Hi guys I have an Xf 2012 supercharged with a set of 255/35zr20 tires on them about how often should I be replacing these. And when do I tell I need new tires?.

 

Take a penny, turn it upside down, head facing you and put it in the grooves.

If you can see all of Lincoln's head, your treads are worn and your tires should be replaced soon.

 

Actually the updated test is Washington's head from the Quarter.

The legal minimum isn't enough anymore.

3 mm or 4/32 is needed for safety on wet roads. On dry roads no grooves are needed of course.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=51

 

This was very informative. However my other question is and I know there's no absolute answer, roughly how many miles does the tires last? I'm just looking for a ballpark number. Assuming car is never driven in snow

 

Depends highly on the way the car is driven and the tires. I drive my car a bit harder than the average person would. The stock Supercharged 20" staggered Pirelli's were new at 27k. I made it to 49k on them. I only drive the XF in the summer. In my opinion these tires lasted longer than I thought they would.

 

Agree with Blackcoog.

Really depends on the tires. I have used Toyos in the past, which are very soft compound and lasted only about 15-20k miles.

 

Straight roads are easy on tires. Cornering and braking wear tires. Impossible to give any useful estimate of tire life without knowing how much cornering and hard braking one is doing.

 

Hi Mike,
I got 17K out of my Pirelli's on my 2010 SC with mostly highway driving. Like Blackcoog stated, It all depends on your style of driving as well as road condition with the addition of how much weight you generally carry in the car. If you have a chance, Review tire racks test and you will see that most sport type tires or summer tires don't last as long as all year round tires. The most important thing that you should remember is to keep the tires properly inflated and watch your braking and cornering.

 

I'm 31 years old but I drive my supercharged car like I was 85 lol. Part of the reason is I haven't had a new car in 15 years. And I just got the car a month ago so I'm still apprehensive about "going to town" on the car

 

With traction control engaged (the default upon a fresh startup) a heavy foot doesn't affect tire wear much, in a straight line. Rear brake pad wear yes but not tire wear.

Enjoy in moderation as they say. The biggest impact of using the full potential of the XFR will be on your drivers license.

 

Just have a look at the wear bars on the tires, they're there to tell you when your tires are way past worn. After looking a few tires you'll know where you're at in terms of wear.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=163&

 

I replace tires when the wear bars are about halfway up the tread grooves. Since the wear bars are flush at 2/32 remaining depth this gives me 4/32 remaining when I replace tires, assuming they're not already too old. Replacing tires more then 7 years old or five years from installation is a good rule if thumb, regardless of tread life remaining.

Also, I got a nifty digital tread depth gauge as available from tire rack and others. Totally unnecessary tool but it makes me feel professional when I use it to rotate my two sets of seasonal tires. Deeper tread tires goes on the rear of rwd cars and the front of fwd or awd cars.

I also,prefer measuring in mm rather than 32nds.