Tire selection question

[Steve 0080]

Looks very nice !!!! Maybe a little square.... Why not ?

[Nam7071]

I ran a C/T on my FJR up until I sold it. Now riding a F6B and am interested in the darkside again. One question: Why all the interest in a snow tire? Usually snow tires get the least amount of tread life compared to an all season tire.

Someone enlightin' me.

[wjduke]

I ran a C/T on my FJR up until I sold it. Now riding a F6B and am interested in the darkside again. One question: Why all the interest in a snow tire? Usually snow tires get the least amount of tread life compared to an all season tire.

Someone enlightin' me.

I'm no darksider, but I'm in the tire business. I'm with you on this question, especially the Blizzak...soft as butter, and was mentioned earlier. I think it's the rounded edges instead of squared off ones like you see. The tread design matters too. You need the sipes on the edges to be in the same direction.

[bob109]

With numerous miles under my a$$ on CT's I'll share a observation about CT Tire Roundness! Unlike a MT which simply lays over due to its rounded radius/profile with little resistance, a regular radial car tire compresses the side wall and causes the tire to "squat" when cornering! This "squating action" eliminates any wear except to the actual thread face. Those who are Dark Siders can confirm this by simply inspecting their thread wear. The mold casting nubs on the sidewalls show no signs of wear. I'm attaching some pics of my single ply side wall General G-Max which is worth a thousand words when trying to explain CT thread wear.

DSC_0009.jpg

The above tire delivered 30,300 miles of wear before being replaced with another G-Max. A close observation/inspection of the tire reveal exactly what I've stated. There is absolutely no sign of wear to the sidewall

DSC_0001.jpg

This observation is for Non-Run Flat tires, as I have no experience with Run-Flats.

[Monk]

With numerous miles under my a$$ on CT's I'll share a observation about CT Tire Roundness! Unlike a MT which simply lays over due to its rounded radius/profile with little resistance, a regular radial car tire compresses the side wall and causes the tire to "squat" when cornering! This "squating action" eliminates any wear except to the actual thread face. Those who are Dark Siders can confirm this by simply inspecting their thread wear. The mold casting nubs on the sidewalls show no signs of wear. I'm attaching some pics of my single ply side wall General G-Max which is worth a thousand words when trying to explain CT thread wear.

Attachment 18733

The above tire delivered 30,300 miles of wear before being replaced with another G-Max. A close observation/inspection of the tire reveal exactly what I've stated. There is absolutely no sign of wear to the sidewall

Attachment 18734

This observation is for Non-Run Flat tires, as I have no experience with Run-Flats.

I agree 100% to a degree!

I started with non runflats ... then after seven tires went to the runflat. My first one was the Michelin Alpin runflat. My worst mileage was 9,700 and the best was 12,700. The difference depended on how much flat land riding I did with the tire as opposed to running it in the mountains. On a trip to California and back my mileage would get close to 13,000, but if I stayed home it was much worse.

With either tire, if my tire PSI is not appropriate for the type of riding I'm doing, then the tire wear can suffer, i.e. if I run the tire pressure too high then it wears out in the middle with plenty of tread left on the outside quarters. But if I run it with too low a pressure and play hard in the mountains, the edges of the tire will be gone. And if not watched closely it can get to the cords pretty quick.

Even so, the wear is not out on the sidewall, but is at the outer edge of the tread.

This is one of the reasons it is so hard to advise someone on what tire pressure they should use. It all depends on riding style and where that riding is happening. Most would say a runflat will wear better with 28-32 PSI depending on riding style. And that is absolutely true in an area with very few curvy roads. But from experience, I found excessive tread wear on the edges of the tire at 32 PSI. To get even wear I have run mine somewhere around 36 PSI.

[shooter]

Monk I agree with you. Bob and I have had this discussion before. We don't have any straight roads except Interstate Hwys around here. On my Alpin , two up I run 40 and solo I run 36. Give me good wear and a good feel.

[wjduke]

So shooter, Monk and other darksiders. Do I understand that the darkside for you guys is about running a runflat as opposed to the mileage? I thought it was all about getting double and triple mileage, but from what Monk said, 9,700-13,000 isn't anything to write home about.

[bob109]

So shooter, Monk and other darksiders. Do I understand that the darkside for you guys is about running a runflat as opposed to the mileage? I thought it was all about getting double and triple mileage, but from what Monk said, 9,700-13,000 isn't anything to write home about.

A General G-MAX delivered 30,300 miles service and I ride a lot of curvy roads and keep the tire air pressure at 42/43psi. The Max is a single ply sidewall non-run flat with a 480 Tread Wear Rating. Not sure what kind of riding style/habits would result 9000/13000K wear. Weighing 250+ lbs my tires get a workout. If I were getting the lower milage reported by Monk I'd simply stick with MT's. My Dark Side goal was improve mileage and reduced overall cost. I've achieved that! For me it works and the same goes for the front Bridgestone Battelax. Sure footed and great handling when compared to the stock Stones.

[wjduke]

A General G-MAX delivered 30,300 miles service and I ride a lot of curvy roads and keep the tire air pressure at 42/43psi. The Max is a single ply sidewall non-run flat with a 480 Tread Wear Rating. Not sure what kind of riding style/habits would result 9000/13000K wear. Weighing 250+ lbs my tires get a workout. If I were getting the lower milage reported by Monk I'd simply stick with MT's. My Dark Side goal was improve mileage and reduced overall cost. I've achieved that! For me it works and the same goes for the front Bridgestone Battelax. Sure footed and great handling when compared to the stock Stones.

This is what I thought was going on. The winter tire and runflats aren't known for long wear.

[bob109]

This is what I thought was going on. The winter tire and runflats aren't known for long wear.

From all that I've read, the only advantage of a Run Flat Winter Thread Radial is a "more MT like ride/handling" because of the multi-ply stiff side walls which produces little too no "squirm". Because of the softer compounds of winter tires, high milage wear is not in the cards. There may be exceptions, of course, depending on air pressure, rider weight, road surfaces encountered, riding style etc. etc. That said IMHO its safe to say that each individuals results will be different. As more Dark Siders chime in with info and pics of their experience the more broader the picture of wear characteristics/results will come to light for different tire choices/selections