A Tyre Changing Question - When do you Replace them?

[ChasR]

I was going to put this on the main board to get more replies but technically I guess it is a question...

A couple of tyre threads with differing opinions is always interesting. Right or wrong, depending on your take, it seems many of us are quite different on when we change on tyres, some of us knowing that we should know better and some of us not being fussed .

My Question to you is when do you change your tyres? Is it when they are wearing funny and potentially causing the car to drive wierd. Maybe it's when they hit 4-3mm,get a little old or when they are worn beyond the tread and down to the cords. Whatever the reason is, just reply on the poll and discuss .

When you change 'em, is it for anything you can get your hands on, new or old

The poll is a multiple choice, as there will be a few other Qs on it .

Since it ain't the most exciting thread, have some shots:

[ianperry3112]

Love the furniture.

Not impressed with the T1-Rs on the ridiculously wide rims though! Would not fancy driving that or the Merc ;-)

[ferny]

I change them when I finally admit they need changing. When they get near 2mm I start to look around for deals. If it's the summer I leave them on but at any other time I change them straight then. Or age. If they're over five years old I normally change them. Except last time on the Herald which was at 1.8mm and 700 miles later were still near 1.8mm. At that point I decided to swap from granite to rubber and it took weeks to get used to having grip again. You don't full acknowledge how hard old tyres get because it happens so slowly. Swapping to good new ones makes you realise how dodgy you've been!

This might interest you.

[ChasR]

Dec 13, 2016 18:07:57 GMT ianperry3112 said:

Love the furniture.

Not impressed with the T1-Rs on the ridiculously wide rims though! Would not fancy driving that or the Merc ;-)

The furniture is pretty cool it has to be said! As for the rest I can appreciate that RR is quite a broad house in terms of opinions and what guys like .

Dec 14, 2016 7:27:59 GMT ferny said:

I change them when I finally admit they need changing. When they get near 2mm I start to look around for deals. If it's the summer I leave them on but at any other time I change them straight then. Or age. If they're over five years old I normally change them. Except last time on the Herald which was at 1.8mm and 700 miles later were still near 1.8mm. At that point I decided to swap from granite to rubber and it took weeks to get used to having grip again. You don't full acknowledge how hard old tyres get because it happens so slowly. Swapping to good new ones makes you realise how dodgy you've been!

This might interest you.

On a couple of cars I probably abide by a similar principle to you. But as said, some new rubber does seem to transform the car from something being 6+ years old.

The video was very interesting and something I have seen before. It looks like one of the fairer tests out there, but also I never knew the legal limit used to be 1mm.

That said, I am surprised. A couple of guys I know probably go beyond what they should, while others will change their tyres at 3-4mm, which to me seems a little silly! You get people selling part worns with that much on!

[ianperry3112]

I think the 3-4mm thing is in part a reflection of the current season and the overall wetness of this little island - if you asked it in a dry summer, you might get a different answer!

Once you get below about 3mm, the water dispersion performance of most road tyres is pretty poor. Just because 1.6mm is the minimum, doesn't mean its good ;-)


Very true ref RR and the variety of perspectives - each to their own IMHO and if you can't be yourself here, where can you? I'd be interested to watch that car with the Toyos on, but only from a safe distance ;-) I suspect the Merc would have rather "experimental" handling too...

[optimusprime]

On my 'cars' it was when the tread was worn down to legal limit,or if punctured/damaged.
On the Discovery,its more likely to be damage to tyre that gets them changed,as i do go play off road.
Running All Terrains so plenty plenty of tread left at the moment.

[ianperry3112]

It's interesting to compare "worn out" road tyres with "worn out" gravel rally tyres - on gravel or in mud, you seem to need quite a sharp leading edge on the tread blocks, so a sha99ed tyre still has big deep tread blocks - they are just rounded off and look as if a giant has been chewing at them!

I've been playing with suspension geometry on the HC/sprint car since the end of the season, so I'm keen to see what the 0.75deg increase in negative camber does to the wear across the tyres in 2017. The fronts were quite scrubbed this year with plenty of 'bobbling' on the outer edges, so hopefully the increased negative camber will get the whole tyre working more?

[welshpug]

depend on the tyres you are using, and the surface, a lot of that bobbling could be pickup form the road surface as much as tread smearing.

[ianperry3112]

Yes, quite possible that I'm picking some up. But the outer part of the tyres does look more 'scoured' than the inside too.

I'm running Advan AD08Rs which are fairly soft, and most other competitors are on soft rubber too, so there's plenty of it on the track by the middle of the afternoon :-)

[kevfromwales]

When the tyre is emitting sparks change it it's a curse word hammer and bolstering em off the rims when they are down to the carcass

This is a pretty subjective old poll tbh, just make sure you change em before the blue lights appear

EDIT btw, the last pair of tyres I bought, I had to buy a set of wheels to get, as 265.50.14s are solid unobtanium

[Wilk]

I've JUST changed 2 tyres at approx 3-4mm mainly due to winter coming and damp roads. The car was beginning to struggle pulling out of junctions without losing traction. Anything such as leaves at a junction and it was toast.
Having since fitted the new tyres it's given the required grip and improved things no end. If it was summertime I would probably have left them til 2 mil before swapping

[ChasR]

Dec 22, 2016 19:14:28 GMT kevfromwales said:

When the tyre is emitting sparks change it it's a curse word hammer and bolstering em off the rims when they are down to the carcass

This is a pretty subjective old poll tbh, just make sure you change em before the blue lights appear

EDIT btw, the last pair of tyres I bought, I had to buy a set of wheels to get, as 265.50.14s are solid unobtanium

Of course it is subjective KFW! I'm trying to see what retro owners do as a whole after a previous thread I put up had differing opinions on the subject.

[kevfromwales]

I guess I was being a bit sarcastic

I'm in the low budget / not fast car / enjoy wheelspin camp, so as a rule I buy new tyres when I find em cheap (swapmeet etc, or mates in the trade) but most often I'll use secondhand tyres, sometimes even from the local tip - with my driving in e36s and the mx5, rears will last weeks rather than months

Maybe I should splash out on some decent 'budget' rubber, see what difference it makes

[Ryannn]

On my mini I always buy new and always buy Yokos, don't really ever check them due to the limited miles it does, just change them when they look worn.

On my daily's the tyres are usually big bucks new (Jag and now a Merc) but i'd never buy new ditchfinders, always premium part worns. I also get as much out of those as I can, Jag was accidentally down to the cord on one side when I changed them!

[sb]

I swap when they're near the limit, not by choice I'm just really bad at checking tread! I used to do part worns because I was cheap but now Ill only buy new. My life is worth a lot more than a set of tyres!

Saying that it depends on the car what I buy, luckily now I have a company car so I get what I'm given. But if I like the car Ill spring for not quite the best, just to try and maintain some longevity.