Q7 needs new tyres every 20k - suggestions?

[nightphotographer]

Our Q7 is needing it's third set of new tyres and it's just about to hit 40k - it has 21x10J wheels and take 295/35's if I remember rightly. The tyres are about $600-700 a corner so they're not the cheapest tyres either.

I was just wondering if there was any tips to get longer life out of the tyres specific to the 2.5 tonne Q7 - I had it booked in to get alligned months ago but when I turned up the place could only do up to 20" wheels and I just put it off. Tyres were wearing about 20% quicker on the fronts so were rotated and are now evenly sitting around 2mm.

Google is saying the Q7 is renowned for poor tyre wear with most people needing new tyres at 20,000 miles - that's nearly double the life of ours. No other forums have got any decent answers regarding a solution or anything that might help.

Is there any Australian delivered tyres we can try next that might be harder and get a few more ks out of? Would moving down to a 20" and higher profile tyre make any difference or at least widen the market for tyres 295/35/21 is a pretty small market.

Any tips would be appreciated!!!

Edit: in comparison, my polo is completely out of allignment, driven quite aggresively and I haven't needed to replace tyres in nearly 4 years of ownership and 50k - it didn't come with new tyres either!

[team_v]

Probably downsize wheels to get more range and cheaper tyre options.
At 21 inch you are likly to only have a few options for tyres and most of them will be sports oriented.
Basically if you stay at 21 inch wheels you are stuck with:
Dunlop SP Sport Maxx
Michelin Latitude Sport
Pirelli P Zero Rosso



Otherwise you can run your tyres at higher pressures to reduce the likelihood of early wear.

[Umai Naa!!]

How are they wearing?

If they're wearing both the inner and outer edges, but not feathering, I'd recommend increasing the tyre pressure.

[tigger73]

You could try changing brands to see if you can find a harder wearing compound. Often the sports tyres are a soft compound combined with a 2.5 tonne vehicle = recipe for wear.

You could try tirerack.com - they have a few options in the $350-400 range. But then you'll be up for freight and import duties if you bring in 4 at a time.

Otherwise stgeorgetyres.com.au or ozzytyres are the other local online stores.


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[h100vw]

You could try changing brands to see if you can find a harder wearing compound. Often the sports tyres are a soft compound combined with a 2.5 tonne vehicle = recipe for wear.

You could try tirerack.com - they have a few options in the $350-400 range. But then you'll be up for freight and import duties if you bring in 4 at a time.

Otherwise stgeorgetyres.com.au or ozzytyres are the other local online stores.


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I have always found Dark Horse to be an exceedingly long lasting tyre. Sometimes twice the life of the car. They seem to be made of some rubber substitute, possibly space age tech from NASA?

[nightphotographer]

Having done a little more reading, I think incorrect tyre pressures could be one of the problems - apparently with the weight of the car and the profile of the tyre it's pretty important to check the pressures more often.

Having said that now's the time to change tyre - Bridgestone is an option apparently these are better than the Pirelli's that come from factory and we have on at the moment - apparently the Dunlops have massive noise issues so I'll avoid though. Continental - unsure - I know they make the size and they weren't ridiculously expensive but as for wear I don't know.

All tyres are wearing evenly in terms of sides - no massive differences on the edges. Will buy a tyre pressure gauge and have a look tonight - the car is my gf's dad's at the moment, he has mentioned handing it down though

[Lucas_R]

Do you know what the treadwear rating is on your current tyres? This number will indicate basically how soft the tyres are and will dictate greatly on how long they will last. No doubt a low profile 21" tyre will be performance oriented and will have a low treadwear number. (say lower than 250 - the tyres i recently bought for my GTI are a 240 treadwear and they are a performance oriented 18 inch tyre by Michelin)

If you were to move to a 19 or 20 inch rim, this would no doubt open up your choices to get a longer lasting tyre.

See info here on the treadwear rating and how to locate it on your tyre: What are UTQG Ratings - Cooper Tires

Also - a few other options for 21" tyres: 295/35R21 Tyres - 295 35 21 Tyres - JAX Tyres

[Polo GTEye N9]

Edit: in comparison, my polo is completely out of allignment, driven quite aggresively and I haven't needed to replace tyres in nearly 4 years of ownership and 50k - it didn't come with new tyres either!

My Polo My08 is similar, aligment has not needed doing in 40000 plus and no issues. I pity your Q7 tyre wear and costs!

[nat225]

Downsize and go with cooper tyres that come with 80,000km warranty. They will last much longer and will turn the q7 with a road train noise

[snerlo]

Mate, my dad just literally went through exactly the same thing. He has the same pirelli tyres on his Q7 V8 and purchased some new pirellis through tyresales.com.au or something like that. Got them delivered to his house for pretty much $2k. He will get them fitted in the next few months once the originals finally crap themselves. He has only got about 20k out of his too but he does tow a caravan on the odd occasion. He is a little surprised by the tread wear and sort of regrets going back to the 20's with coopers like he had on his last Q7 but the 21's accompanied by the guard flares do look bloody hot so he just puts up with it. One thing i guess you have to be careful with is load ratings so just be mindful of that too. I will also have to tell him to monitor his tyre pressures because i am quite certain that he doesnt check them that often. Anyhow, that is just an expense when you own a prestige vehicle, plus the torque that dads diesel produces, you really should have some decents boots to keep these things on the road whe you want to get somewhere quick!