tire wear

[taco]

whats worse under inflated or over inflated?

i already replace a dunlop k571 after 4000-4200 miles and it was bald.
now my front tire was under inflated by 6-8lbs and is half worn( just pumped it up)

i got rear at 40psi on metzler marathon 880
i got front at 30psi on maxxis touring

[redyaris]

If I assume that over and under inflation is with respect to manufactures recommendation, and that you do not go above the maximum marked on the tire sidewall, then under inflation will increase rolling resistance and if you go low enough you will encounter handling/steering problems. If you go above manufacturers recommendations then the rolling resistance will go down and the fuel consumption will go down [more mpg] as well...

[jkv357]

As I understand it, low pressures give more resistance and build more heat because the tire will buckle more as it contacts the road.

I'd be careful over-inflating cycle tires though.


Jay

[mcrews]

UNder inflation is worse.

I run 46psi (nitrogen) on my tires. I get 35-38000 miles uot of them.
When I first got the car 5 yrs ago I ran 32 like a good boy. I got 40,000.
For the improved mileage I'm more than happy.

(but, yhat on a car)

[CapriRacer]

It's interesting that you titled this thread "Tire Wear", then ask about inflation pressure with out refering to wear in your question.

I think you'll find that there is an optimum value for inflation pressure that maximizes tire wear, but there are other consideratiuons such as ride quality, traction, handling, impact resistance, etc. that will have different values - and that may change what you think might be best.

[alvaro84]

Well, a rear tire often wears much faster than a front. It's the case with my Heidenau K73 pair, of which I had to replace the rear after 10250km (6370mi) (almost reached the wear mark at the 80k maintenance) while the front looks pretty new, the 2nd rear may wear earlier than this front.

With the Metzeler Z6s it was different, they got worn at the same pace, they were replaced together at 28000km (17400mi).

As a rule of thumb, rear wears faster on a stronger bike, and it also wears faster with more weight on it. My Teresa (650cc 50hp single, used mostly <4000rpm) is not too hungry compared to many other bikes today, yet half of that 10250km was 2-up which may count.

I always inflate the tires more than BMW recommends, sidewall max at most (2.9bars with the Z6s and 2.5/2.7 with these K73s).

[taco]

I was told I was running to much air. 40psi. When it recommends 35-36 psi (rear) that is y my dunlops wore so fast. I still say it was a soft tire.
About 10% of my riding maybe less is 2 up.

[thomason2wheels]

Originally Posted by taco

I was told I was running to much air. 40psi. When it recommends 35-36 psi (rear) that is y my dunlops wore so fast. I still say it was a soft tire.
About 10% of my riding maybe less is 2 up.

High air pressure will be much less likely to cause rapid wear than pressure set too low... same goes for the grip of the tire, too liitle air compromises traction more than too much.

[alvaro84]

Originally Posted by thomason2wheels

High air pressure will be much less likely to cause rapid wear than pressure set too low... same goes for the grip of the tire, too liitle air compromises traction more than too much.

The same here. With too low pressure Teresa behaves, well, strange when cornering. Too high is strange too (at least with these K73s), but too low is definitely much worse.

[kamesama980]

First off, comparing front and rear wear on a bike is different because the vast majority run differnet size tires. Secondly, you have different model and brands of tires front and rear. Depends how you dide a lot too. More cornering will wear the front faster, more long straight driving will wear the rear faster. From several years of reading on several bike forums very rarely do front and rear tires wear at the same rate and in the same way. I have my miles divided between too many bikes to have needed tires so I can't say from experience though.

good article on it
Motorcycle Tire Wear