When to replace tyres?

IvanDobskey

IvanDobskey

IvanDobskey

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Currently my rear tyres have about 4.5mm and my fronts about 3mm. I know the legal limit is 1.6mm, so i should be fine to pass next months mot.

I was just wondering what point people on here replace them? I know wet performance starts to drop off under 3mm on the cheaper tyres. Mine are bridgestone potenza re050, so decent brand.
 
Before the legal limit is reached, and just after the aforementioned drop off is reached. Some tyres are better than others in this regard however.
 
I'd also judge on the time of year/weather conditions (even though hard to predict).

So for example if i had 2.5-3mm approaching winter, then i'd look to change sooner rather than later. However 3mm in Summer months, i'd probably push to 2mm.

On another note i've been very impressed with my Prestivo's, done around 21/22k miles on them, and still have 4-5mm tread all-round.
 
I thought the M5 immense power as it continually spun the crappy rear P-Zeros. But in actualy fact it was because they had 1.8mm of tread. Still, P-Zeros are cack so I swapped them for the tyre that the M5 originally came with, MPSS and it's night and day, even in this cold snap we're going through.

Change them when you hit the legal limit or you start to lose confidence in the cars grip.
 
They still feel like they are performing well.

Reckon I'll probably swap them out on about 2mm.

My car (mk2 tt tfsi) has around 200bhp so nippy but not exactly a rocketship.
 
I always change mine before they get to the legal limit or when

Django x2 said:
you start to lose confidence in the cars grip.
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I got the tyres changed on the wife's car at the weekend, i checked them before christmas and they were down to 2mm, starting to get slightly worn on the outside edges at the time. I decided to change them in the new year or when they get closer to the limit, then i drove it at the weekend and the grip was just awful. So i had them changed and had the tracking done at the same time. I couldn't knowingly let her drive it with those tyres as she uses it mostly for driving our kids around and all.
 
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The condition of the tyres is good, with even wear. So I'm thinking they are ok for the time being.

I'll be keeping my eyes open for a deal on a pair of bridgestones in the meantime.

Best i can find at the moment is around £100 each.
 
Django x2 said:
I thought the M5 immense power as it continually spun the crappy rear P-Zeros. But in actualy fact it was because they had 1.8mm of tread. Still, P-Zeros are cack so I swapped them for the tyre that the M5 originally came with, MPSS and it's night and day, even in this cold snap we're going through.

Change them when you hit the legal limit or you start to lose confidence in the cars grip.
Click to expand...

I have the the Pzeros too and they are absolutely terrible. My 530d spins the rears under partial throttle so I can only imagine how pathetic they are in an M5.
 
I always thought this was a good video for demonstrating the effect they have.


Based on this I tend to change at around 2.5mm.
 
Gaygle said:
I wouldn't! There are farrrr better tyres out there than the RE050A and for less money too!
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That may be so, but these were the oem tyres on the audi wheels when i bought them. I don't really want to end up with different brand on the front to the back and I'm not replacing all four when the back ones are fine for another year.
 
The REO50A's are the reason I'll never own a Bridgestone tyre again!
I had 4, they scared me in the wet and the wear rate was terrible - I don't "loon" around, but they needed replacing really quickly.

As for different tyres front & back - the very fact two of your tyres are going to be more worn than the others already gives you an inbalance. Having different brands/model front/rear really shouldn't be a cause for concern.
With my current car I started on Conti SC3's. When two needed replacing I had Conti SC5's. Then, after having SC5's all around I replaced two of them with GY AS2's, then the other two were replaced with AS3's and last weekend I'm back to the same brand/model all around - AS3's.

As there are definitely better tyres out there for the money, I'd get two "other than Bridgestone" for the rear, move the two better REO50's to the front and then replace those to the same as your new choice when they need doing.

Now if you were taking different brands/models on the same axle....
 
Hmm, i have found the RE050s to be a pretty good tyre to be honest. I'm not the type of person who drives on the limit though. So maybe I'm not the best person to judge them.

Can you recommend a better tyre for under £100 then? I had continentals on my old z4 and thought they felt a little squishy in the sidewalls.

Edit: actually come to think of it, i think it was pzeros that had squishy sidewalls.
 
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