Tyres - What to do?

[roserose1]

Hi all,
Our last MOT said we need to change tyres. I don't remember which ones and we cant find the MOT paper I asked DH and he said "yeah, we need all 4 tyres".

I checked with a penny coin today. Front ones DEFINITELY need changing, but the rear ones look ok (the head goes into the grove). We have summer tyres at the moment - continental premium ones. Please can someone help me decide?

The options I have are:

Change all 4 tyres: Michelin Cross Climate - great deal on at the moment. £300 for 4 tyres fully fitted (may be £260 if they let me use a discount code with the deal)

Change 2 front ones: Do I have to go for continental brand ? (because Im keeping the old rear continental tyres ). That's roughly £170 fully fitted.

Use the spare: we have a brand new spare in the boot. Is it a good idea to use that and keep a old tyre for emergencies? So, I have to buy only 1 tyre then. That's around £85 for 1 continental Tyre + £30 for fitting my spare. That's £115

Money isn't a problem, but I don't want to spend when its not necessary. We plan to change the car in a year or two. We use the car mostly to ferry kids for local after-school activities and holidays (4-5 times a year, mostly in decent weather, never more than 3hr drive away).

I’d change all 4, the Cross Climates are a good tyre and you will notice a difference in the shitty weather over winter. That would also seem a reasonable price, I’m guessing they are fairly small wheels. I wouldn’t match your (old) new spare across an axle with a new tyre.

Option 1. I put winter tyres on at this time of year and they make a big difference when its slippy.

not sure that putting a penny in the groove is 100% the best way to test tyres need to be a legal minimum of 1.6mm over c. 70% of the tyre surface - so you can have 1.6mm in one place, but if there are other areas without then they need replacing...

a better approach is 3mm (my car actually notifies you at 3mm - though it is a pretty high end powerful car, so makes more sense), and that is the point the police and others would replace their tyres...

if you are close to changing then keeping the car another 1 - 2 years means they will need to change during that time, but with lower mileage you shouldn't need to change again, so doing it now makes sense...

Cross Climates are good tyres - so assuming it is not a ferrari / porsche / etc. which needs specific tyres, then go for that option and change all 4

Thanks all ! We are changing all the tyres :)

the current ones are 'H' for load rating. Michelin ones are 'V'. Is that ok?

Yep that’s fine, no issue fitting a higher speed rating. Just make sure the load rating is also the same or higher.

Have you checked blackcircles website?

A lot of people will tell you how important it is to buy branded very expensive tyres. All tyres in the UK market have to pass the same rigid BS standard tests. It is my view that for normal driving at the speed limits,most tyres will be suitable.

It is my view that for normal driving at the speed limits,most tyres will be suitable.

Absolute tosh, as the tyre test prove repeatedly. It’s not about normal driving and driving at the speed limit it’s when that kid steps out on a cold wet morning and the premium tyres make the difference between stopping short and killing them. Anyone stupid enough to fit budget tyres deserves everything they get.

There you go,,there is a lot of dick comparing about tyres especially amongst men.

If i look on black circles for my car, i can buy tyres from £43 each to £86 each fitted price.

What are premium tyres? Do we mean names we have heard of? well respected brands?

Well if i go up to £54 each fitted i can have Avon tyres,,everyone has heard of them havent they ? Will those do or should i buy the most expensive ones?

Stopping has as much to do with anticipation and speed of reaction as it has to do with traction.

In urban environments ,mostly 30 limits, its more about anticipation,defense driving,etc.. traction is the ultimate final defence.

Pedestrians also have their part to play i.e stop,look,listen,,be seen be safe,etc etc..

btmauk.com

There is a massive performance difference between a budget tyre and a premium tyre. Not to mention the false economy of a cheap tyre which will wear much quicker than a premium or even mid range.

Both my cars (business and private) wear Michelin cross climates.

The last budget tyres I had (used to use them all the time) started to delaminates. Tried the cross climates and have never looked back.

*delaminate.

I'd go for option 1 and indeed did just that last weekend. My fronts needed replaced but i could have got a few more months out of the rears. However, having new all-weather tyres on the front and worn summers on the rear sounds like a recipe for losing the back-end, and possibly spinning, if hard cold-weather breaking is ever required.

You can check your MOT details online btw, just realised you said you couldn't find the paperwork.

www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

Well if i go up to £54 each fitted i can have Avon tyres,,everyone has heard of them havent they ? Will those do or should i buy the most expensive ones?

Depends on how they score in tyre tests, not that well from memory. I’ll take something that scores in the top 3 for the sake of a few pounds on a family car. On a performance car its Michelin Pilot SuperSports or Pilot Sport 4Ss only. I generally use Toyo R888Rs on track.

I swapped to Cross Climate tyres a year ago and they were worth every penny. If you can get all 4 for £300 then go for it.

Thanks everyone. We are going with option1. Four new CrossClimate Tyres :)

Is the (brand new) continental spare still ok for a spare?

You shouldn't really mix tyres, but a spare is a reasonable exception. As long as you only use it as a temporary measure if required and appreciate road holding might be impaired it's no worse than a space saver.

Yes, your spare is absolutely fine for temporary use.

The tyre is the only part of the car that connects with the road surface. If money isn't a problem, why take the risk just to save a few quid?

Not sure why you need the last mot to tell you about the condition of your tyres, surely you check them at least once a week?