The last point does make some sense.
Upt'North.
Yeah, but it's wrong. I was wrong. You got me thinking - I'm repeating something I have not verified is true, so I emailed customer support at PIrelli Tire*. This is the response I got:
"Thank you for reaching out. Tires do not wear linearly over their service life. Typically, tires wear slightly quicker earlier in their service life and wear at a slower rate as the tread becomes more worn. The tread rubber represents a significant amount of weight, so as the tread wears, the rolling resistance of the tire generally decreases, helping slow the rate of wear. If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know."
Pirelli Consumer Affairs
Consumer.Affairs@Pirelli.com
1-800-PIRELLI (option 2)
*I tried Michelin, but the website that came up seemed to be all advertising offered no customer support contact info.
Edit: 11/10/22 - Just got an answer from Conti and waiting for one from the Michelin email I sent yesterday.
Continental said:
"Treadwear is not linear; tires tend to wear faster when new, with the wear slowing as the tires compress. So, the first 2/32" of wear will be much faster than the last 2/32" of wear. However, there is not set calculation for the rate of wear as this will vary by driver, vehicle set up and local road condition."
Edit 11/14/22 - After two emails, Michelin would not answer my question - "Is tire wear linear..." This is what they said:
Your treadwear is determined by the following factors:
- Type of vehicle (heavier vehicles will wear tires more rapidly)
- Driving habits (aggressive driving accelerates wear)
- Driving style (in-town driving results in quicker wear rate than highway driving)
- Geographical location (tires wear quicker in a mountainous region)
- How vehicle is maintained (regular alignment/suspension checks)
- How tires are maintained (proper air pressure and rotations)
A tire will have less rolling resistance when is worn out in comparison with a new or half way worn tire.
Note that two different customer service people answered exactly the same...suggesting they looked up 'tire wear' on their computer and knee jerk printed out what it said - ignoring my question.