At what point to change a tyre...

James2k

Mercdriver wrote: »

That last comment James is unnecessary. You can be a professor and still be mistaken.

yes, yes you can. but when presented with overwhelming evidence to the contrary, most 'professors' would acknowledge that they are wrong. Not stick blindly to their illusions. I pointed it out many times, provided several sources. and was still called wrong. not as if i went in first with the comment you quoted.

The guy is quick enough to criticise anyone and everyone else on this forum

AndyMc..... wrote: »

Non of which fit into Mercdrivers description.

Well his description is not totally accurate.
Basically;
AWD = all wheels (can be) driven, no low range selector
4wd = all wheels (can be) driven, low range selector.

another good source: http://www.autotraining.edu/blog/4wd-vs-awd/

shaun_from_Africa

James2k wrote: »

yes, yes you can. but when presented with overwhelming evidence to the contrary, most 'professors' would acknowledge that they are wrong. Not stick blindly to their illusions.

Acknowledging that they are wrong is something that certain posters will never do, especially when it comes to motoring matters.
They will either keep trying to defend their point of view and if/when that fails, simply stop posting on the thread in question.

AdrianC

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

...certain posters...

I assume you're meaning me, but simply don't have the bottle to actually be honest and name me?

There's no point in actually trying to educate those who can't think wider than a piece of marketing guff, so there's no point in continuing to say the same thing over and over again, especially on what's already a diversion from the thread. The fact that you don't appear to have realised that certain terms are wider simply than cars, and still can't wrap your head around that blatant truism, is not really my problem, so I'll leave you smugly in your ignorance, thanks.


So far in this little diversion we have several completely different, but all absolutely adamant, definitions of the difference, none of which seem to comprehend basic numeracy.

Herzlos

Adrian, whilst you're technically correct on the AWD/4WD, it's not actually useful and they do have different meanings now, though it does vary brand to brand.

AdrianC

Herzlos wrote: »

Adrian, whilst you're technically correct on the AWD/4WD

Thank you.

it's not actually useful

No, I'm not sure why MercDriver introduced it as a diversion in the first place, either.

and they do have different meanings now, though it does vary brand to brand.

Yes, marketing muppets do divert and misrepresent various pieces of terminology for their own ends regularly.

Mercdriver

I introduced it as drive affects wear. As not all AWD cars drive all the wheels all the time, the wear isn't the same as a car that drives all wheels all the time. I wouldn't replace all four tyres if not all four tyres needed changing, notwithstanding the fact it is best to change in pairs. Replacing all 4 tyres was suggested by another poster.

I'll bow out now.

James2k

AdrianC wrote: »

I assume you're meaning me, but simply don't have the bottle to actually be honest and name me?

There's no point in actually trying to educate those who can't think wider than a piece of marketing guff, so there's no point in continuing to say the same thing over and over again, especially on what's already a diversion from the thread. The fact that you don't appear to have realised that certain terms are wider simply than cars, and still can't wrap your head around that blatant truism, is not really my problem, so I'll leave you smugly in your ignorance, thanks.


So far in this little diversion we have several completely different, but all absolutely adamant, definitions of the difference, none of which seem to comprehend basic numeracy.

wow.. just. wow.

Raxiel

Tarambor wrote: »

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

I bought a set of Michelin Crossclimate+ all season tyres earlier this year just before the last bit of snow. Compared to the Literallywho tyre co. summer rubber that was on the car when I bought it snow and ice performance was significantly better (ie I didn't get stuck) and even in the dry, handing and road noise is improved so I'd definitely recommend them. The only problem is when switching between summer, and all season/winter tyres you need to do all 4 at once.

almillar

Is that true of normal road tyres though?

Yes - to be simple about it, and ignore the compound of the tyre, so keep it like-for-like, there is simply more rubber in contact with the road. Put grooves in to make space for the water, and in the dry, that's air instead of water. F1 actually introduced grooved dry tyres to slow the cars down!

My CX5 like many SUVs that are AWD only drive with all 4 wheels when the car demands it. So the wear pattern will be different.

That's 4WD. Non-permanent, or switchable (by you, or mechanically, or electronically), 4WD. Also AWD. This has been done before...

My car is AWD but the rear wheels only drive when the car thinks the front ones aren't getting sufficient traction. This is the same with all AWD systems, whereas 4x4 is where all four wheels are being driven all the time, hence permanent 4WD. AWD doesn't mean all wheels are being driven all the time at the same time.

No. You're describing the difference between permanent and switchable (automatically or not) 4 wheel drive. 4 wheels connected to the engine? At any time? 4. Wheel. Drive.

And yes, it's a good idea to have a 4 tyres roughly the same wear on a 4x4 car - some of the traction and stability electronics rely on it and you could be making certain diffs work harder. But if you've got selectable 4wd, sure, one axel might wear faster than the other. So go ahead and rotate them, regularly.

Joe_Horner

almillar wrote: »

Yes - to be simple about it, and ignore the compound of the tyre, so keep it like-for-like, there is simply more rubber in contact with the road. Put grooves in to make space for the water, and in the dry, that's air instead of water. F1 actually introduced grooved dry tyres to slow the cars down!

There's also significantly less squirm from a tyre approaching the limit, which also helps grip.

By rights, the "but it's safety / best grip possible" brigade should have about half a dozen different sets of wheels with different treads and different compounds then change according to the weather each morning - not forgetting to check the afternoon forecast and take an extra set if it's likely to change for the trip home.

The sensible, practical, and safe alternative to that is to use tyres that meet the legal requirements, use them until they're at the end of their legal life (under 2mm is a good plan to allow time to get them done), and drive according to the conditions as conditions change.