Replacing a single tyre

[relicalpha]

Hello,

I got a flat rear on a Ford Focus, it's a Continental 205/60/R16.

The other rear tyre seems in decent condition, is it safe enough for me to just replace the flat these days? I assume it's recommended to get the exact same manufacture/spec - but I remember previously being told you need to replace in pairs? Can I get away with just doing the one?

Also, do I need to ask for alignment or anything when I get it replaced? I'm hoping they would check for any wheel damage as standard as I had to drive on it flat for a bit to get off the road.

Continental EcoContact 6 (205/60 R16 92V) looks like £154 fitted as an exact match if I can just do the one.

Thanks!

 

[dave28]

It is recommended in pairs, probably to do with balance / alignment / wear or whatever
Some garages may even refuse to change just one

Ask them to check the wheel and explain what happened

Alignment is usually in the price but ask anyway

 

[GravyMonster]

Never heard of alignment being included in the price of tyres. Balancing yes, alignment no.

I'd replace both if the other tyre has more than 1mm of wear taken off it

 

[D-Ranged]

It is recommended to replace in pairs, mainly for safety reasons in rain and also dry weather . If you have two different compounds and tread patterns, each wheel, will have different grip In different situations.

If it's a daily that you don't push hard around corners, then I honestly wouldn't care too much and have done it quite a few times on the many cars I've owned.

 

[andy_mk3]

Absolutely no need to replace the pair, especially if you're fitting a matching tyre. If the other side is down below 3-4mm then I'd conder a pair but it's absolutely not necessary.

Alignment isn't a requirement, but it doesn't hurt to get it checked. It will prolong the life of the tyres if set correctly.

 

[lordrobs]

Has a tyre place taken a look at the tyre? Maybe that it can be repaired depending on where the puncture is.

Edit - I missed that you had to drive on it flat which means it's fit for the bin now.

 

[relicalpha]

Thanks all, the tyre is totally trashed sadly. I think i'll check the tread depth on the opposite tyre and if it's anywhere near low then I'll go for the pair. Otherwise it sounds like I can maybe get away with it.

 

[Skilid]

It entirely depends. I've always advocated for replacing in pairs, but my partners Fabia got a flat on the rear. It had 4 new Bridgestones on it when we bought it 2 years prior and they had only worn by 1-1.5mm. They still looked new. We replaced one on the rear with a new one of the same model. After a couple of weeks of the TPM sensor keep going off it's fine now.

If the other has more than 3mm difference I'd replace in pairs.

 

[Griff7520]

I all ways change a minimum of 2 at a time....just makes sense to do that for some reason

 

[Nasher]

If it's within a couple of mm it should be fine. If there is a big difference you can feel it especially in the wet. If it's a front one it also might cause a slight pull to one side.

 

[Cristian]

I'd try to get pairs, in all honesty that price you mentioned is absolutely ridiculous given the small and common size of the tyre. A quick look at camskill shows a Goodyear at £70 and Uniroyal / Vredestein at £55 a piece, even budgeting for delivery and fitting you'd still be under the £150 you mentioned for a pair fully fitted with a bit of shopping around!

Put it this way - the car will be much safer with 2x paired Vredesteins or Uniroyals than with a mismatched set of the tyre you wanted to buy!

 

[Rroff]

When I looked into this awhile back, where a brand gave guidance it was usually up to 2mm difference (generally around 10K miles ish). For the average car it won't be a problem, for some AWD or other advanced transmission or performance vehicles though you might want to always change in matched pairs or full set.

 

[JonRGV250]

It is recommended in pairs, probably to do with balance / alignment / wear or whatever
Some garages may even refuse to change just one

Absolute nonsense

 

[Rroff]

Something I found interesting with this though - depending on the mix, if you have a different pair of tyres front and back, with significant differences in how they perform in the wet or cold it can actually quite significantly upset the handling of the car in dicey situations, potentially even worse than having mismatched tyres all around.

 

[dave28]

Absolute nonsense

what is nonsense about it, you say that with zero explanation at all.

it is recommended in pairs and some fussy garages can refuse to change just one if the other is worn out

 

[bainbridge]

My previous car, a focus, didn't seem to mind one newer tyre, though if the other side was near the limit I'd get 2 while I was there.

My current car, an MX5, is really fussy with tyres. Even a couple of mm difference makes it handle terribly.

 

[JonRGV250]

what is nonsense about it, you say that with zero explanation at all.

Lets imagine there was a saftey examination for cars that had to be carried out every year, say something like an MOT test.
Are there any advisories or failures for having different tread depths on this test (other than the tyre being illegal or close to)?
Hell, there aren't even any avisories/failures for mixing asymmetric, directional or multi directional on the same axle (although some would argue it's not the best idea).
Fitting an asymmetric tyre the wrong way round isn't even a failure (a directional tyre is though), so if the DVSA don't deem mixing the above dangerous enough to fail the test, then they certainly don't deem differing tread depths to be a problam.

What you can & can't fail..

No mention of differing tread depths.
Whether I or anyone else agrees with the DVSA is a different matter, but they're the rules they've set.

 

[decto]

Unless you are driving like it's need for speed I doubt you'll ever notice a mismatch, especially if they tyres are the same compound just different wear.

I had good branded tyres ~ £100 a pop back in the day on my last car, one got trashed by a screw in the sidewall and I had a new car on order. Stuck the cheapest £40 tyre on it that wasn't a remould and then drove a few thousand miles waiting for my new car to finally arrive. I couldn't tell any difference, wet, dry, warm, cold..... actually made me question buying branded tyres at the time.

Our roads are trash, pot holes, puddles, mud, lines, unevenly worn surfaces where the spray on tarmac has unstuck.
Your tyres are rarely on matched surfaces so drive accordingly and it it does get sketchy, almost all recent cars have ABS and ESP.

 

[Semple]

I'd replace both if the other tyre has more than 1mm of wear taken off it

So you'd waste 6.9mm of tread just to replace them in pairs?

 

[Rroff]

I couldn't tell any difference, wet, dry, warm, cold..... actually made me question buying branded tyres at the time.

Within reason on the other hand for me it often sticks out, even as a passenger in some cases :s especially in wet or cold, less so in dry mild conditions.

I wish I had pictures of the VW Amarok I had for a day awhile back, 4 different tyres though of similar type, on very different levels of tread, it was horrendous.