WARNING: Check Dark Horse alignment on delivery

[Cindy42]

I will preface this by saying I am a 50 year old mom. I got my car 9/19/23. My husband drove it on a trip to his hometown for Founder's day and to visit family. 700 miles. I then drove it on a trip with the kids to the mountains to see the trees and to some other sites. Another 700 miles. The owners manual said 1000 miles for break in. Since I was now at 1400, I took it for an oil change for after break in and they told me I needed 2 new tires. I hadn't even gotten to redline yet, definitely not spinning them. Sure enough, the rears were wore except for the inside edges. So I took it back to them again and asked to check the alignment. They said they couldn't get it on their rack. They hooked it to a quick check that showed it was out. Then told me it wasn't even a street legal car and the alignment was set up for drifting and it would just wear tires. I am now about to show cords, so I can't drive it. Haven't even made a payment and I am needing $1300 in tires. These should have lasted at least 5k miles. I took it to a tire store, they hooked it to an actual alignment rack and it is nearly a degree and a half toed in in the rear. I found another dealer that can fix the alignment tomorrow, but it still has no tires now because someone screwed it up at factory or shipping. I want to find a regional rep to show, and at this point, I think I need to tow it to be safe. @Ford Motor Company any suggestions?

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[RJV15]

Are those the Trofeo's?
Either way the alignment didn't kill those tires that quick. Those tires would have been done even with a perfect alignment.

You need a different compound, or youre going to be replacing tires very often, even after your alignment.

 

[Cindy42]

Are those the Trofeo's?
Either way the alignment didn't kill those tires that quick. Those tires would have been done even with a perfect alignment.

You need a different compound, or youre going to be replacing tires very often, even after your alignment.

Yes, they are, and I am fine with help getting something else, but as soft as these are and as heavy as the car, this did wear them out.

 

[Lidsoff]

Yeah they really are more of a track tire. Go with a Pilot Sport 4s you’ll get way more life outta em. Definitely won’t feel as nimble but maybe a better alignment will help

 

[RJV15]

Yes, they are, and I am fine with help getting something else, but as soft as these are and as heavy as the car, this did wear them out.

Dont let the outer edge fool you into thinking that your tires would look that way if it was properly aligned.

Your tires would have looked slightly better, but they would have been on their way out

 

[Lastoutlaw_21]

Yeah those track tires do not last long at all. They barely have anything on them to start with. I've see some people get 1000 to 2k with the tires on the HP cars. And they have to switch them out to a different tire. I expect to change mine to ps4s when I get my car. The track tires won't survive long on these Georgia roads .

 

[Cindy42]

That is the INNER edge of the tires that have tread still.

 

[Skye]

On the side of the tire, and in the tire documentation, is a "Treadwear" rating, a three-digit number which gives the Owner an idea how quickly a tire will wear out. The higher the number, the longer the tire is expected to last.

I'm using Michelin All-Season Series 4 tires; they have a treadwear rating of 540.

The Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires, very popular, have a rating of 300.

Michelin Sport Cup 2s, a sticky track tire, have a treadwear rating of 240. On a warm day, just rolling these across the driveway, I near covered the surface with junk they were so sticky.

The Trofelo tires, they have a rating of close to 100. Great traction. Obviously, they're not going to last long at all. Actually, I'm impressed you got the mileage you did.

There's going to be a compromise between treadwear, longevity and traction. My tires will last longer, and, I can drive them hard in much colder temps. But I'm giving up some warm weather traction for that. To others, they'd accept greater wear for better Summer or track performance than I have.

Regarding the alignment, all Ford vehicles are afforded one free alignment and correction (if needed) within the first 12 months of Ownership.

Looking at your photos and judging the wear patterns only, the alignment does seem a bit off, but not horribly so.

If it's any consolation, you did fine. You took those track tires for everything you could.

You can discuss your options with a local tire shop, friends, family and Members here. It reads like your looking for something in the middle of the road (no pun intended) treadwear wise. You want something with good all-around traction, but won't wear out within a year.

Yet another factor to consider in your decision is when the car will be driven. Summer only tires are just that: summer only. Below certain temperatures, Summer only tires surrender almost all their traction, the car then becoming dangerous.

Finally, wet weather driving is also something to consider. Some tires, some Summer only tires, do not afford the driver good wet weather traction. They are not designed to shed water (and continue to give good traction) as well as other tires can in the wet.

 

[RJV15]

Yea, some members have removed the tires as soon as they got the car, and saved them for track days. Taking family trips is not the intended use for them.

Go with a Michelin tire and get a majority of the performance, and way more thread life out of them.

Save the Cup 2R tires for track use.

 

[Cindy42]

I actually sold tires, wheels, alignments, suspension for 6 years. I know the difference between types of tires. I also know irregular wear patterns. What you can't see in the picture is a feathering happening on the last inside tread patterns indicating toe issue. That's why when I looked at them, I went back to the service and asked for alignment check. That is nearly full tread depth on the inside. As we were following break in, we did not drive aggressively or spin. Hell, I have a nearly 20mpg average to prove it. (gas guzzler tax my ass, better than my F150). The fronts are measuring about 6/32, so these started at least there, maybe a bit more. There is some feathering of them from that toe out. Toe settings are supposed to be .15 +/- .20. When you start going to a degree instead of a tenth, it will wear excessively. And the difference in what these looked like at 1400 miles versus 1500 miles proves it. (I have more pictures). Also, that front caster is nearly a degree split side to side. This car has been very darty on the road, I figured it was the aggressive tires tramming the lines. I think it will be way more fun to drive when fixed. I know the alignment Ford covers for first 12/12k. So no questions there. I do feel they need to help me with some tires since those were not all my fault.

Treadwear numbers, these are 180, not 100. Little known fact to most people, those numbers are only regulated to 100. After 100, the companies can basically put whatever number they want on there. So Michelin will only be good to compare to Michelin. You can't compare one company number to another(Michelin to Goodyear), but you can have a general expectation based on what the company's line up consists of. I have seen some of the nice new sticky 200 treadwear tires not even compare to each other. My outgoing Mustang has 4 sets of tires and wheels, down from 7. I had fun tires, summer tires, all season tires. So I am not new to understanding tires for specialized purposes. But, all the 200 treadwear "fun" tires I have had lasted for at least a summer/ 5k miles, including special events. So at 180, expecting the Pirelli to go 4k without aggressive driving isn't unreasonable. I will be curious to see what other people get out of them, since I am sure not many people have 1600 miles on their Dark Horse cars with these. And if they get more miles and don't have nearly a degree and a half of toe in, then more proof for my case. My big point is don't even drive it home until you get the alignment checked, because I believe there is a disconnect happening at the factory for this.

 

[roket]

you have a 12 month, 12k mile alignment warranty. take it to a dealer and have them correct it under that warranty. due to Pirelli being Pirelli, i am 99% sure they have no warranty on the Trofeo RS tires, so you might be out of pocket on that, but it probably won't hurt to ask the dealer if they will cover it

 

[JDuncan]

No matter how bad you think the Trofeo RS tires wear, the issue is the alignment shown. ANY tire would be destroyed in short order with the rear toe settings that the car had on it from the factory. They are WAY out of spec for what is shown in OASIS. Like the title said, get the car aligned when you take delivery.

 

[BlackFerret69]

Good info and good luck. Let us know how things turn out.

And these are the tires that Ford is soooo proud of and is using as a $hitty excuse for not building my DH HP car for 6 months, with them knowing full well that these tires aren't even going to last until the break-in miles are complete.

If that long as most owners are getting them replaced with their preferred tire as soon as they get it. What a crock!!!

 

[JDuncan]

Here are the specs from OASIS. Dark Horse with Handling Package on the 2nd page. Feel free to compare to the spec as delivered in the first post. Tires may be soft and expected to have a short life, but the deck is stacked against them having any chance for longevity with an alignment so far out of spec.

 

[Tacticly]

Ford or the tire manufacturer will cover this 100 percent I had an issue like this with an Amg Mercedes and the tire company covered it split the expense ford has to fix alignment if it’s wrong. Don’t take no for an answer with the tire company they have warranties

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