VF Calais V tyre wear - any high mileage examples?

[Sir Les]

Hi guys, new member here. I recently bought a new VF Calais V with all the goodies (which I fancied), but unfortunately also with the 19" rims and low profile 245-40 Bridgestone Turanza T001 tyres (which I didn't fancy but come as standard with the 'V' specification). The handling is great at speed, but at the expense of a lot of 'bump thump' at lower town speeds over indifferent road surfaces dotted with manhole covers, potholes, etc. On smooth dense bitumen the ride and lack of tyre noise is exemplary; on coarser seals there is a lot of tyre roar. It was a trade-off I knew about and deliberated over, but I decided to go with it. So be it.

It's well known that one cannot expect the same life out of a low profile tyre as a more medium profile one: even the driver's handbook mentions this. My question is, how much should one expect? Obviously it depends on one's driving habits, but I'd be interested to hear from any owners of high-mileage Calais V's (if there are any) as to how their tyres are faring. And are there any recommendations as to what quieter, softer-riding replacements might be suitable?

Thanks in advance,

Sir Les.

 

[dgp]

I have the same car, mine is V6, I rotate every 5,000k and got 60,000k out of my first set.

 

[Sir Les]

Thanks for the response, dgp. 60,000 km! That's an excellent result. You were driving on solid roads, right?

 

[RoganJosh]

30000 kms so far in my CalaisV tread still good only on sealed roads

 

[Smashfist]

Depends on how you look after them. I regularly see VE's/VF's getting tyres swapped out (at least 2) every 30,000 - they're the ones that don't look after their tyre pressures or get rotated regularly. I'd say 45,000-50,000km would be my expectation providing pressures and rotations are looked after.

 

[Benboy]

As you've already acknowledged, low profile tyres are renowned for poor quality (comfort) ride. What life you get from the tyres - any tyres - will depend greatly on (obviously) how you drive, where you drive, how much weight is in the vehicle etc. Regular tyre rotation, balancing and checking EVERY 5,000 km can result in a longer tyre life. Wheel alignment at least yearly if mostly city/highway driving or more frequently if country sealed (read ROUGH, pot-holed) roads etc.

 

[RoganJosh]

As you've already acknowledged, low profile tyres are renowned for poor quality (comfort) ride. What life you get from the tyres - any tyres - will depend greatly on (obviously) how you drive, where you drive, how much weight is in the vehicle etc. Regular tyre rotation, balancing and checking EVERY 5,000 km can result in a longer tyre life. Wheel alignment at least yearly if mostly city/highway driving or more frequently if country sealed (read ROUGH, pot-holed) roads etc.

Pedders are telling me that all four wheels have to be aligned ($120) not just the front, if I don't do the rear then the front will still be out ... is this correct or not? Bob Jane have quoted me $55 for front wheel alignment and never mentioned anything about 4 wheels needing to be aligned ....

 

[zucan]

I am dreading buying my next car because I have a major spinal injury and the things I hear about low profile tyre scare the crap out of me I was lucky this time I got BA Ford fairmont but so many cars are heading down the road of low profile soon that will be the only choice

 

[joeyoz]

I got 40000 out of my potenzas in an SV6 ute, dirt roads everyday, potholes, some mud, constantly leaving the road and scraping them over a 3cm gap between the dirt and tar at 100 kph because the roads are too small around here, ran mostly the wrong pressures, about 10 psi below reccomended, didnt rotate them once, didnt align them once either. This was on an 18' rim though. Not saying you should do it stuff like this though

 

[Asmodai78]

VE Calais 79k with original tyres, rotated every 10k with 40psi checked every fortnight