It’s no secret that cars last a lot longer now than they did 40+ years ago. I remember in the late 70s, which was probably the apex of the ‘disposable car’ era, that cars were not really intended to last more than 100k miles. Fast forward to 2026, and it’s not uncommon to have a quarter million miles on your odometer. That’s not really news. But I got some new tires yesterday and what I heard did surprise me a little - the tire tech said that the average life of a tire on Michigan roads these days is about 50,000 miles. Seems like that about twice as long as they lasted when I started driving. Does this align with your recollections as well?
One of the things people often overlook is that tires have an expiration date. If you look for the DOT number on the sidewall, the last 4 digits will tell you the week and year the tire was made - so 1224 would indicate the 12th week of 2024. When a tire is over 5 years old you should start thinking about replacing it regardless of tread wear, so 50,000 miles seems conservative but reasonable for an average driver.
I find the the original tires from the manufacturer last about 50k miles. But that the tires I get from places like Belle Tire tend to only last 35-40k on Michigan roads.
I’m generally not buying the cheapest tires, but neither the most expensive as I generally trade in the car around 75k miles
It’s been my experience that how you drive and on what kind of roads plays a big part in tire life. My tires last half that, but many Chicagoland roads are truly awful, and I tend to drive my vehicle pretty hard. Also, and this is only my opinion, I think tire life is exaggerated by the companies that sell them the same way all companies idealize their products through their marketing campaigns.
I had to replace tires not due to excessive wear but because of dry rot. I don’t drive much and the car is usually garaged and yet they needed to be replaced.
That must be a consequence of the expiration date Thumper referred to.
this is completely dependent on a number of variables, but even holding all other variables the same, some tires have longer tread life than others. Softer, performance tires will wear much more quickly than a general purpose all-season tire for example.
Back many years ago, I would buy tires that regularly lasted 75K. I never had tires wear out before 50K. Granted, I never bought performance tires or drove aggressively. My impression that tires last for fewer miles than before, mostly due to the weight of modern cars.
I’m slightly tire obsessed and have been known to replace tires because I just want a newer/better set.
I buy highly rated tires. Michelin or Continental, UHP All Season rated.
That said, and not surprisingly, it depends on the car and driving habits.
I have one car that eats tires - and not because I drive it aggressively or long distances. I have another car that has yet to wear out a set of tires before they age out. Combined, the two cars have yet to exceed total of 10,000 miles per year.
On the tire eater, a 45,000 mile rated set of tires will require me to replace the rear tires about half way through the life of the front tires.
Typically I’m replacing a pair or full set of tires roughly every 3-4 years, when they have ~25% tread wear left. For me, that’s about a year before the tire wear indicators say it’s time.
Do you not rotate your tires? I try to do that twice a year on the cars that don’t get winter tires put on in November.
Can’t. Both cars are a staggered wheel/tire setup. Larger tires on the back than the front and the tires are directional.
Yeah, that would do it.
I just got a set of the new Michelin CrossClimate2 for one of the cars. It’s rated as an All Weather grand-touring tire. It’s got that cool v-shaped pattern and is highly rated for wet and light snow. Haven’t tried it in the snow yet, but it’s excellent in the wet. I love the look of them and they drive nice. Rated at 60,000 miles. We’ll see…
My wife’s Jetta is going to inherit the Conti Viking 7s I used to put on my GTI in the winter. Stepdaughter’s Acura is getting the Blizzaks that used to go on the Jetta (which sadly requires new rims). Since I traded in the GTI for a Wrangler, I’m going to see how the stock Michelins do in the winter, but they’re getting old so I’m thinking of replacing them with BFG Trail Terrains next year.
I don’t understand. 
When my son still had his Xterra, we put on a set of Cooper something-or-other on it. It looked cool and he said they drove well in the wet and light snow. A bit noisy at highway speeds, but it’s a truck, so…
LOL. I had 2 problems with the GTI. One was the ubiquitous Traffic Assist error which screams at you randomly and intermittently and had already been fixed by VW once, and the other is that I couldn’t put a trailer hitch on it for less than $2000. And I really don’t like car topping my sailboat. The Jeep solved both problems.
There was an improvement in tire technology in the 70’s. The old obsolete bias ply tires were good for about 20K miles. Radial tires came out about then and have been good for about 50K ever since.
Data!
| Tire | Avg Temp F | Wh/mile | Efficiency% | Miles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michelin Primacy MXM4 OEM | 66.8 | 227.77 | 102 | 13,163.93 | |
| Michelin Primacy MXM4 | 72.63 | 255.81 | 95.1 | 25,093.35 | |
| Pirelli Winter Sotozero 3 | 47.45 | 272.06 | 86.5 | 16,623.48 | |
| Falken Euorwinter HS449 | 45.09 | 290.22 | 85.4 | 16,670.17 | |
| Michelin X-ICE snow | 55.05 | 293.61 | 90.3 | 3,198.25 | |
| Hankook ION EVO | 71.84 | 266.22 | 100.1 | 13,822.68 |
This is the log of tires on my 2018 Tesla Model 3 with 93,000 miles.
The Hankooks are doing very well, and seem to actually be made to handle a heavy EV.
I have been very aggressive using the prorated tread life warranty. I think the short life of the OEM tires made the second set of Michelins cost about $200 total, and those gave a good discount on the winter Michelins.
Not sure why I’m missing 5,000 miles.
Pardon my ignorance… I see some tires have better rolling efficiency but what does this chart represent with regards to wear?
Follow-up question: what is the life expectancy of a “donut” spare tire? Mine is 12 years old (car has 174K miles) and has been used once for a distance of about 10 miles. As someone who goes on long road trips, should I be looking for a replacement? (I always check the donut’s pressure before taking a trip, but I haven’t noticed any significant “rot”).