At what point to change a tyre...

RainbowLaura

I've just had some warranty work done on my car and they did the usual checks while they were at it. They said one of my front tyres is "amber" on their warning scale - it's 3mm so still has 1.4mm left. Usually I would wait a while and get the most out of the current tyre, especially as the service and first MOT will be due by the end of summer so would have just got it done then. But I have a 150 mile journey to do next week (then the return a few days later). If it was your tyre, would you replace it now?

Carrot007

I'd be more concerned that only 1 tyre was so low.


Best to change in pairs.


Still it all depends on you risjk advertity versus your driving skills on poor tyres.


If you "never" brake. That is you always anticipate andd slow down as needed before having to brake then whatever tyres. If you don't go down though the gears to slow down and brake often then aim for some top tier tyres and chaneg them all after finding out why 1 is oddly low and getting that fixed.

RainbowLaura

Carrot007 wrote: »

I'd be more concerned that only 1 tyre was so low.


Best to change in pairs.


Still it all depends on you risjk advertity versus your driving skills on poor tyres.


If you "never" brake. That is you always anticipate andd slow down as needed before having to brake then whatever tyres. If you don't go down though the gears to slow down and brake often then aim for some top tier tyres and chaneg them all after finding out why 1 is oddly low and getting that fixed.

The other front tyre is 4mm. I do think if the 3mm one had just been 0.1mm more then it wouldn't have been flagged just yet, and then when it was time to replace i could have done both front ones together as you suggest. I really don't want to replace both when one is absolutely fine and the other is just borderline...

foxy-stoat

Just check it weekly and replace when its nearer 2mm.

I dont think 300 miles is going to make a load of difference on a tyre with 3mm, unless it had 6mm 300 miles ago.

I generally get 20,000 miles out of new tyres that are 8mm, so on average 1mm of tread should last 3300 miles or there abouts.

wgl2014

I wouldn't worry about it, arguably there is a reduction in wet weather grip below 3mm but it's not going to suddenly dissapear altogether.

Bear in mind the the tyres will need changing soonish so have a look around for the best deal, you will need to change both fronts at the same time even if the other one has a little more tread left. It could also be worth getting your tracking checked at the same time if the wear is uneven.

AdrianC

1.6mm is the absolute barest legal minimum. In my book, 3mm is the point to start thinking they're due, and anything below 2mm is "stop prevaricating".

Tiexen

Michelin says there is no link between car tyre tread depths at 1.6mm and increasing accident rates. In addition, changing tyres at 3mm would cost the motorist money and increase carbon emissions - especially as a tyre becomes more fuel-efficient as it wears


http://www.transportengineer.org.uk/transport-engineer-news/michelin-hits-back-at-3mm-car-tyre-change-campaign-updated/155431

tastyhog

at what point to change a tyre? when it's just about legal, you have potentially thousands of miles left on a tyre that is 1mm+ above legal.

you're essentially chucking 1/5th of the tyre cost down the drain if you change them at the level you are now vs the legal minimum, which also has a huge margin of error before they become 'unsafe'

the same can be said for brake pads, it will take thousands of miles to get from just above legal to illegal, providing your brakes etc are working as they should.

Nasqueron

My tyres, new with the car, are 3 1/2 years old and are a little over 30,000 miles and still had 3-4 mm on them, I wouldn't change 3mm tyres for 150 miles

arcon5

My last pair of tyres was 1.8mm with scrubbing on the edge. Forget about them for another mil. Aim for about 2mm

System

If we were coming up to winter I'd change it at 3mm. However we're not so I'd run it down more. You're only likely to get a couple of thousand miles out of it so as others have said, now is the time to start looking around. You might want to consider looking at all season tyres as an alternative to the summer tyres the majority of people buy as it'll give you much better grip in winter in the snow and ice.

Most of the cars in the UK would be the vehicle on the left.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cgtmmtsqFA