Tyre wear - inside

thelawnet

I have a VW Eos (Golf/Passat-derived, I think)

Tyres were put on around 15,000 miles ago, they are Bridgestone Potenzas.

Just had the MOT fail for offside rear tyre depth below legal minimum. Also nearside rear tyre worn close to legal limit.

The guy who serviced the car said his opinion was they were fine, and he argued the toss with the test over the definition of 'middle 50%' or whatever it is - he said they should pass, but the MOT tester had his way and it was failed.

The servicer said take it somewhere else, they will probably pass it.

What would you do, in terms of (a) the MOT, (b) replacing the tyres now, or perhaps next MOT instead (7,500 miles), (c) getting tracking checked maybe???

worried_jim

Get some new tyres.

Iceweasel

You need 2 new rear tyres right away - if the tread depth is disputable then they are pretty near done anyway.

These are run-flats are they?

Bridgestone Potenzas are not famed for long life. Mine weren't anyway.

Better to fit Continental ContiSportContact2s which give better grip and last longer.

Retrogamer

If you think the car should have passed the MOT you can ask for an appeal form from the garage that failed it.
You'll need to pay the MOT fee again, but a VOSA inspector will come and do it in person. If it passes, the garage incurs points and you get your money refunded as it should have passed first time.

if the tyre is bad enough for an inspector to fail it, i'd probably change it.
The police sometimes aren't as knowledgeable and they might declare it illegal and issue points with a fine. Then there's the pain of trying to defend the tyre in court from there.

I found this as well.
1.6mm is around the first ridge on the face of a 20p coin

Iceweasel

Retrogamer has a valid point - but they must be well worn to even be an issue about whether they are on the limit.

Have a look at the TWI (Tread Wear Indicator) points on the tread - are they level with the tread surface?

They are exactly 1.6mm.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=tyre+tread+wear+indicator&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=NZTqUp-xNMbL0AWvrYDACQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=667

thelawnet

The issue is, the tyres are worn on the inside. On the outside there is loads of tread. I think the dispute was that the wear was not in the centre.

You can't appeal tyres, because they can be changed.

So I can
(a) forget it, and get another MOT done (£40) and it will probably pass (?)
(b) get the tyres changed, tracking checked (?) and retest for free,

The guy in the garage didn't really want to say whether he thought the tyres needed replacing.

forgotmyname

Snow on its way you NEED decent tyres.

facade

Option b) put the £40 you saved towards the new tyres.

Retrogamer

I didn't know you couldn't appeal tyres, sorry about that.

I would go with B personally. I've always found when my tyres wear down a lot, even when they're not illegal they have much less grip in the wet.

colino

The tester got it wrong. If the central 75% of the tyre was more than 1.6mm in its continuous circumference and had no deep cuts or exposed cords they should have passed.
You'll know not to go back there and you can get your tracking and rear suspension checked now too.
Sorry, don't deal with these cars, so don't know if it's a general characteristic or it is wear in the suspension.

Mark_Mark

colino wrote: »

The tester got it wrong. If the central 75% of the tyre was more than 1.6mm in its continuous circumference and had no deep cuts or exposed cords they should have passed.
You'll know not to go back there and you can get your tracking and rear suspension checked now too.
Sorry, don't deal with these cars, so don't know if it's a general characteristic or it is wear in the suspension.

It's a band 75% wide across the centre, it doesn't have to be the middle 75%.