Tyres - do they all need replacing ?

sgun

If the other tyres are 3-4mm or over fine, if not you will be fine until you need to make an emergency stop or sudden manoeuvre when its wet or slippery. Then you might have a problem. Tyres are what keeps us safe, spend the bit extra, is your life or someone elses really worth it?

plumface

Perhaps you should look into the fact that you have 1 bald tyre and 3 decent ones,what is making 1 tyre wear quicker than the others?

Lum

I prefer to do them in pairs so that the grip is even and the car doesn't pull in odd directions if you have to do an emergency stop. It's when you most need them that you actually notice the effect of cutting corners with tyres.

That said, you can reduce the risk a lot if you put the back tyres on the front, hopefully these are matched and as most of your cars braking and handling is done through the front wheels it will remain (mostly) balanced. Doing this is free (just ask the tyre place to swap them around for you) and will improve safety a lot over your original plan.

Optionally, you could then put the spare on the back (only if it's a full size spare!) until the other tyre is ready for replacement, then put the spare back and replace both. While you're running on the spare put the money you would have spent on that tyre into a savings account.

In any case, before you buy any new tyres, get your alignment and suspension checked to find out why that one tyre is wearing quickly, otherwise you are likely to just chew through your new tyre and waste money.

Sgt_Pepper_2

Lum wrote: »

I prefer to do them in pairs so that the grip is even and the car doesn't pull in odd directions if you have to do an emergency stop. It's when you most need them that you actually notice the effect of cutting corners with tyres.

That said, you can reduce the risk a lot if you put the back tyres on the front, hopefully these are matched and as most of your cars braking and handling is done through the front wheels it will remain (mostly) balanced. Doing this is free (just ask the tyre place to swap them around for you) and will improve safety a lot over your original plan.

Optionally, you could then put the spare on the back (only if it's a full size spare!) until the other tyre is ready for replacement, then put the spare back and replace both. While you're running on the spare put the money you would have spent on that tyre into a savings account.

In any case, before you buy any new tyres, get your alignment and suspension checked to find out why that one tyre is wearing quickly, otherwise you are likely to just chew through your new tyre and waste money.

Have you ever heard the phrase 'best to back'?

Sgt_Pepper_2

plumface wrote: »

Perhaps you should look into the fact that you have 1 bald tyre and 3 decent ones,what is making 1 tyre wear quicker than the others?

Maybe the other three were replaced more recently.

jase1

I currently have two very different tyres on the front (done for tightwad reasons as I picked up the cheaper tyre for next to nothing); a Bridgestone and a Triangle (=cheap Chinese thing). I have to say that I've not noticed any ill effects yet. I know it isn't ideal and I will adjust my driving to suit if necessary.

(Both brand-new).

Lum

Sgt_Pepper wrote: »

Have you ever heard the phrase 'best to back'?

Yes, it refers to tread depths and their grip, not to vehicle balance.

Even in that context the advice is questionable.

And by questionable I mean: a load of rubbish.

mikey72

I've always put new tyres on the front, and put the old tyres on the back.
If I have to mix on an axle, it's the back for preference, and keep the front matched.

fred7777

If it were me I would just replace the one.

I understand the arguments about the car being unbalanced but in practice the difference in grip between each wheel caused by the different tyre tread is going to be insignificant in comparison with the difference in grip caused by different road surfaces, different amounts of water and different forces on each wheel due to cornering.