the outside. The sidewalls of these tires include a marking that identifies which sidewall should be on the outside. The tread is designed to work best when mounted correctly.

Unfortunately, the inside tread is shallower, 6/32", than the outside tread, 9/32", when the tire is new. On the rear, the i3's camber setting is such that the shallower inside tread tends to wear faster.

Make sure that the inflation pressure is no lower than the recommended pressure. If it is and has been correct, I agree with others that a bad alignment must be to blame.

 

[REvans2001]

You said that you paid for an alignment when you purchased the new tires. I suspect it wasn't a bmw dealer. Maybe you can hold the supplier liable for a bad alignment?

Correct, it was not dealer. It was a shop recommended by Discount Tire.

 

[REvans2001]

An Ecopia 600 shouldn't be mounted with its inside sidewall on the outside. The sidewalls of these tires include a marking that identifies which sidewall should be on the outside. The tread is designed to work best when mounted correctly.

Unfortunately, the inside tread is shallower, 6/32", than the outside tread, 9/32", when the tire is new. On the rear, the i3's camber setting is such that the shallower inside tread tends to wear faster.

Make sure that the inflation pressure is no lower than the recommended pressure. If it is and has been correct, I agree with others that a bad alignment must be to blame.

Thank you, Alohart. Yes, I maintain correct pressure. I agree that mounting inside-out is not ideal but it's the only way I can extend the wear to any reasonable mileage right now. I did it on previous set and it handles fine for my moderate driving.

 

[alohart]

I agree that mounting inside-out is not ideal but it's the only way I can extend the wear to any reasonable mileage right now. I did it on previous set and it handles fine for my moderate driving.

So this isn't a new problem. How many miles did you get out of your previous set of tires?

My driving style seems similar to yours. In over 9 years of driving i3's, I've never experienced uneven tread wear across the width of the tread. The right rear tire has always worn faster than the left rear tire, but otherwise, the tread wore down evenly across its width. So something isnʻt right with your i3.

I've always inflated the rear tires to 51 psi with the fronts 43 psi on our 2014 i3 and 46 psi on our 2019 i3 (the BMW-recommended rear-front difference decreased from 8 psi to 5 psi). Many feel that increasing the inflation pressure above the recommended values could be dangerous. I realize that traction is probably reduced a bit and ride roughness is increased a bit, but neither bother me. Rolling resistance is decreased which increases range (Iʻve averaged 5.5 mi/kWh over 9+ years) and the wheels and tires are better protected against damage when one of our many potholes canʻt be avoided (Iʻve never had a flat tire).

 

[REvans2001]

Your tire inflation is higher than mine. I keep it as posted on the door frame. 5.5m/kwh is really good. Maybe I'll try that. I only got about 10 or 12k on the last set of Bridgestones. I remember thinking it was costing about 10 cents per mile. That's why I got alignment with the latest set.

 

[alohart]

5.5m/kwh is really good.

It's mostly because I live in an ideal EV environment with no temperature extremes or high-speed driving.

 

[JimBmwi3s]

Would you have an alignment done by a garage recommended by a dealer named Discount Tire? What kind of tire company would not do alignment as part of new tires installed? I'd say a tire company that will say blame the alignment people

 

[robthebold]

Would you have an alignment done by a garage recommended by a dealer named Discount Tire? What kind of tire company would not do alignment as part of new tires installed? I'd say a tire company that will say blame the alignment people

According to Wikipedia:

. . . it is considered the largest independent retailer of tires and wheels in the world.

 

[alohart]

Would you have an alignment done by a garage recommended by a dealer named Discount Tire? What kind of tire company would not do alignment as part of new tires installed? I'd say a tire company that will say blame the alignment people

If my tires weren't wearing unusually, my car wasn't pulling to one side while driving, and I hadn't hit a curb or pothole hard, I wouldn't waste money on a wheel alignment.

 

[larrykalenda]

I got 23K on my EP600 tires. Lots of highway miles at 75mph. Just replaced the rear and will replace the front in a few weeks. I also get fairly even tread wear. I don't drive aggressively and keep my tire pressure at 39 and 44. Average 3.5/kwh. And no, I will not get the alignment done when the fronts are replaced.

IMHO your alignment is bad. Don't go back to the same shop.

 

[Clanduncan]

I ran my EP500's at 33/41 psi, front/rear, as per my handbook, and got around 25,000 from them over nearly three years, averaging 4.5miles/kwhr. 39/44 seems a bit high for the tyre pressures unless you were fully loaded up all the time. They did wear a bit more on the inside than outside, but not dangerously so. I swapped the tyres because of cracking and perishing not tread wear.

I'm now running a full set of Michelin e-primacy tyres, so will see how they compare over the next couple of years. So far they seem marginally quieter.

 

[JimBmwi3s]

I have been looking at i3s 2020 or 2021 and I like looking at service records and one thing I found often is dealers changing installing new car tires on the first or 2nd service. What caught my eye was at low 2000 to 3000 miles and often with a tire alignment. Some new i3s had multiple tire changes and I would think something must be wrong with the car. Maybe dealers know of a problem and just satisfy the new owners with new tires. Most of the time an alignment is done which makes me think maybe not just anyone can do alignments on i3s. Maybe their is something else wrong - is it all 4 tires or just the front

 

[ksnax]

Alignment just isn't what Discount Tire does. Some say it is to avoid culpability on warranty claims, but I have been a customer of theirs for decades with zero complaint about their tire and wheel business.

I do my own alignment at this point regardless, as I have found that even shops allegedly setup to do it sometimes don't give a rats ass about alignment being near limits one way or the other. So you end up with something officially within spec that wears and handles below optimal.

 

[Mustrum Ridcully]

Ss'r I ran my EP500's at 33/41 psi, front/rear, as per my handbook, and got around 25,000 from them over nearly three years, averaging 4.5miles/kwhr. 39/44 seems a bit high for the tyre pressures unless you were fully loaded up all the time. They did wear a bit more on the inside than outside, but not dangerously so. I swapped the tyres because of cracking and perishing not tread wear.

I'm now running a full set of Michelin e-primacy tyres, so will see how they compare over the next couple of years. So far they seem marginally quieter.

I have seen the Michelin e-primacy tyres mentioned favorabley on youtube videos from Europe. . the Videos from WISELY in particular stand out in my memory. The forum posts from folks in north America seldom mention them. I sort of feltt that they must be either harder to come by on this side of the pond or enough more expensive here that harder wearing is not seen as a valuable enough feature to warrant higher priceing.

Is this in fact the case? I am still searching for my unicorn 2021 i3s so at the moment I am just curious.

 

[REvans2001]

I ran my EP500's at 33/41 psi, front/rear, as per my handbook, and got around 25,000 from them over nearly three years, averaging 4.5miles/kwhr. 39/44 seems a bit high for the tyre pressures unless you were fully loaded up all the time. They did wear a bit more on the inside than outside, but not dangerously so. I swapped the tyres because of cracking and perishing not tread wear.

I'm now running a full set of Michelin e-primacy tyres, so will see how they compare over the next couple of years. So far they seem marginally quieter.

Thank you for your input. I would be over joyed with 25k miles per set. All 4 have wear on inside.

I have been looking at i3s 2020 or 2021 and I like looking at service records and one thing I found often is dealers changing installing new car tires on the first or 2nd service. What caught my eye was at low 2000 to 3000 miles and often with a tire alignment. Some new i3s had multiple tire changes and I would think something must be wrong with the car. Maybe dealers know of a problem and just satisfy the new owners with new tires. Most of the time an alignment is done which makes me think maybe not just anyone can do alignments on i3s. Maybe their is something else wrong - is it all 4 tires or just the front

I have seen the Michelin e-primacy tyres mentioned favorabley on youtube videos from Europe. . the Videos from WISELY in particular stand out in my memory. The forum posts from folks in north America seldom mention them. I sort of feltt that they must be either harder to come by on this side of the pond or enough more expensive here that harder wearing is not seen as a valuable enough feature to warrant higher priceing.

Is this in fact the case? I am still searching for my unicorn 2021 i3s so at the moment I am just curious.

AFAIK Michelin e-prinacy are not available in USA. We are stuck with Bridgestone Ecopia 500 or 600. It's enough of a hassle and expense that I'm considering trading in for a Bolt.

 

[Clanduncan]

Here in UK we can also get Nanking and Continental tyres, although I have no idea why choice is so poor across the pond. Re the tyre wear, as others have said, alignment is crucial to avoid adverse wear from either 'toe-in' (excess outside wear) or 'toe-out' (excess inside wear).
Get the above sorted and you'll probably end up with better range, because there will be less rolling resistance.