Tyres Advice - Which ones to change

[CrispyUK]

Evening :) First time I've needed to worry about my tyres (aside from checking pressures) so hoping for some advice from those more experienced :)

I've got a Peugeot 307 which I've had for almost 2yrs and done 20k miles in, car is 4.5yrs old / 40k miles in total. Car has full set of Dunlop SP Sport 300 tyres which were on when I bought the car - I don't know if they're the factory original set or if they were changed in the hands of the original owner.

One front tyre was on the MOT advisory note as near legal limit in Sep 08 and both front tyres are now down to the wear indicators.

Have just checked rear tyres and they have around 3.5mm tread. Spare tyre is unused with 8mm of tread.

Fronts <2mm, Rears 3.5mm, Spare 8mm.

Fronts definitely need replacing, although I've read best tyres should go on the back so would I need to move the 3.5mm onto the front and get new on the rear? Or are the rears low enough that it would make more sense to just get them all changed together?

Should I rotate the spare into the mix somewhere or leave that be?

Looking at replacing with identical tyres, about £60/corner from blackcircles and the like, or Continental Premium Contact's are also on the recommended list on the car - pricing v. similar - any suggestions as to which are better?

Will also need to have the alignment/tracking checked out, left to it's own devices the car does pull to the left - anyone know how much the blackcircles fitting locations typically charge for this?

All hints/advice/suggestions gratefully received :D

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

always put new ones on the rear and rotate

get the dodgy ones replaced asap

[Alias_Omega]

I personally,

When putting new tyres on, take the rears and put them on the front, new tyres on the back.

And always try to keep the same tyres on the same axel if i have a miss match.

The car will pull to the left as the roads are shaped that way, otherwise rain water will not leave the road.

The choice is yours..

[maniac886]

Evening :) First time I've needed to worry about my tyres (aside from checking pressures) so hoping for some advice from those more experienced :)

I've got a Peugeot 307 which I've had for almost 2yrs and done 20k miles in, car is 4.5yrs old / 40k miles in total. Car has full set of Dunlop SP Sport 300 tyres which were on when I bought the car - I don't know if they're the factory original set or if they were changed in the hands of the original owner.

One front tyre was on the MOT advisory note as near legal limit in Sep 08 and both front tyres are now down to the wear indicators.

Have just checked rear tyres and they have around 3.5mm tread. Spare tyre is unused with 8mm of tread.

Fronts <2mm, Rears 3.5mm, Spare 8mm.

Fronts definitely need replacing, although I've read best tyres should go on the back so would I need to move the 3.5mm onto the front and get new on the rear? Or are the rears low enough that it would make more sense to just get them all changed together?

Should I rotate the spare into the mix somewhere or leave that be?

Looking at replacing with identical tyres, about £60/corner from blackcircles and the like, or Continental Premium Contact's are also on the recommended list on the car - pricing v. similar - any suggestions as to which are better?

Will also need to have the alignment/tracking checked out, left to it's own devices the car does pull to the left - anyone know how much the blackcircles fitting locations typically charge for this?

All hints/advice/suggestions gratefully received :D

You may be best getting the 4 wheel alignment done. Not all the fitting stations will have this service so it may be best to ring a few of the local fitting stations before you buy the tyres.

Or get a local fitting station not associated with BC who does 4 wheel tracking to price match or beat BC's price.

[beaker141]

I would get the spare into the mix somewhere, how about buying 3 new tyres, and putting your best 3.5mm one in as the spare and bringing the spare out as the 4th new one ?

I also always rotate and put the ones from the back onto the front, and new ones onto the back - If you don't then the ones on the rear tend to last forever and end up perishing more than wearing in my opinion.

[mikey72]

I would put the spare and a new tyre on the back, the old ones on the front, and keep the best of the old fronts as a spare.
If the tyres aren't worn unevenly I would then take the car for a drive and see if it still pulls before spending on the tracking.
Some pull to the left is normal, as the car follows the camber of the road.
Does it still pull if you drive down the centre of a road, (on a quiet road)?

[fatbelly]

Looking at replacing with identical tyres, about £60/corner from blackcircles and the like, or Continental Premium Contact's are also on the recommended list on the car - pricing v. similar - any suggestions as to which are better?

I used these on a Skoda Fabia and while they performed OK, they didn't last long.

Now using Michelin Energy

[CrispyUK]

Thanks all so far :) does the rotation just involve changing the whole wheels around (alloys + tyre) or do the alloys need to stay where they are and have the tyres moved between them? (cars are a black art to me :p give me a computer and I'm fine!)

Just wondering if the cost of the rotation and getting the spare changed onto a alloy will be a false economy with the rears approaching the recommended 3mm and having to do more juggling in a few months - over just getting them all changed now.

Regarding the alignment - car hasn't been used much over the past 2-3 months but I seem to recall it still doing it on flat / centre of the roads and needing to hold the wheel a little to the right to maintain a straight path.

Thanks for comments on the Conti. tyres - Bridgestone ER30's were also the recommended list but these look to be an extra £10/corner.

[goldspanners]

leave the spare where it is and ask for a discount on buying 4 tyres, much more of a chance than when only buying 2 or 3. get the quote from black circles fitted and then phone local garages and ask them to beat the price on a similar tyre.

[Hintza]

I would be tempted to use the spare before it gets too old (but is it on an alloy or a steel?). Goldie is correct 4 will probably work out cheaper.

But if money was really tight I might be tempted to get the spare out rotate the two rears to the front and buy 1 new tyre. But you will be back again for another 2 in a month or so and of course you will have reduced breaking in the wet and you run the danger of leaving to others too long and getting nicked.

[Mark Hewitt]

I've got a Peugeot 307 which I've had for almost 2yrs and done 20k miles in, car is 4.5yrs old / 40k miles in total. Car has full set of Dunlop SP Sport 300 tyres which were on when I bought the car - I don't know if they're the factory original set or if they were changed in the hands of the original owner.

They would be pretty bad if they'd worn out in 20k. 40k seems about normal to need to change the tyres. My fronts on my fiesta lasted until 30k, but then I did drive it pretty hard.

One front tyre was on the MOT advisory note as near legal limit in Sep 08 and both front tyres are now down to the wear indicators.


Have just checked rear tyres and they have around 3.5mm tread. Spare tyre is unused with 8mm of tread.

Fronts <2mm, Rears 3.5mm, Spare 8mm.

Fronts definitely need replacing, although I've read best tyres should go on the back so would I need to move the 3.5mm onto the front and get new on the rear? Or are the rears low enough that it would make more sense to just get them all changed together?tbh, yes. If you can possibly stretch to it, then get them all changed together, as you're going to have to get it done anyway, and as others have said you often get a discount if you're buying 4 tyres rather than 2.

But it depends on your personal circumstances. I just replaced 2 tyres because I was just working part time, but the rears really needed changing not long after that.

It bears repeating that the tyres are probably the most important safety aspect of the car, they are the only contact you have with the road after all.

[AdrianHi]

4 tyre discount a good idea if you can get it.
I had continetal premium contact 2's, very good performance especially in the wet but they wore unevenly at the front and were dead in 20K miles which is not as long as I'm used to my tyres lasting. I always get 4 wheel laser alignment and tracking done for under £20 using top notch equipment at Micheldever tyres, near Basingstoke, Hampshire. You can pay £80-200+ for the same service elsewhere, volume of business allows them to do it this cheap.
Bridgestones I always find don't like the cold and wet giving poor traction.
On mine and my wifes car we now have Michelin Pilot Primacy HP's. Michelin claim 25% longer life, they grip very well in all weathers (even in slush /snow for a "summer" tyre).
Michelin Energy tyres now standard on some Peugeots trim a tiny bit off fuel consumption and perform as good as the best of the rest according to independant tests.

[Ystrad Lad]

I'd change all 4 tyres together and leave the spare alone.

Contrary to what has been said before, if you only intend to buy 2 new ones, I'd put them on the front. It's a front wheel drive car. The front tyres do all the work, steering and transmitting power from the engine so it's important that they have maximum tread. Get the advice of the tyre fitter, they will tell you the same. Tell him about the car pulling to one side, they will check it out for you, there could be several causes.

On a final note, tyre grip and stopping distances diminish dramatically below 2.5mm of tread so don't wait until you get to the legal limit.

[BillScarab]

I'd change all 4 tyres together and leave the spare alone.

Contrary to what has been said before, if you only intend to buy 2 new ones, I'd put them on the front. It's a front wheel drive car. The front tyres do all the work, steering and transmitting power from the engine so it's important that they have maximum tread. Get the advice of the tyre fitter, they will tell you the same. Tell him about the car pulling to one side, they will check it out for you, there could be several causes.

On a final note, tyre grip and stopping distances diminish dramatically below 2.5mm of tread so don't wait until you get to the legal limit.

Michelin don't agree with you, they recommend putting the least worn tyres on the rear, even on a FWD car.

http://www.michelin.co.uk/michelinuk/en/car-4x4-van/less-worn-tyres-rear/20070314172074.html

[ailuro2]

http://www.mcconechys.co.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=37

is one example...


buy 3 get the 4th free on Michelins, go for energysaver tyres, they'll save a decent percentage on your fuel costs (approx 5%? ) so work out a pretty good deal when one is free.

http://www.michelin.co.uk/michelinuk/en/car-4x4-van/advantages/20070312100246.html says 1 tyre in 4 is free due to reduced fuel consumption

so you end up with 4 very good tyres for the price of 2

(And another consideration...Michelin has factories here in the UK, so you're supporting British jobs;) )

[nomoneytoday]

I'd change all 4 tyres together and leave the spare alone.


Same here. They will need doing soon enough.
Alternatively, how about 3 new ones, and keep one of the 3mm tyres as the spare?

[mikey72]

How many of you actually have thrown away tyres with 3.5mm of tread on?
If you change at 2mm rather than 1, they still have a quarter of the tread left if they had 8mm to start with.
If you let them go to 1mm then have over a third left.
And the spare needs swopping over and using, or it will just perish in a few more years.

[beaker141]

How many of you actually have thrown away tyres with 3.5mm of tread on?
If you change at 2mm rather than 1, they still have a quarter of the tread left if they had 8mm to start with.
If you let them go to 1mm then have over a third left.
And the spare needs swopping over and using, or it will just perish in a few more years.


1mm ? 1.6mm is the legal bare minimum, going less is definately false economy given a potential fine of £1000 !

Surely you have to look at it that a new tyre has 6mm of usual tread, so at 4mm you have a third left to go ?

[mikey72]

More exact calculation,
new tyre has about 8mm, so 6.4mm useable tread, at 3.5mm there is 1.9mm left to use, so 0.2969 of the tread is left.
So we both make it about a third of the tyre left.

[CrispyUK]

Thanks guys, lots of advice and comments all much appreciated - and thanks dished out :)

Yeah the current set have quite possibly been on the car since new, not something I paid much attention to when I bought the car (too much excitement :p)

The spare is on a steel rather than an alloy - and a few of the local places I've spoken to haven't been able to get hold of the Dunlop SP Sport 300's for months so might limit my choice if I wanted to match it with a new one.

Have been getting alignment quotes of £20-25 if adjustment is needed, been told only the front can be adjusted on the 307.

I've just had some money come in so can afford to replace all 4 tyres together, and would've replaced the low fronts much sooner if I could've afforded to - especially after seeing the results of the 3mm vs 1.6mm tests they did on the Mira test circuit.

Looking at the Michelin Energy Savers as a few of you have recommended these now (and they're standard fit on Pug 308) - been quoted £66/corner by a local tyre place but waiting to see if they can discount on 4 tyres.

If anyone can recommend a tyre place in Plymouth please let me know, it's my Uni town so not very familiar with the local places like I am at home!

[Hintza]

If anyone can recommend a tyre place in Plymouth please let me know, it's my Uni town so not very familiar with the local places like I am at home!

Get some prices then approach a main dealer and ask if they can do better, you might be surprised!