Tire Maintenance and Replacement Research / V8V Sport Pack
 

Hi all,

Thought I would share some tire research I recently did in case other members had similar questions or find themselves in the same boat as me.

I have a 2009 V8V with the sport pack option which includes the 19 inch rims on Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires. My car only has about 9,500 miles so far, and I do not drive the car very aggressively. That said, the amount of remaining tread looks pretty good.

Nevertheless, I recall hearing from an AM service tech that tires, no matter how much remaining tread, should be changed after a certain number of years. Given that my car is approaching the 5-year mark, I called around a few AM dealerships to get their opinion on when my tires might be due for a change (even if the tread looked good).

The opinions I received varied widely. One dealership suggested changing the tires every 3 years if tracked frequently or driven aggressively or every 5 years if driven normally. Another dealership suggested changing tires every 6 or 7 years.

I finally spoke with Bridgestone's technical staff and they explained that their tires (or at least the Potenza RE050A) had a warranty of 6 years from the manufacture date. They also clarified for me that tires can safely be used well beyond this 6 year period (but just wouldn't be covered under warranty anymore). In fact, they claim that the industry standard is 10 years from the manufacture date. After then, the tire should be replaced, regardless of remaining tread. (Note: the manufacture date is stamped on the sidewall of tires manufactured after 2000, I think).

Afterwards, I spoke to a technician at Tire Rack and they claim that tires should be installed within 5 years of the manufacture date and can be used up to 10 years following the manufacture date, taking into account the amount of remaining tread and any visible signs of cracking, etc. They also suggested rotating (from left to right) our staggered tires as the Potenza RE050A tires are non-directional. I found that particularly interesting, as I am pretty sure the AM factory service checklist does not call for the tires to be rotated. According to Tire Rack, rotating this way helps ensure even wear for folks that do a lot of city driving making right turns, etc.

My last question to the Tire Rack tech was which tire he would recommend: the OE Potenza or the Michelin Pilot Super Sport. He said he would choose the Michelin tires every day of the week and twice on Sundays. For what it's worth, a service tech at my local Bridgestone/Firestone auto center also said he'd go with the Michelin tires hands down over the Potenza's.

Given that the Michelin tires are pretty much the same price (even slightly cheaper by around $10 - $15 dollars per tire), I will likely go with the Michelin's from all the reviews I've read and pretty strong endorsements from Tire Rack and the Bridgestone employee I spoke with. But it seems that my tire replacement can at least wait another year or so. :D

Anyways, hope some folks found this helpful.

My 2010 sports pack V8V has 12,000 miles and there is still a decent amount of tread left. When getting a replacement set of tires, I think I might be inclined to stay with the original equipment given that they have lasted much longer than I would have expected. When tire dealers recommended the Michelins, was that simply because the ride quality and performance was better or did they also take into account the expected mileage that could be obtained?

That's ridiculous they tell you its time for a tire change every three years. The only thing that degrades tires is ozone, and you get it from two places - the sun, and the air inside your tires. I don't know of any Aston owners that let their cars sit outside in the weather 24/7....but if yours is the one exception you will see the effects of ozone on the sidewall in the form of hairline cracks, that's 'dry rot'. You've seen it on trailer tires and RV's and the like. Certainly commercial trucks that sit outside all their lives get it, but you don't see those owners replacing their truck tires every three years. My commercial trucks will get about 10 years from a set of tires before ozone damage gets them, if we haven't burned them up with mileage by then.

Ozone inside the tires from the air you put in there will damage the tire and of course you don't see that. Again, it takes about 10 years. That's the real benefit of Nitrogen inside the tires, it has no ozone, but Nitrogen is sold as a more 'stable' inflation agent as it won't vary in the values from hot/cold as regular old air will. Put Nitrogen in your spare tire of any vehicle that has one and it will last forever if its kept out of the sunlight.

I only run either Bridgestone or Michelin on my vehicles. My preference is for Michelin when the make the tire in the size I need, and most people that are in the tire industry prefer Michelins as well.

FYI, my 2007 Vantage still has the original rubber on it, and its fine.

i've seen tires that rotted or degraded in *chunks* but not with the tires you've mentioned. i one bought a set of used wheels that came with tires, those tires literally fell part. i don't know how old they were or what they went through, and i never intended to use them - i replaced them as soon as i got the wheels. but the recommended "shelf life" of a tire is something you only need to worry about if you store the car for very long periods of time (years at a time). even then, you'll get flat spots in the tires before rubber degradation. i've also never had tires come close to their age limits - i always wear through them well before that becomes and issue.

as for tire recommendations, i've used a few Potenza tires and they're pretty good. but my favorite tire i've used so far are the Pilot Super Sports. i'll be getting them for my V8V as soon as my current set wears out.

The Michelins will last longer as well. It looks like the treadlife warranty is 30,000 miles for the front and 15,000 miles for the rear when using a staggered setup....otherwise, would be 30,000 miles on both. The Bridgestone's do not seem to come with any treadlife warranty.

might also depend on size. the set i had on my STi had a 35k-mile warranty. that was one of the big selling points for me... pro-rating my next set of awesome tires if this set wears out early? done!

You have to look at the treadwear specs on the tire. Harder compound and less sticky tires are going to wear out quicker, but give you more thrills around the corner. Depends if you're a cruiser or a hard driver....

*softer compound and more sticky tires

One of the UK DB9 owners stores is outside year round he has just had to replace all the tyres after 3.5 years as they have the cracking you describe (which is illegal in the UK now)

The air in a tyre is not going to generate enough ozone to cause cracking, N2 is used as it does not contain moisture, it perculates through the rubber less and has less expansion from temperature variations

OP A few UK guys use the Michelins, but most stick to the RE050's, if there's not much in price and the Tire Rack guys recommends them both equally why would you change from a tyre Aston/Bridgestone spent a fair bit of time modifiying to suit your car?

Ha!! 5 years?? ..guess I should be replacing the tires on my stang even though there still 9/32. Listen if they don't show visual signs of rubber cracking and the thread depth is still in good range (above 3/32)..don't replace them. I have Vanquish's still coming in with there original Yoko AVS tires..they can still hold 500HP after a decade of age with no cracking and still good thread depth.

I have seen tires crack before 10 years, but this has been mainly due to stuff like armorall being applied almost every day and then parked in the sun, but this isn't just tires..happens to dash trim too

The RE050's are hardly a spectacular tyre, they're average at best. It's pretty widely known that the new PSS is one of the best on the market at the moment and happens to be cheaper in some cases.

Personally if you're going to change, I'd go for the PSS.

Mikey - The Tire Rack guy, as well as a Firestone/Bridgestone auto center employee, recommended the Michelin tires.

Also, Bridgestone was selected as the OE supplier not only because it makes a good product but also because it underbids everyone else to become the OE supplier. In the end, we the consumers make up the difference for Bridgestone by paying more for their tires when it comes time to replace them, since many folks just prefer to stick with OE parts.

I am generally within that camp of customers that prefer to stick with OE parts. But, if after doing research, I find a product that seems to outperform the OE parts and costs roughly the same or even less, then why not change? The Michelin PSS seems to fall within that category.

I replaced my old stones with the PSS last year and it made a big difference in grip and ride.

Not only that but with the recent banter on how much Stuart's rotors save in weight vs Brembo, that difference is less the the weight saved going from the OEM stones to the super sports!

Id agree with that
Hence my looming 5.0 GT4 engine conversion
Just not much feed back on the michelins in the UK

I have tracked my car three times in the last 9 months. The first two on the Potenze (new, not originals, dealer put a fresh set on when I bought the car). The last track day was with the PSS. I noticed two big things with the PSS. Much better grip at speed around corners and the bigger thing is the wear on the tire. The PSS barely shows any wear other than on the edges from the high speed cornering. I think I could do 3 more track days plus the normal driving I do on the PSS. Doubtful the Potenza would have made it this far. And, Costco sells the PSS for $15/tire cheaper!