My Front Tires are worn to the tread bars!

[benwa]

At 18,000 Miles, I am now looking for other options. The dealer told me to check with my local Bridgestone Dealer for warranty information because the tires are not covered under my bumper-to-bumper warranty! You won't be surprised to hear my Firestone Dealership said... that tire has no mileage warranty and the ECOPIA EP 150 BL 185/55R15 82T is a cheep tire Chevrolet purchased in bulk to save money.
I'm not happy: I want to have all four tires replaced... preferably with a run flat set of four tires. Why? Because I have no spare tire and I want to have peace of mind if I should have trouble on the road. I also want a 50,000 mile warranty as well. I'm waiting for the Chevrolet EV technician to get back to me with options because most tire dealers don't want the liability of removing the rear tires and replacing them with 185.s not 195's, I need permission from Chevrolet to do this! WTF... I'm not happy about Chevrolets decision to limit my options! Please assist me if you have a solution to my dilemma?

 

[fengshui]

I have the Yokohama S.Drives, and like them. The rear tires take a lot less abuse than the fronts. I expect those might last a long time, and given the different sizes, I'd probably just replace the fronts.

 

[cwerdna]

At 18,000 Miles, I am now looking for other options. The dealer told me to check with my local Bridgestone Dealer for warranty information because the tires are not covered under my bumper-to-bumper warranty! You won't be surprised to hear my Firestone Dealership said... that tire has no mileage warranty

I've never heard of mileage warranties on any OEM tires supplied w/new cars. And yes, they're normally separate from that of the basic "bumper to bumper" warranty on cars. I've never seen anything different, at least from my experience w/Nissans and Toyotas.

 

[Jeeman0]

I'm at 8500 miles and the front tires are at the tread bars too. Getting Kumho Ecsta 4X tires installed at Americas Tire for $233 out the door. Hope they last 40K like they are supposed to, but I'm thinking I'll get 20K out of them (gotta love that 400 lbs of torque).

 

[SteveC5088]

I'm at 8500 miles and the front tires are at the tread bars too. ... (gotta love that 400 lbs of torque).

Me too. I'll be lucky to get 10K out of the front pair. But heck, when it's the only thing that needs repair, I don't care.

 

[vizcarmb]

Just wondering if anyone matched the front with the rears. Would there be clearance issues? I would rather have all 4 matching so I don't have to replace the fronts all the time

 

[Nashco]

Lots more information in this thread:

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3584&start=40

While you can mount the larger rear tires on the front wheels, the front and rear wheels are not interchangeable.

Bryce

 

[mairaliang13]

just calm down an have peace of mind

 

[NORTON]

These mileage numbers mean you guys have been enjoying your Spark EV's !!

Good for you !!

 

[ImTedBell]

I guess I should expect my fronts to wear out in about 20k. How are the backs doing for you guys on wear at 20k?

 

[NORTON]

Ted,
I would say it totally depends on how you use your right foot. Go easy like a gasser Spark and you will get normal tire wear.
Me?, I'm enjoying the hell out of this fast silent car.
In fact I decided to be proactive and bought my next set of tires now.
I'll save the stock LRR tires for later. $68 for swapping.
I wanted Yokohama S.Drive (summer only) but these (all season) Kumho's were on sale!!! Tirerack.com
I'm guessing the traction control will allow more performance if there is more traction!!

KUMHO
ECSTA 4X II
Ultra High Performance All-Season
Front: 185/55R15 82V
$81.64
Availability: In Stock

Rear: 195/55R15 85V
$85.88
Special Offer: Buy a set of four and get a $100 prepaid rebate card
Set of 4: $335.04
Price After Mail-In Rebate: $235.04

 

[ExtensionCord]

even driven easy the fronts will wear quicker than a gas car because of the regen. It's like having no rear brakes, the front tires to all the work accelerating and decelerating.

 

[nikwax]

Ted,
I would say it totally depends on how you use your right foot. Go easy like a gasser Spark and you will get normal tire wear.
Me?, I'm enjoying the hell out of this fast silent car.
In fact I decided to be proactive and bought my next set of tires now.
I'll save the stock LRR tires for later. $68 for swapping.
I wanted Yokohama S.Drive (summer only) but these (all season) Kumho's were on sale!!! Tirerack.com
I'm guessing the traction control will allow more performance if there is more traction!!

KUMHO
ECSTA 4X II
Ultra High Performance All-Season
Front: 185/55R15 82V
$81.64
Availability: In Stock

Rear: 195/55R15 85V
$85.88
Special Offer: Buy a set of four and get a $100 prepaid rebate card
Set of 4: $335.04
Price After Mail-In Rebate: $235.04

How are you liking the Kumhos?

 

[NORTON]

How are you liking the Kumhos?

I should get them and have them installed by this weekend.
I'll try to gather some accurate data and post after a few days of driving on them.

EDIT:
Like using Torque Pro app to gather before/after 0-60 times and is there another app to gather lateral G's?
I'm not even sure if I should but the OBD2 to BT adapter in the Spark EV. Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[ImTedBell]

Good point about regen braking wearing the fronts more than a normal car.

Looking at the tire specs the factory tires have 9/32 of tread. GM Financial lease return requires at least 4/32 tread to avoid "excess wear" charges. That is only 11k of driving. With a 30k lease it's probably best to get a set of summer tires, wear them out then swap back the LRR basket balls.

Edit. Ordered a set of Kumho Ecsta 4x II today. America's tire is a few bucks cheaper for the tire and tax is 30something vs 50 for shipping. Had to special order but hopefully have them mounted next week.

 

[nikwax]

How are you liking the Kumhos?

I should get them and have them installed by this weekend.
I'll try to gather some accurate data and post after a few days of driving on them.

EDIT:
Like using Torque Pro app to gather before/after 0-60 times and is there another app to gather lateral G's?
I'm not even sure if I should but the OBD2 to BT adapter in the Spark EV. Does anyone have experience with this?

How's it going? Any change to driving range? Subjective impressions?

 

[NORTON]

How's it going? Any change to driving range? Subjective impressions?

They are awesome!! I recommend them for a good time!
They don't squeal much until close to the limit and lateral G's are definitely better.
I'm still learning to deal with stability control. It's ,, different.
The Yokohama S Drives were a similar price. They are 'summer tires' and spec don't use them near 'freezing temps'. Bad for me. Plus the Kumhos had a $100 rebate.

I never got around to measuring acceleration differences. With the windows down you can still hear these little 185s trying to break loose on almost any acceleration.
This little American (e) Muscle Car uses traction control ALL the time! It needs it.

I'm sure since these are not LRR tires it takes more W to roll down the road.
Maybe by the time I swap these out and I'll have numbers to compare to the stock LRR tires.
But since I don't spend a dime on powering this little Hot Rod, frankly my dear.....

edit: I forgot to say these are 51 psi tires. I'll try them up near the limit and I wouldn't be surprised if they are better than LRR tires at that pressure, but rougher...
I usually run tires near their limit and never had a problem, only better fuel economy and better tire life.

 

[SteveC5088]

I'm at 8500 miles and the front tires are at the tread bars too. ... (gotta love that 400 lbs of torque).

Me too. I'll be lucky to get 10K out of the front pair. But heck, when it's the only thing that needs repair, I don't care.

Well, I wrote that back in November. Now 7 months later, my wear bars have disappeared -- at 6K miles!

I think I'm going to lighten my lead-foot and keep driving on them for a while.

What do the same tires cost these days -- anyone check?


Edit: Replaced the front tires at 10,200 miles: $270 for everything.
link: Front tire wear, is this normal?

 

[ImTedBell]

Tirerack lists them as 98 for the front 101 for the rear. Add in about $50 shipping. Total is 451.64 shipped.

I have a set of factory tires for sale if anyone is interested.

 

[NORTON]

The Kumho's in these sizes have a $100 rebate until June 30th at Tire Rack.
But they are 'ultra high performance all seasons' and not Low Rolling Resistance tires.
Sounds like fun to me! This car with more traction will probably be faster than with the stock tires.
Of course your range will be less, but if you never get close to running low, who cares? Electrons are a cheap way to roll!