I am one of the current pirelli scorpion verde user, but did not encounter crack or peel off. Already near 2 years and travel a lot. I believe is either batch issue or did not travel much to scrap the harden outer layer off. I travel yearly around 30,000km, now near 50,000km and the tires still got around 40~50% tread life. Pirelli scorpion verde if not mistaken got treadwear rating of 600 and might be true on the longer lasting tread.