Tires: tires, alignment problem, tire rack

Question
Dear Mr. Smith,
I too am an expert on this site and so am happy to rely on you to help me
with a problem I am having. I have a Mazda, a 2007 CX-7. The tires that
come standard are very expensive and don't last more than about 25km. I am
actually a very good driver. I would like to know if there is a 'regular' tire that
I can use that will be okay. The alignment goes out quite quickly on the car
for some unknown reason; I have the tires rotated and changed every 5km
with the oil as recommended, but I think both the car and the tires are no
damn good. It's a lease so I am kind of stuck with it for a while. Your help is
greatly appreciated. Jay

Answer
Jay,

First, are you sure the alignment is going out quickly?  The only way to be sure would be to chart over time the actual values and see that they change.

If, however, you are relying on the tire wear to tell you - well ..... once you've developed a wear pattern, it doesn't magically fix itself.  Put another way, a new wear pattern is applied on top of the old wear pattern, which might result in it appearing that the alignment problem hasn't been fixed.

If the alignment is indeed going out on a frequent basis, then no tire is going to wear evenly.

Second, it's possible that the alignment is the source of the problem.  Some vehicles - like BMW's - specify a lot of camber in order to get good handling properties - and the result is less than ideal tire wear.

Third, you are limited by tire size as to what you can do.  But I looked up on Tire Rack and found quite a few tires in your size that were reasonably priced.

And lastly, you need to read what your lease says about what tires have to be on the vehicle when it is turned in.