Do these tyres need to be changed?

tk123

I have these tyres (front) approx 16 months so around 10-16k kms on them max as I live close enough to work. The car is an AWD ix35.. Last set had uneven wear on the outsides because the alignment was off, I had them aligned but wasn't happy driving on them with the way they were worn so I had them replaced. I'm going to get the alignment checked tomorrow but I'm not sure if they need to be replaced also?! I'm assuming the place that does the alignment would tell me they do either way to make a few quid lol!:o It's like the tyre is scuffed? I feel stupid now because the road where I live has had at least one house being renovated for the last 18 months (there's 3 skips on it atm) so driving through sand/cement/dust/rubble on the road every day and it looked like the tyres were just dusty from that.
The car had it's NCT in Jan and alignment was fine, it was in for it's Hyundai "health check" (still under warranty) in July and I had assumed they'd checked the alignment then so never bothered which I now regret! :rolleyes:

Pics are from the passenger side - the drivers side is pretty much the same but the pics came out too dark. Family member is telling me they're fine just check the pressure and alignment but I'm not sure if I agree considering their own tyres are practically bald(!) (I'm a girl btw ). If they do need to be replaced would they align them when they put on the new tyres saving me €60 compared to getting the alignment checked tomorrow and tyres during the week?

Toyotafanboi

The photos aren't great, but they look reasonably evenly worn with around 3-4mm remaining.

Pete123456

To me it looks like they're ok for another while... a rule of thumb is to run your finger along the grooves In the tyre and you'll feel those little squares you can see in the picture every so often. If there is no distance between the top of the groove and the little square thing they need to be changed. You should check each of the four grooves to see if they are wearing evenly. Obviously this is a rough idea and there's better ways to measure thread depth, but if you think there's a little bit left before being worn to the level of the little square you probably don't need to change them. Sorry about the terminology, it's kinda hard to explain.

rex-x

They dont appear to have uneven wear but they are getting quite low, so probably due replacement quite soon. Its a little hard to tell though the photos are very poor quality

CJhaughey

Look at the second pic, 3/4 of the way up the portion of the tyre photographed you can see there is a little rubber line from Right to Left. Thats the tread wear indicator and if the surface of the tyre is level with the line the tyre is at its limit legally.
The tyres look OK to me but be aware that being legal and having decent tread depth are different things.
I change mine ideally long before they get close to the limit as wet braking and aquaplaning resistance decrease markedly as the tread wears down.
In a dry summer you may be able to get more out of them, but in cold damp conditions like now you need every bit of grip you can find.

Alignment will be separate to tyre fitting.

tk123

Sorry about the pics - I resized the photos so I could just embed them and the came out crap! I've attached the full sized ones here - you can see the stuff marks in one which just look weird to me - for all I know about cars lol. A friend in work just reminded me about an independent garage loads of them use that are meant to be better than the place I used last time (we get a 10% discount in the one I used through work... so prices are upped accordingly! :rolleyes:). The indy place are also an eiretyre fitter so I might just get the alignment checked now and hold off replacing them until the new year if they're ok.

rex-x

They seem to be wearing quite evenly and have reasonable thread depth remaining. Its always a good idea to get your alignment check regularly though

Hal1

A lot of uneven wear on those tyres, I'm looking at the 2nd pic and the outer edge of the tyre is partially bald. There almost done to the wear indicators too. I'd be surprised if they past the nct.

Pete123456

Looks like there's a few mls left from those pics, I'd leave them on for a few more weeks at least

On a closer look at the second pic it does look a bit uneven... maybe see what the tyre place says?

rex-x

Hal1 wrote: »

A lot of uneven wear on those tyres, I'm looking at the 2nd pic and the outer edge of the tyre is partially bald. There almost done to the wear indicators too. I'd be surprised if they past the nct.

That's normal wear on the front wheels on a soft spongy tyre like that, its from them having to do all the turning

Toyotafanboi

Hal1 wrote: »

A lot of uneven wear on those tyres, I'm looking at the 2nd pic and the outer edge of the tyre is partially bald. There almost done to the wear indicators too. I'd be surprised if they past the nct.

They'd definitely pass an NCT. you only need 1.6mm across the inner 2/3 of they tyre. You'd always expect the shoulders to wear a bit quicker, especially on the likes of a small jeep.

That said, at 3-4mm they are 50-60% worn and past their best efficinecy wise. I'd be anticipating a tyre replacement shortly on that car, regardless.

tk123

Thanks again guys. It can get quite icy and damp on the back roads to work and I have a road trip coming up over the weekend so don't think it's worth putting off changing them. I'll get them sorted this week to be safe!

Voodoomelon

Depending on your mileage, you can easily kick replacement of these tyres down the road until after Christmas. As mentioned above, there's easily 4-5mm across those tyres, which on an average brand is easily another 2000km miles before replacing.

kirving

I'm very conscious of my tyres, amd check them regularly. I think you're worrying a little too much though. Whilst not ideal, the wear on the outer shoulder of the tyre isn't too bad.

tk123

I guess I'm just not use to how this car wears them down yet? I thought it was my fault for not getting the alignment checked regularly...or my crazy driving lol


Update - had them checked and the guy said the wear is even and no need to change them!