Vehicle tires produce more particulate matter than their tailpipes do

[begreen]

FYI, my understanding is that the amount of regen braking in L and D on the Volt (and the Bolt) are identical. The brake pedal is 'blended'. On other brands (like Tesla) the brake pedal is just calipers, and you need to use 1 pedal to get regen (or so I have heard, haven't driven one).

Yes, that's right. Driving one pedal in the Volt becomes more natural in hilly terrain. It's a more enjoyable experience, you don't go racing downhill unless you want to. I miss it immediately when I drive our van. On trips, I put it in D with the ACC on.

 

[Ashful]

Yes, that's right. Driving one pedal in the Volt becomes more natural in hilly terrain. It's a more enjoyable experience, you don't go racing downhill unless you want to. I miss it immediately when I drive our van. On trips, I put it in D with the ACC on.

Sounds like an excuse to put a performance valve body shift kit in the minivan!

 

[EbS-P]

Sounds like an excuse to put a performance valve body shift kit in the minivan!

Probably Nitrous as well. Instant torque!! New Teslas you don’t even have to use break to come to a stop. Old ones like mine you still need the break pedal below 5 mph.

 

[SpaceBus]

Is it like driving an HST tractor (minus having a reverse pedal)?

 

[EbS-P]

Is it like driving an HST tractor (minus having a reverse pedal)?

I never found those very intuitive. It’s more like a manual in the high rev range as soon as you lift you are engine breaking.

Tesla took two days to feel normal. The idea of coasting foot off the gas doesn’t happen. I do find speed humps more of a challenge for the first 15 minutes after a week not driving the van. You lift off the gas and you don’t slow down.

Driving with the new graph up so you can see at what point you start regen breaking helps identify the spot where you are coasting.

But with 3 different driving modes that remap throttle response and max power you can always mess yourself up. But the regen amount doesn’t change. And I think it starts to engage at about the same pedal location it’s just you don’t have much of a coasting position in ludicrous mode.

 

[semipro]

The regen on our Leaf in "B" mode is pretty impressive though not quite one-foot driving.
We have some pretty serious hills around here and I've made trips to higher-elevation destinations where I didn't think we'd have the battery capacity to make it home again only to be very surprised when we got home with a lot of range to spare.

 

[begreen]

I just checked our van. At 4521# it considerably outweighs the Volt. Both have the same brand tires on them, Michelin Energy AS. The van has almost 32k on it and the tires are wearing well. I expect it will get at least 40-45k miles on the tires. I have the same expectation for the Volt.

 

[Ashful]

I just checked our van. At 4521# it considerably outweighs the Volt. Both have the same brand tires on them, Michelin Energy AS. The van has almost 32k on it and the tires are wearing well. I expect it will get at least 40-45k miles on the tires. I have the same expectation for the Volt.

Wow. I'm thrilled if I get beyond 10k miles out of any pair of tires on any vehicle. My car and truck are both at 20k, and both nearly due for their third set of tires.

 

[begreen]

Wow. I'm thrilled if I get beyond 10k miles out of any pair of tires on any vehicle. My car and truck are both at 20k, and both nearly due for their third set of tires.

That seems very low. I don't recall having a vehicle including trucks and RVs that got less than 25 or 30K on a set of radial tires. Our 2013 Volt got new shoes at 37K and there was still safe tread on them.

 

[EbS-P]

Tread life should be talked about as percent of warranties treadlife. Driving habits affect mileage. And as I’m finding with the Tesla. An inspec alignment for Tesla isn’t that great. 20k a set on a Tesla is good. Some report 8k on the first set.

A lot of independent rear suspensions these days really have excessive camber under moderate to heavy loads. I really want to see how the new Suburbans tire life with a trailer. I guess I never read any complaints about the Expedition. But my minivan with all of us around town and a decent load but no trailer for 3000-5000 miles wears the rear Insides almost as fast as the front outsides.

 

[Ashful]

That seems very low. I don't recall having a vehicle including trucks and RVs that got less than 25 or 30K on a set of radial tires. Our 2013 Volt got new shoes at 37K and there was still safe tread on them.

I've mentioned I like driving cars with comically large displacements, a likely cause of the low tire life reference in my head. The worst was a 7 liter Mustang that got a new pair of Mickey Thompson ET's every 3k - 5k miles. The P-Zero Nero's on the Charger last about 9k - 11k per full set of four, rotating every 3k miles.

I'll check mileage and percent wear on the KO2's on my truck tomorrow, as we have their purchase date recorded somewhere in the bowels of this forum, and I should be able to back out the mileage from that. That's a more "normal" vehicle, so it will be interesting to see where it lands.

 

[bholler]

You will get way more. Try aiming for 100k miles to bald.

I really doubt we will see tires that last that long. I think the compound would have to be so hard performance would really suffer. We had a set of Goodyears that had a really high wear rating and mileage warranty. But after about 6 months we were worn through the soft outer layer of rubber. The car was almost undrivable. I changed them after only 20k miles or so because I felt they were unsafe.

 

[EbS-P]

I really doubt we will see tires that last that long. I think the compound would have to be so hard performance would really suffer. We had a set of Goodyears that had a really high wear rating and mileage warranty. But after about 6 months we were worn through the soft outer layer of rubber. The car was almost undrivable. I changed them after only 20k miles or so because I felt they were unsafe.

Tires are the most overlooked safety feature of a car.

 

[bholler]

Tires are the most overlooked safety feature of a car.

Yes and quite possibly the most important one.

 

[brenndatomu]

 

[bholler]

Cost is the most important concern. If it feels undrivable, it's dangerous to drive as usual.

Rather, drive like a granny.

Accelerate slow and brake slow. Don't follow too close because it forces you to brake hard. Always go 5-10mph below speed limit.

My neighbor granny already made more than 80k miles with her 10 years old tires, the tires are bald now, but still drivable in a granny's way. She plan to change tires at 100k.

No cost absolutely is not the most important concern. My most important concern is not killing my kids or anyone else because I can't control my vehicle properly.

 

[bholler]

There are regional differences. Central PA is mostly ice, snow and hilly road.
In Texas, rain is the biggest enemy to maneuverability. Bald tires could understeer and slid.
The balder your tires are, the slower you must drive in rain to allow water to properly flow out of tire path.

That an incredibly irresponsible attitude to have. You need to start thinking about the safety of the people you are trying to help and the safety of those around them.

You do realize driving slow is about as much of a traffic hazard as driving fast don't you?

 

[begreen]

You will get way more. Try aiming for 100k miles to bald.

I never aim for bald. Usually, I update the tires at about 1/8" remaining tread. Traction and wet weather handling really falls off when the tread depth is at the warning bars (1/16").

 

[bholler]

Nice! please don't scrap your tire, donate them on craigslist.
Poor people thank you for leaving 1/8 remaining tread, which they can run for another 5K miles.
Sometimes, a tire is a tire. A tire with 1/8" tread is better than a new tire that break your bank so much that you default on payments and the car get repo-ed.
Yes, such is America.

This is how they set tire beads:

No they cannot a tire with 1/8" tread is worn out and will hydroplane badly ect. You also won't find a tire shop willing to mount and balance them. If someone cannot afford to keep their car in safe working order they should not be driving it. And in many states like ours they would not be allowed to drive them

 

[bholler]

Driving like a granny, slow, under normal road condition, on routes they are familiar with, is probably safe with a worn out tire.
No, they cannot afford tire shops. Neighbors help neighbors for good and for God.
What can relieve them from having to drive? Affordable housing within walking distance from work. For how many people does it exist?

No it is not safe period. That is why state inspections require a minimum tread depth. I don't know what they can do to avoid driving. But putting others at risk because they can't afford to properly maintain their vehicle is not an option.

 

[bholler]

Community self reliance is really important. In the inner city neighborhood I once lived in, we were never short of furniture, because someone collect from sidewalks of yuppie neighborhoods, then sanitize, clean and repair in his garage. He sells on craigslist and gives out what don't sell. It's awkward but works. Also saves the city money for landfill space.

but this is actually illegal for collecting trash without license, fortunately no one raises an eyebrow.

If we were allowed to build for need, we would have solved our own housing problem, yet the city council refuse upzoning lots nearby employment center or even building granny flats, the results? 8 people of 3 generations crammed in a single family home, one of whom is a carpenter, whose building permit applications were rejected over and over.

Ok absolutely none of that justifies running on worn out tires.

 

[bholler]

In reality, "there is no better way" justify many absurd practices. You got to do the best within your means. "If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid."

It might work for a while. It might work forever. Or you might blow out a tire or just loose control tomorrow killing someone.

That just isn't ok under any circumstances

 

[SpaceBus]

I've mentioned I like driving cars with comically large displacements, a likely cause of the low tire life reference in my head. The worst was a 7 liter Mustang that got a new pair of Mickey Thompson ET's every 3k - 5k miles. The P-Zero Nero's on the Charger last about 9k - 11k per full set of four, rotating every 3k miles.

I'll check mileage and percent wear on the KO2's on my truck tomorrow, as we have their purchase date recorded somewhere in the bowels of this forum, and I should be able to back out the mileage from that. That's a more "normal" vehicle, so it will be interesting to see where it lands.

You can do so much better than those Pirellis and not spend any more money. I assume you don't drive this car in the snow.

 

[Ashful]

You can do so much better than those Pirellis and not spend any more money. I assume you don't drive this car in the snow.

Snow?? Heck no! I've only even ever been caught in the rain twice in six years with it, both times because our forecasts were wrong.

Unless something has changed in the last few years, that's the only tire that meets the factory spec of that car (106Y). Of course, I'm not racing it, I could get away with Nittos... but the price difference isn't so much that I really care to bother with them.

 

[Ashful]

That seems very low. I don't recall having a vehicle including trucks and RVs that got less than 25 or 30K on a set of radial tires. Our 2013 Volt got new shoes at 37K and there was still safe tread on them.

Got some measurements and dates/mileages collected on the truck tires, BFG A/T KO2 LT275/60R20, and it appears I'm on track to get 29.5k miles out of them. I guess it's just the sportier tires for which I'm seeing very low miles.