I bought a set of 17x9.5 Z06 Rims on Ebay about 8 months ago. The rims are all the same and included a set of relatively fresh Falken Ziez 512 255/40zr17's all around. I blew one of the backs already (stupid pothole), and the other one wore out rediculously fast (about 10-12k miles). However, I have noticed one thing worth mentioning on here, and that is the wear of the tire. They wore on the middle of the tread, indicating overinflation. The same thing is starting to happen with the new ones, and they are at around 35 psi. My question to anybody who can help is this: What would you recommend inflating my tires to for proper tire wear, and has anybody had bad tread life experiences with the tires I am running. I like the tires because they are cheap and look half decent, but maybe next time I will have to go for a better set. Thanks.

 

It should say on the tire what the optimum psi is.

 

No, it won't. What the tire will have on the side of it is the absolute maximum allowable inflation pressure, required to achieve the tire's maximum load weight rating. The tires are not loaded anywhere near the maximum weight capacity on these cars, so you should never use the "40", "45", etc. psi labeled as maximum inflation pressure on the side of the tire.

I would start with the recommened tire inflation pressure shown on the tag on the door. Work from there, up or down in small increments. Get a tire tread depth gauge, so you can measure the tire wear frequently, so you don't get to the point where they are worn out to realize you have the wrong inflation pressure. If you see signs of wear at 35psi, take it down to 32psi and see how it wears.

You also need to rotate the tires regularly. Typically, the fronts will wear on the outer edges from cornering, and the rears will wear more in the center from burnouts... or just high speed driving. Rotating the tires helps even out the wear across the full tread.

The 255/40-17 isn't the best size choice. That's almost 2/3" smaller than the stock tire diameter. A 275/40-17 would be a better match to the stock diameter, assuming your car left the factory with the Z-rated tire option (245/50-16).

 

Yea they did have the Z rated tire option. I did correct the tire size on my computer with the hypertech PPIII. I have a little sheet that says all of the tire specs, and the height was on there so I input it on the data. I will get around to putting the 275's on it when the fronts wear out. Thank you for the advice, I will take it down to like 32 psi and see what it does.

 

Yeah i guess it does say MAX PSI on the tire but thats what i run mine at and they wear great, im sure it helps out gas miledge too.