Talk to me about tyres please

DD265

My car had a service at the end of July and the garage swapped the tyres from front to back.

They said that the tyres which were on the fronts had 3mm of tread, and the tyres which were on the backs had 6mm of tread. I do high mileage on motorway commutes so they're going to need replacing at the next service if not before.

It has Continental tyres on it at the moment, factory fitted, the garage quoted me £68 a pop plus VAT like-for-like. I am sure I can get them a bit cheaper elsewhere but it's a good guide price.

I need to start budgeting to replace these and I was wondering whether it's worth looking at a higher spec given the motorway commute? What would people recommend? Car is a Nissan Note if it helps.

WellKnownSid

DD265 wrote: »

My car had a service at the end of July and the garage swapped the tyres from front to back.

They said that the tyres which were on the fronts had 3mm of tread, and the tyres which were on the backs had 6mm of tread.

DD265 wrote: »

What would people recommend? Car is a Nissan Note if it helps.

Either get them swapped back pronto or risk doing a 360 in the wet on the M6?

DD265

I don't know if you've misunderstood or you're saying that the car actually needs more tread on the back tyres (in which case I'll need to replace the 3mm tread tyres even sooner). :question:

The tyres which were on the front - and are now on the back - have 3mm of tread.

The tyres which were on the back - and are now on the front - have 6mm of tread.

colino

Not to get into a debate (but the best tyres should always be on the back of a fwd or rwd car!) they didn't do a worthwhile job by swapping the tyres around.
I'd be on the internet sourcing decent quality replacements for the two 3mm ones and replace them over the next few weeks. What they have done by this tyre rotation is conceivably having you needing to change all four in a few months, instead of just two now.

Horizon81

Wisdom says best tread on the rear, however you're going to get the 3mm rears replaced soon anyway so i wouldn't worry. Many people still put the best tread on the front and don't head hedge-bound at the sight of rain.

As for tyres, why not look for a 'fuel saver' style... the sort of tyres that come on eco models e.g. Michelin energy saver. They'll have a harder compound so will last longer. It's all a trade off between price, grip and longevity so you have to weigh it up.

tberry6686

Some tyre places will only put new tyres on the rear (They put the wheels from the back on to the front). Not entirely sure why.

A few years ago I walked away from a tyre fitters because of this. They still insisted that the new tyres had to go on the back even when I pointed out that the rear tyres were a different size to the front's. Figure that out if you can cause I couldn't

WellKnownSid

You and your car are both set up to handle under-steer. It's what your car will naturally do, and you'll be used to it.

Swapping them around like that means you've a high chance that you could experience over-steer from the rears losing grip long before you ever experience under-steer at the front.

dannyrst

WellKnownSid wrote: »

Either get them swapped back pronto or risk doing a 360 in the wet on the M6?

LOL. 3mm = certain doom.

Horizon81

Won't somebody think of the children!!!!!!!!!!

Horizon81

WellKnownSid wrote: »

Swapping them around like that means you've a high chance that you could experience over-steer from the rears losing grip long before you ever experience under-steer at the front.

What a load of nonsense.

DD265

Thanks all. There is a local tyre place that I have used before and trust so I'll go there this weekend (pay day tomorrow!) and get the 3mm tyres changed.

I should know this but: any harm in having different brands/types of tyres front to back?