The GTI had it's first MOT yesterday.  I got a nice little health check video, and they (VW) strongly recommended I have two new front tyres (which they happen to have on the shelf).  Both fronts are at 3-3.5-4mm (tyre pressures are fine). As they quoted me £60 more than I can get them fitted for, I declined their offer.  I'll also be changing brand - they're currently the original Bridgestone's (Car's done 13k miles).

 

it got me to thinking.  We're coming in to better weather, I'm lucky if I do 300 miles a month at the moment. With 1.4mm tread left, I could keep going all Summer and just get a new set when the weather starts to turn at the end of the year, and I want more tread depth.  It's not a financial decision in terms of cost, and I tend to think changing them early is buying into a marketing narrative about safety, grip fading, punctures etc.

 

Just out of curiosity, would you change them now, or keep going.  Would you take them to the limit, or do you have a preferred depth you won't go past?

 

Gaz

Edited 1 May, 20215 yr by Gaz_
Corrected the depth measurements

You can get more mileage from taking an evenly worn set of part worn tyres with that sort of depth to the legal limit than they would have given from new to get to that point where the tyre industry recommends that people replace them.

 

I have not bought a new tyre in 15 years with the exception of one to replace a punctured tyre where the other had good tread, I have either bought carefully selected part worn tyres or got excellent mileage out of the tyres on the vehicles that I have bought (only 2 vehicles in 15 years, 3 years and one year ago).

 

Tread wear is rapid from the average 8mm depth on a new tyre down to 5mm when the tread blocks become more rigid and from then on the wear diminishes sharply the lower the tread depth becomes, most tyres are scrapped well early because they have been overdriven when they were new and the outside edge scrubbed out, the outer band will then become illegal  when the rest of the tyre has more than 5mm of good tread, I only select tyres that have even wear and that are matched.

 

My current vehicle had good tyres, about 6mm tread depth and thankfully even I drive carefully and measure obsessively the tread depth gradient across the tyres, swopping them around and optimising the pressures to get even wear, after 12k miles on already used tyres it looks like they will give 2 or 3 more times that,  I however did use winter tyres for 3 months but they showed no measurable wear.

3 hours ago, Gaz_ said:

would you change them now, or keep going

Don't know. For me it would depend on how likely I was to encounter standing water that fires the ESR or the ABS.

My ring piece tells me when to replace tyres, they may have loads of tread but be K-rap.

I use all-season tyres so replace them when they are down to 4mm of tread depth remaining.

Good point.

Measure again in September Gaz, changing too early is both financially and environmentally wasteful.

I always replace at 3mm.

12 hours ago, J.R. said:

.....they may have loads of tread but be K-rap.

Good point. I’ve had, and replaced, those in the same circumstances.  The current tyres have no discernible loss of traction, and I wouldn’t describe my driving style as particularly kind to tyres.

 

Gaz

13 hours ago, KenONeill said:

Don't know. For me it would depend on how likely I was to encounter standing water that fires the ESR or the ABS.

I’d be surprised if I see standing water more than once or twice a year.  I don’t have a particularly strong argument for anything other than Summer tyres.

 

Gaz

I have occasionally had to replace a tyre due to damage rather than wear. As this is always a risk, I prefer to keep the existing tyres so long as they are legal and the car drives OK.

 

1 hour ago, Gaz_ said:

I’d be surprised if I see standing water more than once or twice a year.

Exactly my point. The less often you encounter standing water films the less tread depth you need, and I can't judge that for you.

@Gaz_ I would keep going with them for a while

 

You could swap tyres front-back, will wear slower on back.  Some people will say should have more tread on back to avoid tail slides, but not a lot of sense in wearing front to 2mm whilst having deep tread at back as will get braking problems in torrential rain when road is awash.

 

Personally I would get premium all seasons instead of summer tyres (look to order them late August or early September, as prices jump seasonally after that).   They will be much better in colder months.

 

As a general guide, summer tyres grip falls below +10c in wet (bit colder in dry), whereas the all season is more suited to -5c to +25c.   Yes it will get hotter than +25c on few summer days, but there will be 100+ mornings below +10c in UK.

 

If you want some recommendations advise your tyre size.

 

 

 

 

16 minutes ago, SurreyJohn said:

@Gaz_ I would keep going with them for a while

 

If you want some recommendations advise your tyre size.

 

Thanks John 

 

They're 225/40/18 92Y and I'm of a mind to change all four to Crossclimate's, although Vector 4 gen 3's and Continental AllSeasonContacts are on my radar.  Thought about the Yoko BluEarth and Vredstein Quattrac Pro's too.

 

Interestingly, my vRS had the Bridgestone's (S001's) on from new and they were okay, but not great (IMO).  The same tyres on the GTI are much better and pretty acceptable, which came as a surprise.  Our Polo has PS4's and is incredibly sure footed.

 

Both you and George have previously mentioned temperature, and while of course I do get cold weather, it's rarely below 7c.  George has also pointed out surface temperature is just as significant as ambient air temperature.

 

I've never had all season tyres before, and I'm still on the fence as to if I actually need them over decent Summer focussed tyres.

 

Gaz

I used to change with 4-6mm tread depth because I used to do a lot of motorway miles with country lanes too and didn't want to chance my safety. For local town driving I'll hit close to the legal limit

 

As for your choice of all season tyre, my 2p was that vector 4season G2s were a bit wafty on my 16s (felt a bit imprecise).

used Crossclimates on the mrs' fabia (14s) and my mk2 vrs (18s) and the crossclimates felt far more precise on both.

 

I believe someone else echo'd the same sentiment when it came to 4seasons vs crossclimates in a thread from some time ago.

 

 

Edited 2 May, 20215 yr by bspman

9 hours ago, Gaz_ said:

 

Thanks John 

 

They're 225/40/18 92Y and I'm of a mind to change all four to Crossclimate's, although Vector 4 gen 3's and Continental AllSeasonContacts are on my radar.  Thought about the Yoko BluEarth and Vredstein Quattrac Pro's too.

 

Both you and George have previously mentioned temperature, and while of course I do get cold weather, it's rarely below 7c.  George has also pointed out surface temperature is just as significant as ambient air temperature.

 

Gaz

You have good shortlist of 3 (I would put Goodyear third), not familiar with Yokohama, many rate Quatrac.    Maybe new Pirelli SF2 (so new, there are no reviews yet)

 

Which is better between crossclimate+ and all season contact is going to depend on driving style, type of roads etc.    Both are excellent.

 

The temperature thing is important (and often overlooked) until 3 years ago I also assumed summer would be ok (living then on Surrey & SW London border).  But my commute included about 1.5 miles of winding A road and field run off (muddy rainwater) puddles were common. The summers didn’t like it on cold mornings.

 

All seasons gripped like road was dry so was converted after trying them.   Another thing to remember is that as manufacturers introduced all seasons, they have made the summers more summer like (  Wet grip on modern summer tyres falls below +10c, and is often very low by +4c. (no reviewer ever does the review in the cold so you won’t see it commented on)

 

Also remember that a salted road is often damp, do you want to be doing 70mph at -2c in winter with little wet grip.

 

We now run all seasons on our second car, and main car I change to winter wheels and tyres.  (Now live in SouthWest Cotswolds which have few steeper hills).   When we had the snow recently I glanced at speedo and shocked myself as I was doing 45mph on snow covered winding B road with 50mph limit (snow made everything quiet, and grip from the winter tyres was brilliant).  For info I have Goodyear Ultragrip 9+

One thing I have found using all 3 is how tyre noise varies with temperature, having just put summers back on, noticed on cold mornings how much more rumble there is (which disappears when temperatures above about 12c).   You can actually feel how hard the summers become on winter morning, it goes like one of those solid rubber tyres you see on WW1 trucks in a museum.  But you can feel the others are softer in the cold

 

 

If I notice the car's handling changes, or have a tyre-related "moment" then I change the tyres pretty much straight away. (I once ditched some tyres about 12 months old as they were rubbish in the wet.)

But if all is well, then I change tyres somewhere between 3-4mm.

Here's a close detail pic of one of the tyres a guy at work had on his MPV that he carried his kids in. He noticed nothing wrong until he had a flat tyre because the air just started leaking out where he'd worn away ALL the rubber.

(You'll be delighted to know he's an Aerospace engineer with an Engineering degree.)

 

That will not be the reason for the tyre deflating, its the rubber inside of the carcass that retains the pressure although he has worn through a few of the reinforcing plys.

 

I have driven off a circuit from an endurance race with 2 tyres looking like a cactus with shredded reinforcing but still holding pressure, they were anything but round though!

 

Lucky for him and his family that the tyre deflated when it did.

Edited 22 July, 20214 yr by J.R.

43 minutes ago, J.R. said:

That will not be the reason for the tyre deflating, its the rubber inside of the carcass that retains the pressure although he has worn through a few of the reinforcing plys.

 

I have driven off a circuit from an endurance race with 2 tyres looking like a cactus with shredded reinforcing but still holding pressure, they were anything but round though!

 

Lucky for him and his family that the tyre deflated when it did.

At the time he was embarrassed, but his explanation was that he's just not that interested in cars. He just gets in them, drives them to where he wants to go, and gets out.

(I think it was a VW Sharan)

He services it when it asks to be serviced, and relies on the MOT to highlight any problems.

I get his logic, but I don't think the way he does.

 

Edit: The cause of deflation was what the tyre fitter told me. I believed him. (Detail from original pic.)

Edited 22 July, 20214 yr by EnterName

I was wrong there, I have a neighbour like that, he drives his cars until they grind to a halt, its his long suffering wife who ends up doing the repairs or keeping on top of the problems.

 

20 years ago maybe more the ar5ehole left her but didn't even have the guts to do thatn he was in hospital for a knee operation when she visited him his mistress was there holding his hand, then after moving out the ar5ehole said he could not pay her any child support because his car needed new brakes so unless she did them for her she would be getting no money.

 

I found this out when I saw her with the car on the sidelift jack trying to remove what little remained of the front brake disc, the pads had worn completely away, and I do mean completely, & the piston was almost friction welded to the remains of the disc, the rear brakes were just as bad. They have 6 children as well!

 

Needless to say she took him back but people have long memories in my close. A long posting but really to say that I could probably go and look at any of the 6 cars that they have perked on their drive, the pavement & in other peoples property (they tried to take over my drive while I was in France) and find several tyres like that, they use mobile tyre fitters in big vans (as if there are not enough parking problems here) so I get to see the tyres that are removed.

 

It's scary that there are lots like that and a sign of the times that unless they have an accident or come up as unisured on ANPR there is zero chance of them ever being stopped & fined.

On 22/07/2021 at 13:34, J.R. said:

I was wrong there, I have a neighbour like that, he drives his cars until they grind to a halt, its his long suffering wife who ends up doing the repairs or keeping on top of the problems.

 

20 years ago maybe more the ar5ehole left her but didn't even have the guts to do thatn he was in hospital for a knee operation when she visited him his mistress was there holding his hand, then after moving out the ar5ehole said he could not pay her any child support because his car needed new brakes so unless she did them for her she would be getting no money.

 

I found this out when I saw her with the car on the sidelift jack trying to remove what little remained of the front brake disc, the pads had worn completely away, and I do mean completely, & the piston was almost friction welded to the remains of the disc, the rear brakes were just as bad. They have 6 children as well!

 

Needless to say she took him back but people have long memories in my close. A long posting but really to say that I could probably go and look at any of the 6 cars that they have perked on their drive, the pavement & in other peoples property (they tried to take over my drive while I was in France) and find several tyres like that, they use mobile tyre fitters in big vans (as if there are not enough parking problems here) so I get to see the tyres that are removed.

 

It's scary that there are lots like that and a sign of the times that unless they have an accident or come up as unisured on ANPR there is zero chance of them ever being stopped & fined.

No worries.

I have used the same tyre fitter for about 20 years now, and he's told me some horror stories, particularly about the condition of tyres on school minibuses and private hire cabs.

But actually wearing through the tyre until it couldn't hold air was a first for him.

On 02/05/2021 at 21:23, Gaz said:

 

Thanks John 

 

They're 225/40/18 92Y and I'm of a mind to change all four to Crossclimate's, although Vector 4 gen 3's and Continental AllSeasonContacts are on my radar.  Thought about the Yoko BluEarth and Vredstein Quattrac Pro's too.

 

Interestingly, my vRS had the Bridgestone's (S001's) on from new and they were okay, but not great (IMO).  The same tyres on the GTI are much better and pretty acceptable, which came as a surprise.  Our Polo has PS4's and is incredibly sure footed.

 

Both you and George have previously mentioned temperature, and while of course I do get cold weather, it's rarely below 7c.  George has also pointed out surface temperature is just as significant as ambient air temperature.

 

I've never had all season tyres before, and I'm still on the fence as to if I actually need them over decent Summer focussed tyres.

 

Gaz

I've just switched to Bridgestone all weather A005 EVOs as I needed new fronts. I already concluded some years ago that summer tyres are pretty poor in winter, and on the one or two occasions in snow they can be potentially disastrous, so I've always rotated summer and winter tyres on the same car. That's an expensive, and space consuming task, so I'm trying out all season tyres. So far, unless at fully committed mode, I don't notice a significant drop in warm dry performance, so that's one compromise that's acceptable. Will be a while to compare them to full winters, but if they are as capable as claimed, they will be sufficient there too.  I live by the coast, so rarely get extreme snow conditions, rest of the time is commuting along the M4 and M5 so similar conditions.

@stever750

 

You mention getting tyres because fronts needed replacing, I presume you got the rears as well.

I only ask as it's  unwise to mix all season and summer tyres.

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Kenrw8 said:

@stever750

 

You mention getting tyres because fronts needed replacing, I presume you got the rears as well.

I only ask as it's  unwise to mix all season and summer tyres.

 

 

 

Of course. Be dangerous to mix them, especially less grip at the rear in the wet. 

The GTI has now done 16.5k miles and it's definitely time to change the fronts.  

 

I've decided to go for Crossclimate+ and am having all four changed on Tuesday.  

 

I really don't get some tyre places.  I've bought them from local independent, who are now part of a chain.  They quoted me £13 more per tyre than their online price, with the same date, time and place.  And confirmed they couldn't match their own online price 🤔 So I ordered them online, on their own website, and am not giving them £52 for no apparent reason.

 

Gaz

Edited 6 September, 20214 yr by Gaz