When was the last time you checked your tyres?

R.O.R

Recently I've noticed that a lot of cars coming back to my company have little or no tread left on the tyres, which makes me wonder how often people check theirs?

I'll usually run my fingers in the grooves at least once a month on mine and the wife's to check how close they are to the blocks.

Yesterday we had a write off brought back in. Driver understeered off the road, half in to a ditch which turned the car over and left it skidding down the road on it's bonnet and roof. I happened to be out the back when it was being off loaded and had a good nosy. Thought I'd check the tyres to see if we could swap the wheels on to something else that needed tyres - front tyres were in a very bad shape, the car was more or less on slicks!

As the car was on a full maintenance contract it's not even a cost issue to the driver, just lazyiness on the driver's part to not check them.

If you haven't checked your tyres recently, check them before you next get in to your car. The cost of 2 new tyres may save the cost of replacing your car, or even someone's life!

Victor_M

Well Said.

I check mine every 3-4 weeks or so, never ceases to amaze me how quickly the car can devour rubber all the same.

I change my tyres as soon as they feel low rather than squeezing an extra 1000 miles out of them, false economy particularly in this country with hot dry weather followed by showers = greasy, slippery roads.

Mena

Do both of ours about once a month as well.

As the the OP's story, surely insurance won't cover this due to the state of the tyres? Not sure if it works the same in Ireland but in South Africa, if you crash and they inspect the car and find it not roadworthy (as with the tyres described above), you're "%$" out of luck.

peasant

The legal limit for remaining thread is 1.6 mm. But studies show that in the wet anything under 4.0 mm is getting dangerous

L1011

About two weeks ago as I thought they were a bit under pressure (and they were, as it happens), had a look at the thread then.

Before that, not since they'd been replaced (December 07)... and they were only replaced as I was in getting a missing pin replaced in the brakes and the garage pointed out three of the tyres were at/very near the legal level.

Cyrus

at least once a month

car also has a sensor that detects low pressure, apparently anyway!, so thats a help too

cabrwab

Try to check them visually once every 2weeks at least, makes me paranoid.
Ive noticed a lot of people going around with tyres in bad shape.

Crazy story OP!

miju

Check mine every two weeks for signs of being off aligment , too high / low pressure and general wear.

Prob am overly paranoid but there has been a few occasions where I've been thankful for good grip on the road and good brakes too

WHITE_P

Every time I wash the car I check the tyre condition and pressures, as well as checking the oil and other fluid levels, so typically about once a week or every 10 days at most.

On another note, my current car, was delievered new with tyres way over inflated, and I checked a relatives tyre pressures on their new car recently, and also found them to be well over the required pressure.

Victor_M

WHITE_P wrote: »

Every time I wash the car I check the tyre condition and pressures, as well as checking the oil and other fluid levels, so typically about once a week or every 10 days at most.

On another note, my current car, was delivered new with tyres way over inflated, and I checked a relatives tyre pressures on their new car recently, and also found them to be well over the required pressure.

I had a rental car in the US a few months ago, brutal handling and worthless brakes, I checked the tyre pressure, it was at 42 Psi per tyre, needless to say the brakes and steering improved when I adjusted the pressure to the recommended manufacturers pressure, apparently it is common place for rental companies so it's worth checking if you are renting a car and would actually like to have some road grip if you need to turn or stop in a hurry.

Over inflated tyres are as bad as bald tyres.

Biro

Nearly every new car my old man got all through the years had over inflated tyres. I think they are deliberately over inflated for transport, not sure why. But the dealers should bring them to normal inflation level before selling, but it's fair to say that this is almost never done.
Also over filled oil is another thing in new cars.
Anyway, I am always aware of my tyre condition from driving the car. I always keep visually eying up my tyres if I'm approaching the car from any vantage point, almost every day a quick visual. Same with the other half's car, every time I walk by it in the drive way. I only start closely inspecting if I notice any wear on one side or if they're approaching the tyre's limit. I don't go by the legal limit at all, 1.6mm is far too low. Once the grip goes the tyre does.

Vikings

Checked them there at the weekend, front ones need replacing and back ones are surviving ok. Been a while since I checked them though.

Any tyre recommendations from www.eiretyres.com - 185/65 R15? (1.4 Astra, don't need anything for a sports car!)

Biro

Vikings wrote: »

Checked them there at the weekend, front ones need replacing and back ones are surviving ok. Been a while since I checked them though.

Any tyre recommendations from www.eiretyres.com - 185/65 R15? (1.4 Astra, don't need anything for a sports car!)

If you don't do high mileage I find Pirelli P5000's to give very good grip with a relitavely low price.

Or these : http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/reifenbestellen.pl?typ=R-136303&dsco=24

fricatus

I give mine a look over every few days, or a week at most.

I've heard people giving advice to the effect that you should change your tyres every 10,000 miles - is this true, or only in some circumstances? My current set are Continentals and have done 25,000 miles - however the tread depth is still a good 4 mm I would estimate.

vectra

Just checked mine there now.
Still four of them on it :pac:

Black_Knight

I generally have a look twice a week. Nothing serious, but I look for wear around the edges and such.

Biro

fricatus wrote: »

I give mine a look over every few days, or a week at most.

I've heard people giving advice to the effect that you should change your tyres every 10,000 miles - is this true, or only in some circumstances? My current set are Continentals and have done 25,000 miles - however the tread depth is still a good 4 mm I would estimate.

You can't really generalise when it comes to tyres. It depends on the tyre, the car it's on, the driver, the roads etc.
You could get anywhere between 5,000 and 35,000 miles from tyres pending various conditions.
Change when the grip goes is the best, not when someone says to change! If you can't tell if the grip is going, look at thread depth and anything close to 2mm I'd say to get rid of them, unless they're a good brand soft compound tyre.

Zube

Biro wrote: »

You could get anywhere between 5,000 and 35,000 miles from tyres pending various conditions.

My old Alfa 155 used to do the front pair at about 12000 miles, but a friend with a 3.0 GTV needed new fronts after 6000.

SV

Check every time I get out of the car to be honest...

Changing the back to the front now anyway, bout 3mm left on the front...and it's getting slippy.

zilog_jones

Isn't it better to keep the better tyres on the back than the front? There was a discussion about this here a few months ago, and Michelin seem to recommend it: http://www.michelin.ie/uk/auto/auto_cons_bib_pqr_neuf.jsp

I'd usually look at my tyres when I wash my car, but I only really check them out properly and check pressures if I'm going any long distance.

Gary ITR

miju wrote: »

Check mine every two weeks for signs of being off aligment , too high / low pressure and general wear.

Prob am overly paranoid but there has been a few occasions where I've been thankful for good grip on the road and good brakes too

I'm like this too

HJL

I got a digital tyre pressure reader on eBay pretty cheap. Worth having i reckon as like people said already over inflated tyres have less grip. And underflated tyres use more fuel, and if the tyres on an axel are not the same PSI then it can cause the car to pull to one side.

Tipsy Mac

Usually once a month.

Luckycharm

Drove my mothers car the other night when it was a bit wet. Was going around a roundabout the car understeered across the road- lucky no one else around. Both front tyres were pretty bald. Actually probally need to change a couple on mine. What would you be expecting to pay for an OK tire- €80/90 more?

HJL

Luckycharm wrote: »

Actually probally need to change a couple on mine. What would you be expecting to pay for an OK tire- €80/90 more?

Depends on tyre size i guess, i got 2x Pirelli P5000 Drago last week for €60 each fitted and balanced.
My wheels take 195/50/15