[Sovereign]

Hi Guys,
I have a 2011 Ti Mo (owned since 2012), which when driving on 235/65/R18 Bridgestone Duelers was a lovely smooth ride, I would get about 33,000 miles to a set (the originals and one change over). Here in Australia they dropped my size Duelers to support only big 4x4's. They brought out a Bridgestone Eucopia and Alenza in the OEM sizes, the Eucopia is meant to be a very soft compound, very expensive (US$350 each, AU$514)
I changed to the Alenza and have had nothing but trouble. Despite having numerous wheel alignments, they pull to the left (inside) often. I have cracked two sets of third party front control arm bushes, on my third set now! With this last set, the mechanics had the bushes made to Nissan specs and the issues of drifting went away. Although the premature tyre wearing remains.

I am on my second set of Alenza's, first set lasted 10,560 miles, this set has lasted for 13,000 miles. I found out today that Bridgestone have dropped the Alenza from my size altogether and only offer Ecopia's. So time to change brands for sure.

I drive 99% sealed roads, some of our roads have a coarser finish, not smooth.
I used to drive +40,000 miles per year, but now I am only doing around 3,000 miles per year.
The choices on offer are Continental CCX, Goodyear Eagle F1, Kumho Crugen HP71 and Cooper CS5 GT. I have found a brand called Dayton and found out today they are the poverty pack version of Bridgestone, at $300 per tyre, I would like to understand their idea of 'cheap' pricing. I think the Coopers maybe the go as, provided I have the tyres rotated every 5,000K's (3100 miles) (at additional cost) they are guaranteed for 50,000K's (31,000 miles).

I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has had good experiences with their tyres and would recommend them.
Thanks
Andy

 

[MuranoSL2003]

I had Coopers on my '03, they worked well for me.

 

[YoGeorge]

Dayton is a sub-brand of Firestone/Bridgestone. (Bridgestone bought Firestone.) Sounds like you have a strange and small tire selection available to you. If you can find any of the tire models you are considering on tirerack.com you can see survey results.

I have a strong preference for Michelin tires but of the brands you mention, I would lean toward the Continental if it's a premium tire. Coopers are a crude sub-brand of Goodyear and in the US they usually cost less, weigh more, and don't ride as well as premium tires. Not sure which Goodyear F1 you are talking about--there are 10 models called F1 listed on Tirerack and many are summer only tires. I have not been a big fan of Bridgestones but there is no reason they can't make a good tire.

 

[MuranoSL2003]

Cooper was independent tire company until being purchased by Goodyear in 2021.

Coopers Goodyear - Google Search

I agree, they are not a premium tire. But they are still very good and have a great mileage warranty. I've never had premium tires, so I can't compare... Maybe next time I need tires I'll treat myself to some premium Michelins.

 

[I need coffee]

I am on my second set of Alenza's, first set lasted 10,560 miles, this set has lasted for 13,000 miles.

When was the last time you had a wheel alignment done?

I used to drive +40,000 miles per year, but now I am only doing around 3,000 miles per year.
...
I think the Coopers maybe the go as, provided I have the tyres rotated every 5,000K's (3100 miles)

This may be part of the problem. If you're only driving 3,000 miles/year then that means you're rotating your tires only once every ~19 months. You need to rotate your tires more often if you don't drive as much. IMO, tires should be rotated about twice a year so I would be doing them every 1,500 miles in your case.

 

[MuranoSL2003]

This may be part of the problem. If you're only driving 3,000 miles/year then that means you're rotating your tires only once every ~19 months. You need to rotate your tires more often if you don't drive as much. IMO, tires should be rotated about twice a year so I would be doing them every 1,500 miles in your case.

What is the theory on the time based rotation vs miles driven?

I would think the tires are only wearing when the car is going down to road...

 

[PaulDay]

What is the theory on the time based rotation vs miles driven?

I would think the tires are only wearing when the car is going down to road...

When a car is seldom driven, or only low mileage trips, rust/binding issues can develop on parts of the car that are normally seen during a simple tire rotation. Other than miles driven, inspections being the second reason to do timely tire rotation as part of preventive maintenance.

Under those conditions, it makes sense to do a tire rotation twice yearly. Do it spring and fall, same time as a peek under the hood checking battery condition, fluid levels and air filter condition.

Have a good day.

 

[I need coffee]

What is the theory on the time based rotation vs miles driven?

I would think the tires are only wearing when the car is going down to road...

To be clear, tire wear happens when the car is driven. But, when cars are driven few miles a year it often means the car sits quite a while in between trips and this can cause flat spotting. While this wouldn't wear the tire out itself it might change how the tire wears when driven (e.g. unevenly). PaulDay adds another reason to do more frequent rotations (inspections). I actually don't have a real theory grounded in actual scientific evidence so I'll hide behind Nissan's maintenance schedule, which says rotate the tires every 7,500 miles or 6 months .

Nevertheless, a set of tires should last a lot longer than 10k miles so the first thing I would be looking at is a possible wheel alignment problem and worn suspension and/or steering parts.

 

[Pilgrim]

There's definitely a reason for getting only 10K out of a set of tires. Make sure air pressure is set at factory spec or a couple pounds higher (low pressure will wear faster) and keep the front end well aligned. I rotate at 5K intervals but would have no problem with slightly less. Since most tires today are directional in rotation, rotating them is normally front to back. (If tires are directional, that will be noted on the sidewall.)

 

[MuranoSL2003]

I find it interesting that even though 3rd gen Muranos don't come with directional tires, the owner's manual shows the front to back type tire rotation. My 1st gen owner's manual had the crisscross tire rotation.

 

[Sovereign]

Hi Guys,
Thank you all for your replies, sorry for my delay in responding, partly due to time difference ( i think I am 14hrs in front of some of you?) but also the car was booked in for another wheel alignment and check. It was confirmed today that the rear tyres are on the wear marks, so technically, in Australia, I could be issued with a non-roadworthy sticker. The front's have worn evenly and have about 3,000K's left.
So to clarify, my Murano has had its tyres rotated and wheel alignment done every 5,000k's, the rotation is free as part of buying 4 new tyres, the wheel alignment is at cost.
I drive the car almost every other day, but around 40 to 50k round trip, some are longer, today I did 95k's. From November 2021 untill today 17th March 2023 I have done 9,042k's, it has had two wheel rotations and two wheel alignments in that time span.
The car has all suspension components checked by Nissan, Bridgestone and an independent mechanic (who is Nissan trained). Bridgestone sent a tyre technician. I bought the car when it was 7 months old and it had Bridgestone Duelers on it.
Today the Bridgestone service centre stated (off the record of course) that the compound of the tyre was way too soft for the weight of the vehicle and the road surfaces we have in Western Australia, this is despite Nissan supplying it as the preferred tyre. I was told with my low mileage I should consider putting on a cheaper Chinese tyre (which would have a harder compound) and replacing them more often. The rationale is that a full set of Chinese tyres, meeting Australian standards, costs $720 fitted and the Bridgestone's cost $2,000 a set. I can change the tyres 3 times for almost the same cost.
Also these tyres are asymmetrical, the outside is always the outside, they cannot be flipped over.
Once again thanks for your input gentleman.

 

[MuranoSL2003]

What are the temperatures where you are?

I know some parts of Australia can get very hot. This would probably would wear the tires much more quickly, especially if they are a softer rubber compound.

 

[Sovereign]

In the winter the average daytime temp is 15-18C (59-64F), we have had it as low as -7C (19.4F) at 7am,the coldest timeslot. In autumn, now, it was 20C in the morning and 36C during the day (68 - 97F).
In the summer it can be 32C at 7am and 45C by 2pm (90 - 113F). So we have some extremes, Perth is also a very windy city, the third windiest in the world I believe, so the chill factor can get you a bit too.
So currently 7pm it is 24C but the weather app says feels like 17C, due to the wind.

 

[Pilgrim]

It's almost impossible to get one set of tires that are designed for that entire temperature range. I think what I'd do is go for the hotter range with tires having a harder compound. That means they won't be good on snow, but that's not a factor down there.

I would not run an "all-season" tire, as those are going to have softer rubber than straight highway tires. In fact, I might go to "summer" tires and stick with them. The factor I'm not allowing for is mud...but that may not be a factor either.

Have you checked Tire Rack online? I get great road tests and technical info about tires on their website, as well as user reviews. I'm not sure they ship there, but they might be a source of info for tires you can get there.

 

[Sovereign]

Thanks Pilgrim for that link, I will have a read up. interesting to date no one has said, stay away from Chinese tyres, which are meant to have a harder compound.

 

[MuranoSL2003]

I haven't heard anything good about Chinese tires... I would stay away from them unless you know someone who has had a good experience with them...

 

[Sovereign]

In this world of subterfuge we live in, where nothing is as it first appears, do we really know where something is made?
This link shows that even the American branded Coopers can be made in China!
Where Are Tires Made? (28 Brands Explained)

Being in Australia, our market is flooded with Chinese products. Even Miele, a great German company, manufactures their vacuum cleaners in China.
If a component can be made nearer to its end market, thereby reducing transport costs, the bean counters will take that option to secure a bigger profit margin. If that component is inferior, they don't care, because they are building in planned obsolescence to secure future revenue for themselves and their shareholders.

So the end users find it increasingly difficult to buy a 'pure bred' component. In fact some Murano's are built in Wuhan, China (yes, that notorious place), at the Dongfeng Nissan plant, owned 50/50 with Nissan. They were probably made for the local market, there were over 27,000 sold there in 2018, but who knows where they ended up?

 

[YoGeorge]

All tires sold in the USA have to be labeled with country of origin. TireRack lists the country of origin in its tire spec list for every tire they sell EXCEPT this is probably targeted to US sales. The spec lists even show that a single tire style can come from 3 or 4 different countries depending on size and/or supply.

That article you link is pretty incomplete. Michelin, for instance, makes tires in Canada as well as the US. And I think my last set of Latitude Tours for my van was made in Poland.

 

[Pilgrim]

I have one rule that is based mostly on experience: if in doubt, you can't go wrong buying Michelins. I've had a number of different Michelins over the years and always had good service from them. They do have a different feel in cornering which takes a while to get used to.

 

[Sovereign]

I have checked out the Tire Rack website. I had to insert a USA zip code to view tyres, I chose a Texas code (not sure if that was right), to try and skew the options to a summer tyre as suggested by Pilgrim. Unfortunately my only options listed were All Season tyres, of which only two are available to me here in Western Australia. They are the Pirelli Scorpion and the Kumho HP71, both are expensive at around $450 per tyre.
My other choices on offer here are Falken CT60, CooperCS5 Grand Touring and three other Chinese tyres. There is one Michelin Primacy SUV available in 235/65R18, but I cannot find any in stock.
In answer to YoGeorge post, the place of manufacture is stamped on the tyres available here in Oz, most are China, Taiwan and some Japan.
1.30am here, going for some sleep, thanks for your replies.