“Geoffrey honey, you know that odd chap from next door, the one with the smart car?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Look out the window. What is he doing to our car?”
*looks out window*
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Tread Depth
- Thread starter nlel1975
- Start date
“Geoffrey honey, you know that odd chap from next door, the one with the smart car?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Look out the window. What is he doing to our car?”
*looks out window*
Man of Honour
Yeah this is getting into "he was always a quiet bloke" until he murdered all those people territory 
You're only figuring this out now?
I almost don't want to mention it because you're clearly having fun measuring your (and every one else's by the sound of it) tyres but there is zero point in trying to measure something made of rubber to .01 mm. You're going to struggle to consistently measure to even 0.1mm.
I wouldn't be surprised if the 1.6mm legal limit was just a hang over from the metric conversion of 1/16" and would have just been 2mm if set today.
I wouldn't be surprised if the 1.6mm legal limit was just a hang over from the metric conversion of 1/16" and would have just been 2mm if set today.
Soldato
Seriously, this is strange now. You seem to fixate on things to the point of insanity. This is the new "Smart undertray bolts are better than other bolts".
Sorry. I genuinely thought you were winding us up.
If this is something that interests you, you could look at how different tyre pressures affect the contact patch. Set a pressure, jack up the car, put a bit of paper underneath the tyre, rub some ink or something on the tread, and lower the car.
Caporegime
I'd sincerely doubt there's many of us who don't have mental issues of one form or another!
And there's far weirder things to have fixations about!
Don't stress about it, I've laughed at this thread!
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Found this old thread on when to replace tyres based on age.
https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/tyres-when-to-change-them.18875584/page-2
As mine still have over 6mm of tread depth and are just over 5 years old since date of manufacture, they are likely to still have a very decent amount of tread depth in a further 5 years based on the low mileage I do.
The recommendation by the manufacturers is to replace all tyres at 10 years of age regardless of tread depth. So I shall be doing this in latter half of 2028 if not sooner.
My tyres were manufactured in 48/18 52/18 and 01/19, so should be replaced by last week of November 2028 when they are 10 years old.
https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/tyres-when-to-change-them.18875584/page-2
As mine still have over 6mm of tread depth and are just over 5 years old since date of manufacture, they are likely to still have a very decent amount of tread depth in a further 5 years based on the low mileage I do.
The recommendation by the manufacturers is to replace all tyres at 10 years of age regardless of tread depth. So I shall be doing this in latter half of 2028 if not sooner.
My tyres were manufactured in 48/18 52/18 and 01/19, so should be replaced by last week of November 2028 when they are 10 years old.
It gets a bit less black and white than that when it comes to age. A car driven regularly and parked in a garage when not used, the tyres will be fine for donkeys years. A car that is rarely used and always parked outside may need the tyres changing well before 10 years due to UV aging. The usage element comes in because as the car drives the natural oils in the tyre help to keep it supple.
Last year I binned a set of Continentals on my wife's car with about 6mm left because they had cracked sidewalls, they were about 7 years old.
Not something to stress about but something to keep an eye on every now and then when you pass the 5 year mark.
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My car is parked in an underground car park and is driven once a week for 23 miles. So not exposed to the elements. On my old car which was first registered in November 2007, I was advised to replace the original Continentals in May 2017 when my car was in the tyre fitters for a reason that I can’t remember.
They ended up fitting some Chinese tyres which I wasn’t happy about but they caught me off guard. Now I know what tyres I want Michelin Primacy 4 and I will ask for those when the time comes unless the Michelin Primacy 5 are out by then.
I have even got some quotes of £387 to £397 for a set of four fitted which isn’t bad by all accounts. That’s probably because they are in a smallish size.
They ended up fitting some Chinese tyres which I wasn’t happy about but they caught me off guard. Now I know what tyres I want Michelin Primacy 4 and I will ask for those when the time comes unless the Michelin Primacy 5 are out by then.
I have even got some quotes of £387 to £397 for a set of four fitted which isn’t bad by all accounts. That’s probably because they are in a smallish size.
Smarts don't come with spares, not enough boot space!
Soldato
If you've already got good quality tyres on there they'll probably last for ages. 23 miles is a decent enough run to get some heat into the tyres and then storing it in underground parking will protect them from the elements.
I have to be honest and say that I've never checked the date code on my tyres, but I get through a full set of 4 every 2 years on average (2 tyres per year on rotation) and buy them from places like black circles so I just trust that they were manufactured recently due to their high turnover of tyres.
I might have to pop out and have a look
Soldato
Does anyone else rotate their tyres? I've always done so every 6-7k miles, just as I prefer to get a full set of 4 new ones at the same time.