Tread life and alignment

[MAR1T]

Hi all!
Has anyone seen an improvement in tire tread life after getting an alignment? Or does anyone believe that they had faster tire wear because their alignment was off?
My r1t with 21” tires has 13k miles and I’m down to 5/32” of tread. Fronts were wearing faster and its evened out after rotating at 7500. I get that the r1t is going to wear faster than the typical car but this seems even worse than that. I’ll likely replace them before needing to drive in snow this winter.

I’m wondering if my alignment could be off and that’s making it worse. But I have no other signs of a poor alignment - treadwear is even, truck doesn't pull to the side and the steering wheel is straight.
Do you think it’s worth getting an alignment?

Thanks!!

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[Greg Chick]

I share the question and the issue. Much has been said on the issue, it seems the 21" are worse. The limited option may be the annoying part of the problem, only one tire available, the Scorpion stings...... My action is using only standard height and all 4 wheels to stop and go. Add driving in a non abrupt way, like slow starts and slow regen when slowing down. Driving like I got a goldfish bowl on the seat or a full cup of coffee on the dash.

 

[Rknb2000]

Hi all!
Has anyone seen an improvement in tire tread life after getting an alignment? Or does anyone believe that they had faster tire wear because their alignment was off?
My r1t with 21” tires has 13k miles and I’m down to 5/32” of tread. Fronts were wearing faster and its evened out after rotating at 7500. I get that the r1t is going to wear faster than the typical car but this seems even worse than that. I’ll likely replace them before needing to drive in snow this winter.

I’m wondering if my alignment could be off and that’s making it worse. But I have no other signs of a poor alignment - treadwear is even, truck doesn't pull to the side and the steering wheel is straight.
Do you think it’s worth getting an alignment?

Thanks!!

Wow, 7500! I just did a tire rotation at 5000, my tread was 8/32. I am a full time RV guy, so I pull my 5000lbs RV a lot. I always use AP, but went I am tenting in the mountains, I may use conserve on those trips. From what you said I don’t think you need an alignment. But I might advise a slower start and stop option. I figure to 25,000 and maybe 30,000 out of my 21’s on my R1T.

 

[R1Thor]

Anecdote:
I had some pretty obvious pulling to the right when I first took ownership of my R1T.
I had it in for service ~900 miles to have it aligned. They aligned it at multiple height settings (per my service advisor) and even let me keep the alignment calibration printout.

So far, I think I'm getting better than average (reported+ sensationalized) wear. I'm at ~12k miles and still have significant tread. Rotated once around 5k miles (it happened to be in for service at the time) and again at 7500 miles (due to getting the full sized spare, I wanted to start the 5-tire rotation).

 

[SANZC02]

I find the comments about tire wear because of regen interesting. The tires do all of the stopping regardless of regen braking or standard braking. The wear comes from the additional inertia of the 7k pound vehicle when stopping, not if it is the motor or the rotor causing the deceleration.

The launch and cornering makes a difference as well. My wife does 90% of the driving on our Model S and she is getting a lot more miles out of the tires now than I was getting.

 

[HJP1]

I am at 5000 miles and called Rivian yesterday 10/24 for a tire rotation, they do that VIA mobile service and charge $60. The Rivian rep asked me if there's a Discount Tire nearby and I said yes, she said Rivian partnered with them so I called and they charge $60 which includes a tire balance, I have an appointment tomorrow. I plan to rotate every 5000 miles to help my 21" tires last longer as I do not want to buy new tires every 15,000 miles especially at current prices.


Update 10/27/2023:

I took my R1T to Discount Tire in Scottsdale and they did a tire rotation and balance for $40. The advisor said a couple tires were slightly out of balance and they adjusted accordingly. The advisor also said my tires look good but did not tell me the tread depth and I forgot to ask. He did say he is starting to see more and more R1's come in, mostly the T's as the S's are still fairly new. If you are close to a Discount Tire I would highly recommend......

 

[Whataboykie!]

My 21" Pirelli's would have lasted 20-24,000 miles. At 17,000 miles I replaced them with the 20" wheels and tires you see in the picture. I now use one as a spare. The diameter is virtually the same, so my speedo is fine.
I wanted a fatter look and purchased these tires from Simple Tire for about $800.00.
My only regret is road noise. Yeah, those Pirelli's were super quiet.
The size is 285/60/20R, and they fit perfectly with no rubbing at all. No alignment needed.

 

[WSea]

I find the comments about tire wear because of regen interesting. The tires do all of the stopping regardless of regen braking or standard braking. The wear comes from the additional inertia of the 7k pound vehicle when stopping, not if it is the motor or the rotor causing the deceleration.

The launch and cornering makes a difference as well. My wife does 90% of the driving on our Model S and she is getting a lot more miles out of the tires now than I was getting.

I did change to high regen to reduce the regen bias towards the front. Launch and corning most likely make the biggest difference

 

[LL75]

guess all cars are not the same due to driving habits. I did a rotation at 7k miles on my R1s and discount tires said it wears out evenly and still lots of treads left. 90% all purpose mode and 10% conserve.

 

[CrazyOne]

At 7500 miles, fronts are at 7.5 and rear at 8. If they last 25/30k miles I am fine with that. I run Michelin Pilot As tires on my other car and they usually last me 30k miles. If they brake and corner better than average, they will last less than average.

I have Regen on high, but use the pedal to modulate that to around half.

 

[moosetags]

Those tires and wheels look super on the Compass Yellow truck. We plan to rotate and balance every 5,000 miles or so. I will be checking tread wear regularly. We have a Discount Tire over in Panama City. We will be using them for Opal's tire rotations.

Brian

 

[shap]

I did change to high regen to reduce the regen bias towards the front. Launch and corning most likely make the biggest difference

Interesting point - are you saying that high regen put more regen (% wise) on rear wheels compared to the standard regen option?

 

[kozak79]

I have 21s, did a rotation at 5K, I'm at 11K now and need NEW front tires, they are down to the thread bar. Rear tires have some life left. I need to remember that I'm not in a race at every light.

 

[MAR1T]

I have 21s, did a rotation at 5K, I'm at 11K now and need NEW front tires, they are down to the thread bar. Rear tires have some life left. I need to remember that I'm not in a race at every light.

Wow, only 11k and need new tires? Mine isn't that bad in comparison.
Must be that New Jersey driving style...that's where I learnt to drive

 

[kozak79]

Wow, only 11k and need new tires? Mine isn't that bad in comparison.
Must be that New Jersey driving style...that's where I learnt to drive

I got my driving habits in Brooklyn!

P.S. I called Pirelli and the 21's have no mile warranty

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