Should I replace one tyre?

Five_Star

Five_Star

Five_Star

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About two months ago the wifes focus was involved in an accident and the car was repaired. This resulted in the front left wheel and tyre being replaced amongst other things. Having just moved house I’ve been too busy to look into it properly until now but should I also replace the right hand front tyre with a new one too so both have similar tread wear?

The right hand side tyre is about 9 months old and still has 5mm of tread. Being that we’ve just moved house I’d rather not shell out £70 for a new tyre but feel I should really to get both fronts matched up.

So, should I get it replaced?
 
No reason to unless the other tyre is damaged/under 3mm.

*EDIT - you say the right hand tyre is 5mm - deff no need to replce.
 
I always replace both purely for the convinience factor, the car has to go in to the garage whether you get one or two. Having tyres at different rates of wear will mean they will forever be mismatched and you will need to get it done twice as often.
 
I think it'll be perfectly fine for now, but when the offside tyre hits 3mm replace both of them. I'm assuming your wife just pootles to tesco and travels a few miles to work every day.

It's always good practice to have matching tyres (in model and tread depth) on an axel, but not essential/illegal not to and i doubt she'll see much difference driving day to day or even when braking.
 
humm, I'm usually follow the same plan as Jez, having both sets (front / back) on the same make, model and wear rate. The car is essential for our commute but as money is so tight I’ll probably have to leave it, just annoying as I’ve got the opportunity to get it done easily this week and I do worry too much about these things.
 
If it were me I'd do both tyres on the same axel at the same time with the same model of tyre. Optimises grip and wear that way.
 
in 99% of cases I've always bought tyres in pairs - mainly because if everything is as it should be (correct tyre pressure, correct balance, correct tyres, etc) then the wear on any axel should be about the same.

However a few years ago I managed to get a non-repair puncture in a tyre that I'd only had for a couple of months.
No way was a replacing the other tyre on the same axel at that age, so just bought the one.

Tyres aren't cheap - well they can be, but you shouldn't be buying cheap so I'd say only replace if it needs replacing.
 
Do you have a full size spare with a new tyre on it?

If so you could buy a matching tyre and put the current decent tyre from the front as the spare.
 
Doonhamer said:
Do you have a full size spare with a new tyre on it?

If so you could buy a matching tyre and put the current decent tyre from the front as the spare.
Click to expand...

I suspect it's a space saver wheel and tyre, but I'll double check tonight. This might be the answer if I have :cool:
 
I just got new tyres all round as I had a puncture on one of the rears and a slow puncture on the front :( I had ditch finders anyway so it seemed worthwhile.

If replacing one tyre would result in mismatched wear either side I'd do both. If the other side is fine, I suppose it doesn't make economical sense. :)
 
I replaced just one front tyre when I shredded one in a pothole. But the pair were 300 miles old at the time.

9 months is way too old, replace the pair.
 
The Edge said:
Don't they pretty much always wear differantly on each side anyway?
Click to expand...

Only if your tracking and/or alignment are out. Go and get that fixed and you'll find they last longer and wear evenly, plus your car will be safer.

I tend towards replacing a pair, if possible then whichever one is still good becomes the spare since I don't think I've ever bought a second hand car with a legal spare!

Also with certain types of AWD systems (Subaru!) you need to do all 4 at once to avoid undue wear on the centre diff, if you're in that situation it's also advisable to swap front&rear from time to time to make sure they wear down evenly, when I got around to replacing all 4 the two best ones (usually from the front axle on my car) would be kept and then when the next set of tyres got low, or I had a puncture I could get them put onto the problematic axle and keep motoring for a bit while I wait for my new tyres to arrive.
 
What have you got on the spare? Consider putting the part worn on the spare and then use the spare on the front, you'll have two new ones on the front then.

That is of course presuming you have a full size spare.
 
Gah, I checked last night, its got a space saver so the part worn on the spare idea is out.
Lots of tread on the spare space saver though, it looks new. :rolleyes:
 
I've only ever replaced the tyre or tyres that are worn I've never seen the point in chucking good rubber in the bin. The tyre place I use is a 5 minute walk from the office so I just drop the car off on the way in and pick it up at lunch time.
 
You will get more grip, and more stability under breaking with matched left/right sets. If they're not too far out, I'd not bother - or just swap it for spare as suggested above. If they're quite close in wear you should be okay providing you don't drive like an idiot - although you'll still get slightly higher mechanical wear for having an unmatched set.
 
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