My front tyres are worn down to 3mm in the middle, a bit more worn on the inner edges (underlying problem fixed).

 

my rears on the other hand are only 6mm. with the front wearing 2.5x as fast as the rears.

 

I know the standard is new on the front, hydroplane blah blah, but is it reasonably ok to have 8mm on the front and 6mm on the rear? Since the front wears 2.5x as fast, the wear will catch up rapidly. Also, the one of the rear tyres had a plug repair (with a rubber tube and a screwdriver), it's been fine, but apparently the best practice is mushroom patch, so I don't fancy moving it to the front where its under higher load constantly.

Most people say new on the back move old to the front. Otherwise you end up with really old rear tyres. And also best grip at the back when you get the chance like this. 

1 hour ago, newskodadriver said:

but is it reasonably ok to have 8mm on the front and 6mm on the rear?

 Yes, no problem at all. 

 

1 hour ago, newskodadriver said:

Also, the one of the rear tyres had a plug repair

However this is not ok, the rubber tube fix is an emergency fix only and should never be used over a long period of time, its only meant to get you to a tyre shop. Get it done properly with an inside umbrella plug. 

57 minutes ago, BGB said:

 Yes, no problem at all. 

 

However this is not ok, the rubber tube fix is an emergency fix only and should never be used over a long period of time, its only meant to get you to a tyre shop. Get it done properly with an inside umbrella plug. 

 

1 hour ago, BGB said:

 Yes, no problem at all. 

 

However this is not ok, the rubber tube fix is an emergency fix only and should never be used over a long period of time, its only meant to get you to a tyre shop. Get it done properly with an inside umbrella plug. 

Umbrella plug was not suitable due to puncture too close to side wall. A circular patch would have gone over the edge and not stuck fully. I couldn't find anywhere using rectangle patches. 

 

It's been running like that fur past 15000 miles? 

12 minutes ago, newskodadriver said:

 

Umbrella plug was not suitable due to puncture too close to side wall. A circular patch would have gone over the edge and not stuck fully. I couldn't find anywhere using rectangle patches. 

 

It's been running like that fur past 15000 miles? 

To say the least this is not ok and illegal in most countries, if a puncture is out of area for an umbrella plug the tire is to be changed. And using an emergency plug too far out on the side is insanely stupid. Youre lucky running 15k miles with no issues.

 

Just sayin. 

For all the price of a tyre I wouldn't be p1ss1ing about with a questionable at best temporary repair. Even the most budget of tyres would be better than a dodgy repair. I would say you've been lucky not to have a blow out with that.

Did you do the repair yourself or what? Even the gashest of tyre fitters should of informed you that this was not a long term fix. A good tyre fitter probably wouldn't have done that repair at all unless it was just a desperado get you home fix as they had nothing suitable to replace it with. 

 

PS

Better practice is to rotate your tyres at least yearly to even out wear then you can achieve the ideal of 4 new tyres at the same time. 

Edited 13 December, 20196 yr by Gmac983

1 hour ago, BGB said:

To say the least this is not ok and illegal in most countries, if a puncture is out of area for an umbrella plug the tire is to be changed. And using an emergency plug too far out on the side is insanely stupid. Youre lucky running 15k miles with no issues.

 

Just sayin. 

 

50 minutes ago, Gmac983 said:

For all the price of a tyre I wouldn't be p1ss1ing about with a questionable at best temporary repair. Even the most budget of tyres would be better than a dodgy repair. I would say you've been lucky not to have a blow out with that.

Did you do the repair yourself or what? Even the gashest of tyre fitters should of informed you that this was not a long term fix. A good tyre fitter probably wouldn't have done that repair at all unless it was just a desperado get you home fix as they had nothing suitable to replace it with. 

 

PS

Better practice is to rotate your tyres at least yearly to even out wear then you can achieve the ideal of 4 new tyres at the same time. 

I didn't do the repair myself. I was desperate to work the Saturday night shift as the puncture happened in the early hours of sat morning after a night of driving. 

 

Tyres are michelin crossclimate + so not exactly budget tyres. 

 

I rang around every tyre fitter I could on that Saturday morning and only 1 place said they could fix it on the spot so I gave the bloke a tenner for about 15 mins of his time. 

 

It was around summer time. May not have driven 15k exactly, but at least 10k as I've had 1 service during that time.

Edited 13 December, 20196 yr by newskodadriver

Well, to be fair a lot of tire fitters probably forget to tell people to get it fixed properly. But now you know. 

 

For the record I work in the wheel department at a big official VAG dealer and all though we have the emergency plugs I never use them because it takes 10 minutes longer to take the tire off the rim and do it properly and permanent. 

OK. What I would suggest now is just get them all changed and keep your 1 unmolested rear tyre as a back up spare. 

Sadly thems the breaks you get when you take a car out on the road. Fairly new tyres can become damaged expensive ones or cheap ones. 

The legal limit in the UK is 1.6mm, most brand new tyres are 8mm, including the 1.6mm.

 

At 3mm there is still plenty of life left in them.

 

Take the fronts down to the wear bars, stick the rears on the front and the new ones on the rear.

13 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

The legal limit in the UK is 1.6mm, most brand new tyres are 8mm, including the 1.6mm.

 

At 3mm there is still plenty of life left in them.

 

Take the fronts down to the wear bars, stick the rears on the front and the new ones on the rear.

 

Why would anyone run their tyres right down to the bare minimum over winter? That piece of advice would just about hold up if over summer, not a great idea in the cold weather months. Also OP has a questionable repair (that already has been run for far to long) on one of the tyres you are suggestion to put on the front. 

Too much hysteria.

 

The 1.6mm legal tread depth limit is there for a reason.

 

The difference in grip between a tyre at 1.6mm compared to 3mm is the same as that between 6.4mm and 8mm.

 

Where do you draw the line, should we change our tyres at 4mm, 5mm, 6.4mm, 7.5mm?

 

The puncture repair has covered close to 15,000 miles. It is perfectly fine.

 

Edited 13 December, 20196 yr by silver1011

Just now, silver1011 said:

Too much histeria.

 

No histeria here just sensibility. If it was coming into summer there should be no real problem running any tyre down to the limit. Whereas now we're well in to the cold weather months I would be giving serious thought to getting them changed at the wear point OP is at right now. 

 

Anyway...

Various opinions/suggestions here now. @newskodadriver can make up their own mind, it's them that's driving it. 

If concerns over reduced grip during the colder months is an issue then in the long term running a second set of winter or all-season tyres could work out more cost effective than replacing summer tyres with several thousand miles still left on them.

 

The key to staying on the road isn't down to tread depth, simply drive to the conditions.

6 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

If concerns over reduced grip during the colder months is an issue then in the long term running a second set of winter or all-season tyres could work out more cost effective than replacing summer tyres with several thousand miles still left on them.

 

The key to staying on the road isn't down to tread depth, simply drive to the conditions.

 

That would bring many other variables into the equation. If OP is intending to keep the car for many years or is a high mileage user and doesn't mind storing a spare set of wheels then that would be an ideal solution if otherwise then it's a personal choice of running a well worn set of tyres or nice new fresh rubber. 

You pays your money and takes your choice/chances. 

5 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

The key to staying on the road isn't down to tread depth, simply drive to the conditions.

All though I do agree to some extent, driving to the conditions even with perfectly good tires can get you in trouble, at least here in Norway.

 

Last week we got 1 meter of snow and a couple of days later 5 degrees and rain. Safe to say it was mayhem. 

No doubt, more tread is better. Tread design, compound, profile etc. all work together to help us keep on the grey stuff.

 

There are too many to list, but the biggest influence is the person pressing the pedals and turning the steering wheel.

 

I'd rather drive in adverse weather conditions with 3mm tread depth than 1.6mm, but then I'd also rather crash in a Range Rover rather than a Chevrolet Matiz.

 

It's all personal choice, but I'd have no qualms running tyres down to the legal limit in the UK's climate.

12 minutes ago, Gmac983 said:

 

That would bring many other variables into the equation. If OP is intending to keep the car for many years or is a high mileage user and doesn't mind storing a spare set of wheels then that would be an ideal solution if otherwise then it's a personal choice of running a well worn set of tyres or nice new fresh rubber. 

You pays your money and takes your choice/chances. 

 

I was focusing on cost, the main reason most of us choose to either run tyres to the legal limit or change them early.

 

If money was no object I'd happily change out my tyres at 3mm, or just prior to winter irrespective of their tread depth.

 

When running a set of winter tyres the summers aren't being worn, so running a second set doesn't have to be more expensive. A lot of tyre shops will store your wheels and/or tyres too if space at home is at a premium for a small cost.

 

For me, this all boils down to not wanting to throw away perfectly good 3mm tyres, but at the same time also exploring alternatives for those not happy driving on tyres close to the legal limit during the winter months.

^^^I think we are rather straying away from the topic. 

There are numerous ideas here for OP to consider none are wrong except perhaps continuing with the questionable repair, based on how it's described with a mushroom plug not being viable due to proximity to sidewall would suggestion that it wasn't technically a legal repair, but rather a get-you-home or to somewhere that has the right tyre. Obviously this is all speculation as we haven't actually seen OP's repair and they have managed to coax 15k out of it so it may hang on for a bit yet (wouldn't be my choice) but hey why not keep rolling the dice. 

TBH in the OP's case i'd be running the tyres as are, drive to the conditions, roads are cold so extra wear isn't going to increase dramatically.

however after reading another thread about sleeping in the car because he's an Uber driver.....

personally i don't trust ANY Taxi drivers so i'm not passing judgment on the OP

8 hours ago, Gmac983 said:

^^^I think we are rather straying away from the topic. 

There are numerous ideas here for OP to consider none are wrong except perhaps continuing with the questionable repair, based on how it's described with a mushroom plug not being viable due to proximity to sidewall would suggestion that it wasn't technically a legal repair, but rather a get-you-home or to somewhere that has the right tyre. Obviously this is all speculation as we haven't actually seen OP's repair and they have managed to coax 15k out of it so it may hang on for a bit yet (wouldn't be my choice) but hey why not keep rolling the dice. 

Yes, I will be having a think about it.

 

But I also didn't think there was an legal way and "illegal way" to do a tyre repair. Merely that one conforms to some standard and the other two doesn't, but that doesn't make them illegal? I was told the AA would make a repair like that. 

 

And that's what I was thinking, if its been ran between 10-15k miles already, then if the repair was poor it would have went already? 

 

I checked some Web resources, which say the biggest potential problem with plug / patch only repair is possible moisture seepage which could cause internal erosion. But doesn't say how long that would take if it definitely let moisture in. I wouldn't keep the tyres for more than 2 years. 

 

 

8 hours ago, olduns said:

TBH in the OP's case i'd be running the tyres as are, drive to the conditions, roads are cold so extra wear isn't going to increase dramatically.

however after reading another thread about sleeping in the car because he's an Uber driver.....

personally i don't trust ANY Taxi drivers so i'm not passing judgment on the OP

To be fair, I'm taking a nap while taking a long break in a long shift. Which is a heck of a lot better than chugging energy drinks staying up surely. 

 

One driver told me he worked 22 hours last Christmas day 😳

Edited 14 December, 20196 yr by newskodadriver

57 minutes ago, newskodadriver said:

I was told the AA would make a repair like that

Yes they do, but as an emergency fix to get you from the side of a road to a tire shop. 

i was referring to the rear tyre repair and its relationship with a Taxi carrying passengers for reward.

the hours would also concern me but hey ho,... 

 

On 13/12/2019 at 16:45, Gmac983 said:

 

 

PS

Better practice is to rotate your tyres at least yearly to even out wear then you can achieve the ideal of 4 new tyres at the same time. 

Totally agree

On 14/12/2019 at 10:11, olduns said:

i was referring to the rear tyre repair and its relationship with a Taxi carrying passengers for reward.

the hours would also concern me but hey ho,... 

 

 

On 14/12/2019 at 06:35, BGB said:

Yes they do, but as an emergency fix to get you from the side of a road to a tire shop. 

 

On 13/12/2019 at 19:54, Gmac983 said:

 

No histeria here just sensibility. If it was coming into summer there should be no real problem running any tyre down to the limit. Whereas now we're well in to the cold weather months I would be giving serious thought to getting them changed at the wear point OP is at right now. 

 

Anyway...

Various opinions/suggestions here now. @newskodadriver can make up their own mind, it's them that's driving it. 

 

I have thought about what every one has said and have come to the following conclusions.

 

*I will get the rear tyre with a strip plug only changed *before* it is fully run down, but *not* for another 6 weeks. If it has held up for 15k miles, it will hold for another couple k more, especially since it hasn't failed immediately, so any future failure is likely to come from long term moisture damage, I am high mileage, and it would take more time since the summer for any *possible* (there's probably none) moisture to degrade the tyres.

*I have asked around, it is not illegal for me to drive like this, just not advised.

*I have bought a tyre bag for the other rear to use as a spare (found a small nail that didn't go through, so bought some water proof rubber glue and will patch in the hole)

*On my next set of new tyres, I will rotate every 9000 miles (cut service miles by 400).

*if people rotate their tyres, then clearly it is ok for a short while for Front tread to be more than the Rear as long as it's not too low and it's been rotated regularly.

*I would be worried about summer tyres on low tread in the winter, but i am not worried about cross season or winter tyres on low tread in winter, after all it's what they were designed for and Michellin has explicitly said, use it all the way down to 1.6mm  https://www.michelin.co.uk/auto/home-auto/long-lasting-performances

 

I believe the above is the correct balance of cost , safety, performance and the amount of risk I am willing to take.

 

 

Edited 17 December, 20196 yr by newskodadriver