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Originally Posted by NZ XR6
I'm beginning to think that rapid wear is typical of European tyres. The Mondeo wagon that I've just bought has a set of Goodyear Excellence tyres, which is clearly not a performance tyre. The vehicle has done 14,000 kms and the front tyres are both down to 4mm on the outside shoulders. The obvious plan was to rotate them with the rears, but these are already down to 5 mm!
So I doubt that I'll get much more than 30,000 kms from the set. Compare this to the Potenza RE001 on my previous wagon which still have at least 6mm of tread after the same mileage.
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I'm not sure what the life of a Goodyear excellence is but anything less than 30k (which is around where you are heading) is surprising for a touring tyre. The RE001 was designed for more, ahem, agressive driving on the street, and improving tyre life as a major goal for bridgestone because modded/performance cars are driven hard. In theory a touring tyre (excellence, turanza etc.) could get higher wear if driven hard than a performance tyre because they aren't really designed for it, particularly uneven wear. The 'outside shoulders' as you describe are wearing most likey due to hard cornering, possibly with a bit of roll from the car (not unheard of in heavy large cars e.g. mondeo).
In saying that, the excellence is a very good tyre, and will hold on quite well in the wet in particular. Along with the bridgestone turanza it is the benchmark for touring tyres, with good grip, quiet and reasonable life. It is't cheap though.....
The biggest problem with touring vs perf tyres is the feel. The perf tyres have much more feedback through the wheel and so you can push the limits more safely. They also work at the limits without uneven wear etc. Its about getting the right tyre for the job, if you hunt the car (and the mondeo is very huntable for a family car) then you really need semi or hi perf tyres, not touring. If it is a family car driven by the missus with the odd bit of fun, touring is fine.
I recommend taking a look at the motor mag december 2008 issue tyre test if going the perf tyre route. Lots of good data - the RE001 won for those interested mainly due to consistency and excellent results in the wet slalom.