In the first instance this question relates to my wife's B-max but, in a couple of years, I can see the same situation is likely to occur with my 2WD Karoq.

 

It was my intention to get the car onto all-seasons when the originally supplied summer tyres needed replacement however, presently there appears to be a slight loss of air (according to tpi) from the front nearside tyre; if it cannot be repaired, then it will have to be replaced. The car has done just over 18,000 miles in 2 years and there is probably about 4k tread left in the fronts and 15k left in the rears. Assuming that the tyre that's losing air has to be replaced and bearing in mind that I would like to move to all-seasons tyres ......... what would be the best way to go about it?

 

I assume that I should replace both front tyres with identical all-seasons, but would I be best to leave them on the front or move them to the 'rear axle' and bring the original rears to the front?

 

Anyone else been faced with this scenario?  Thanks.

 

Anyone who is worried about legal liability (in case you skid and crash) will probably give you an official answer of change all 4 tyres

 

In practice in UK, (where it is not hard to find cars with 4 different tyres, a combination clearly not refused by many tyre fitters), this is what I would do :

Don't mix summer and winter tyres

OK to mix (but not ideal) 2 all season and 2 summer providing the summer have decent tread depth, but don't try and retain 2 heavily worn (but still legal) summer tyres. 

 

On a front wheel drive car, putting the better tyres on the front increases traction, but increases risk of rear swinging out if it loses grip.  If your car doesn't have ABS and ESC then dont do this

 

Putting the better tyres on rear is safer (but has the disadvantage that the driving wheels don't have best traction).  This is the better combination in the interim

 

Change 2 tyres (should be same type on same axle) with the new ones put on the back.   

By September 2020 when weather deteriorates (if not earlier) replace the other 2 tyres

 

Ignore the legal minimum tread depth and change the tyres if tread gets below about 3 - 3.5 mm.   Anything less and you are likely to have serious problems if something runs out in front of you, and you have to do an emergency stop in the rain.  New tyres are cheaper than sorting crash damage (plus much better than injuring or maiming someone)

 

 

Regarding your other car, try and swap the tyres front-back around 14000-15000 miles to even out the wear.   This simple bit of planning should avoid the problem.   

Those handing back cars on PCPs etc about 30000 miles may save money and not need to replace any tyres if they do this (but most forget and spend £250 on 2 new tyres)

   

Edited 21 October, 20196 yr by SurreyJohn

Best option is to yearly rotate your tyres to maintain even/consistent wear throughout. 

Then once all 4 are close to the legal limit (or sooner if coming down into winter) just change them all at the same time for that ideal situation of fresh rubber on all 4 corners...

With the situation you are in now I would suggest getting your leak checked as repair may be possible and then order your 4 new all seasons (online for best price) and keep them in stock yourself for as and when required. Or fit them now and keep your 2 better rear tyres for full size spares or sell them-on, on here. 

Edited 21 October, 20196 yr by Gmac983

If it was me (eg this is what I did on another car, but not suggesting it is correct or approved/safe), then I would replace both front tyres with some decent all seasons, that are not too winter biased.

Then I'd have them moved to the rear and the old rear tyres put on the front (Assuming a FWD drive car)

 

That way you shouldn't increase the chances of losing the back end unexpectedly due to more grip at the front than the rear.

You'll also wear through the older tyres faster, then can get the car back on 4 matching tyres, with 2 all season on the front too.

 

Don't pick tyres that are too old/weird a design, as otherwise when you come to add 2 further new ones, they'll be discontinued or hard/expensive to get.

 

Just my opinion anyway.

Firstly, thanks for the replies on this topic, and then to add that circumstances on the B-max have changed in two major ways .....

 

I read on the B-max owners' website that some B-max wheels had been affected by 'inferior quality' (?) alloy and that air loss could result from the area round the valve. I checked this out by putting a dab of soapy water in that area of the wheel that had experienced pressure loss .......... and sure enough, there were bubbles. The B-max is in today in order to get this checked out.

 

Last week, we were returning from the NEC on the M6, again in the B-max, when the nearside rear tyre suffered a blow-out. Fortunately, we were just past the roadworks where the hard-shoulder had resumed, so we were able to park up next to a set of concrete steps up the embankment and ring for help. The tyre was later found to be holed beyond repair so I replaced the back pair of tyres with Goodyear Vector 4-seasons - pity because they still had loads of tread on them.

 

That experience of a tyre blow-out during the incredibly busy M6 Birmingham exodus at 5:15, on a cold, dark November evening has only served to reinforce several of my beliefs ....

1. Thank goodness for hard shoulders.

2. Anyone who wants to increase the speed limit above 70mph is nuts. [you really need to see this stuff from the hard-shoulder]

3. Have either a spare or a space-saver wheel in your car - the rescue guys with their big flashing orange lights will change it for you. From stopping to getting going again only took about an hour and 20 mins, which I thought was pretty good.

4. Ensure that your paperwork with phone numbers etc is in the glove-box and up to date.

5. Keep a warm coat in the car.

6. Make sure that you know about the numbered marker posts at 100m intervals - they will identify your position.

 

I hope that it doesn't happen to you but ............ bear in mind that it could.

 

Edited 14 November, 20196 yr by StEdmund
typo