Rear Tire Wear

[mbowen]

I’ve been told that front tires on Model T’s usually wear faster than rears, but mine are doing the opposite. The one higher in the photo has always been on the front, and the lower one has always been on the rear. All four are Blockleys with about 5000 miles put on them over the last 21 months. I run 60 psi all the way around, and have never seen less than 57 when I check them. Both rears seem be wearing significantly faster than the fronts. The fronts have about .060 - .090” of tread left in the center, while the rears are near zero. The tread depth on the Blockleys I just bought are .220 - .240”.

I have checked the rear radius rods and they are adjusted to the same length as best as I can measure with a steel tape so I think the rear axle is running square to the car. Is there anything else I can check?

[TXGOAT2]

Looks like too much pressure in the rear tires for the load they are carrying. The front tire looks normal. My T wears the rear tires faster than the front. Driving habits and traffic conditions will affect tire wear. Excess wear in the tread center almost always indicates too much air pressure for the application. What kind of car are you driving, and what size tires?

[TXGOAT2]

My car is a '26 roadster, and I drive most miles on 2 lane roads at 40+ MPH. In this situation, I believe faster rear tire wear is normal, since the rear tires are doing all braking and also pushing the car down the road, while the front tires roll freely unless cornering. Tire wear is even across the tread on all four tires, but more rapid in the rear. A sedan might show more even tire wear front to rear, depending on how it was driven and where. But, again, rapid wear in the center of the tread area almost always points to too much air pressure. More rapid wear on the outer tread area of a tire usually points to under inflation, especially if the tire is on the rear. Front tires on a T will wear evenly across the tread area if the front axle assembly is in good condition and they are inflated properly for the load they carry.

[mbowen]

Looks like too much pressure in the rear tires for the load they are carrying. The front tire looks normal. My T wears the rear tires faster than the front. Driving habits and traffic conditions will affect tire wear. Excess wear in the tread center almost always indicates too much air pressure for the application. What kind of car are you driving, and what size tires?

It’s a 1924 touring car with 30x3.5 tires, all four installed new at the same time and always run at 60 psi. The fronts are wearing more in the center as well, just not as fast.

[Oldav8tor]

My rear tires wear faster than the fronts. I'm using Universal T Driver's all around, running 60-65 psi in my '17 Touring. At 11000 miles the center tread was gone on the rears. Nearing 13000 miles I still have a little tread on the fronts but have new tires waiting to be installed on my new INDAZ rims. One thing I do that you may not is place 6 ounces of tire balance beads in each tube. Does it help? I think it smooths the ride and maybe reduces tire wear a bit.

I like Blockley tires and had planned to install them but the need to replace the rears last year made me decide to stick with one brand for now.

[Allan]

30 x 3.5" beaded edge tyres must be run at high pressure, like those reported. Their method of construction means they have a round crown. There is no bias belt around the crown to keep the crown flatter on the road, so the centre of the tread will always wear down before the sides. That is normal in this type of tyre. They are worn out when the centre is gone, no matter how far down the sidewalls the remaining tread is.

Allan from down under.

[Norman Kling]

It has a lot to do with how straight the roads are where you drive. Also how often you use the brakes. The front tires will wear faster if you make a lot of turns especially at high speed. The rear tires will wear more if the make frequent stops and starts. Also on how fast you stop. Rotating the tires can help you equalize the wear. However that is hard if you have non- demountable rims.

Norm

[DanTreace]

Put these 21" 4.50x4.75 Universal, 4 ply, Nylon tires on the '27 touring in March 2019.
5 years later a bit of tire wear, lots of tour season miles.

The worst one on the left is from the right rear, likely from fast acceleration, or perhaps braking hard The middle is a front tire, and on the right is the spare is as new 2019, hasn't been on the pavement.

Put 2 new ones on the front, last year and moved the better fronts to the rear.

tire wear.jpeg (111.65 KiB) Viewed 328 times

[Adam]

Here we are... Exactly where I expected we eventually would be… Blockley tires wear just like any other tire…

[Cruby]

Over inflated, you may want to check your tire pressure gauge. A simple way to check tire pressure gauges is to compare them to the display on your modern car.

[TXGOAT2]

Find out what a safe minimum pressure (cold) is for your tires and run them at that pressure, unless you have your car well-loaded. I suspect that you could get by with 50 PSI, cold. A car that carries a heavy body, or that is routinely well-loaded, might require more.

[TXGOAT2]

I've put over 15,000 miles on Lucas 440/450 X 21 tires. The rear tires are worn to the cord, but the front ones still have some tread left. These are a low priced, lightweight tire. I have a '26-'27 roadster on Ford wire wheels, and I keep the (low pressure balloon) tires inflated to 25 to 27 PSI, cold. I never expected them to hold up as well as they have. I have just ordered a new set of Firestone 440 X 450 X 21 tires. Much pricier, and I hope they hold up as well.

[TXGOAT2]

All else being equal, with a bias ply passenger car tire, tread wear rate will depend in part on how "hard" the tread rubber compound is. Softer rubber will give good traction but will wear more rapidly than harder rubber. Tire inflation, driving habits, vehicle characteristics, and road surfaces all have a huge impact on tire wear rates. Hot weather increases tire wear rates. Coarse, aggressive road surfaces accelerate tire wear, but offer good traction. Both over and under inflation are detrimental to tire life and to vehicle ride and handling.

[TXGOAT2]

According to the Ford instruction manual of 1911, it is normal for the rear tires to wear more rapidly than the front ones.

[TXGOAT2]

For a touring car with high pressure tires, try running 50 PSI (cold) in all 4 tires, unless you are carrying a full load of passengers or whatever. When the car is fully loaded, run 50 PSI (cold) up front, and 60 PSI (cold) rear. Get a good, dial type tire gauge and take good care of it.

[speedytinc]

@ 50 # you risk rolling off a tire. 60# is my minimum.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

I run 55 - 60 psi. With less than that, I had lots of tire problems, but no troubles at the higher pressures.

[mbowen]

My dial gauge matches my 2022 Grand Cherokee’s sensors at 40 psi, and the wear PATTERN is the same on all four, so I don’t think inflation is the issue. I once had a tire roll off the rim on a straight road while inflated to 55 psi (thought I’d been shot when the tube blew!), so I too will never run less than 60 on a clincher.

Michigan roads are relatively straight, and in the attempt to remain on less travelled roads it’s rare to run more than 5 miles without a stop or turn, so it sounds like faster wear on the rear is to be expected, and maybe I should swap front and rear occasionally.

[TXGOAT2]

Overinflated tires will show more rapid wear in the center of the tread on all 4 wheels, assuming the car is in good condition. Be sure your rims are in good condition. Many are not.

[TXGOAT2]

To the best of my knowledge, belted bias tires were not available until around 1970, and have never been available in antique sizes. In spite of that, bias type tires can give even wear across the tread if inflated properly for the load they are carrying.

[TRDxB2]

Looks like too much pressure in the rear tires for the load they are carrying. The front tire looks normal. My T wears the rear tires faster than the front. Driving habits and traffic conditions will affect tire wear. Excess wear in the tread center almost always indicates too much air pressure for the application. What kind of car are you driving, and what size tires?

I agree with you.
Not A.I. My gathering info from several tire web sites
Common misunderstanding is that the pressure on the tire's sidewall is the recommended pressure for one's car. What it is It is is the maximum pressure the tire can hold. Ambient temperature as well as tire temperature will affect tire pressure readings (10°F difference can change pressure by 1 PSI). Vehicle weight on the specific tires, more weight and the tire will spread out, less and it will narrow (could result in to high pressure). So front tire pressure and rear tire pressure can be the same or different, with the correct PSI depending on the vehicle's weight distribution and the specific tire size. Need to adjust between 55-65 PSI

[TXGOAT2]

If you have significantly irregular tire wear, you have a tire problem.

[speedytinc]

What you are saying about center tire wear is correct for modern tires. Post clincher.
The higher pressure for clincher tires is to keep the tire on the rim. Yes, 60# is way more pressure than a T needs for weight support.
Balloon tires were/are inflated to the appropriate pressures based on weight & passenger load combined. When properly inflated, they wear evenly.
Balloon tires on a T, depending on body style can be less than 30#.
Center wear is inevitable on rear clincher tires as is camber wear on the fronts by T camber specs.
To get maximum mileage, thoughtful tire rotation is in order which can include turning the fronts over on both sides because of camber wear.

Looking @ OP's front tires, I am impressed by the lack of outer(camber) edge wear.

[TXGOAT2]

The tire from OP's front shows very even wear.

[Bill Dizer]

When I started as a full time mechanic in 1975, a set of bias tires on a modern car were doing very well to last twenty thousand miles in regular driving. That was for a top line tire. Cheaper ones often didn’t last ten to fifteen thousand. We are now used to radial tires that will go close to one hundred thousand miles, while delivering better braking, handling and better gas mileage. Prices, adjusted for inflation are probably cheaper now as well.
The tires in the photos are wearing normally for the use but the mileage seems low for that wear. You might ask Blockley if they have any suggestions as to why the accelerated wear?

[Allan]

Early in the 1920's Chev went a head of Ford by fitting 4.40 x 23" straight sided balloon tyres, deleting clincher tyres. Straight sided tyres do not require the same high pressure as clinchers and the lower pressure gives a softer ride. Ford finally adopted them when split rims were introduced on the improved 26 cars, and then on the wire wheels.
The photos of tyre wear posted re;late to much later types of tyres which are constructed differently. They do not apply to high pressure clincher tyres.
Allan from down under.

[TXGOAT2]

IMG_5489.jpeg

[TXGOAT2]

In the case of a clincher tire with 50 PSI (cold) coming off the rim while running on a straight road, I wonder if the tire had not sustained a puncture and lost air pressure before coming off the rim?