Should I replace these rear tyres?

[klang180]

I took my car into the garage for a service last November and my mechanic (solid chap) said I should look to replace the rear tyres in the spring. Well now it is spring and with a long trip (1500 miles) coming up I wonder if I should replace these? The tread is gfine as you can see but the slight cracking or dry rot is a little concerning and probably what he based this decision on. I believe these tyres have seen 30k miles on them so not a bad shift but reluctant to change them if they don't need it. Interested to know what you guys would do?

 

They are Bridgestone Turanza T005 on a Skoda Fabia 1.6 105 with 91k on the clock.

[Murdockman]

Ask yourself would you want a blow out or flat tyre on the motorway travelling at 70mph + if your answer is no way then get a new pair of tyres !! looking at the tyres they look a few years old, this happens on rear tyres with front wheel drive cars and  people should be swappimg front to rear every 2 years to stop this sort of thing happening as rear tyres can be on the back for upto 8-10 years which is not really a good idea, so take your mechanic's advice and get them changed seems a pretty spot on guy to me not out for your money just concerned about your safety

[klang180]

20 minutes ago, Murdockman said:

Ask yourself would you want a blow out or flat tyre on the motorway travelling at 70mph + if your answer is no way then get a new pair of tyres !! looking at the tyres they look a few years old, this happens on rear tyres with front wheel drive cars and  people should be swappimg front to rear every 2 years to stop this sort of thing happening as rear tyres can be on the back for upto 8-10 years which is not really a good idea, so take your mechanic's advice and get them changed seems a pretty spot on guy to me not out for your money just concerned about your safety

Cheers for your input. Yes he's a good bloke and generally trust him but just wondered what others thought.

 

It's odd as they are only just over two years old and were previously on the front but were switched to the back last summer. It looks like undue wear but I think leaving them for two sets of 3 weeks without moving in the English winter probably hastened the rot.

 

Anyway, cheers I think it's sensible to change.

[nta16]

They look like they might have been on the front, look at the outer quarter.

 

Last x-number of years tyres seem to be susceptible to cracking, lack of use and sitting outside all the time doesn't help as I well know.

 

Tread depth is only one aspect of whether the tyres should be changed, holding on to a tyre just because it has plenty of tread depth isn't a good move as the tyre could have other age and use related issues.  Some change their tyres at 3mm depth and certainly not wait until the bare legal minimum and in the UK often the weather conditions aren't always the best for tyre and road contact.

 

You can check the manufacturing date of the tyres, though sometimes IIRC the info might be  inconveniently on the inboard side. - https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tyre-age

 

I wish I had your mechanic, look after him, good people in the car trade can be few and far between.

 

I can't think if I've ever got 30k miles out of tyres even going back to when they used to last, would be more like how many sets in 30k-miles, but I don't do much motorways, now at least.

 

Edited 7 March, 2022 by nta16

[klang180]

1 hour ago, nta16 said:

They look like they might have been on the front, look at the outer quarter.

 

Last x-number of years tyres seem to be susceptible to cracking, lack of use and sitting outside all the time doesn't help as I well know.

 

Tread depth is only one aspect of whether the tyres should be changed, holding on to a tyre just because it has plenty of tread depth isn't a good move as the tyre could have other age and use related issues.  Some change their tyres at 3mm depth and certainly not wait until the bare legal minimum and in the UK often the weather conditions aren't always the best for tyre and road contact.

 

You can check the manufacturing date of the tyres, though sometimes IIRC the info might be  inconveniently on the inboard side. - https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tyre-age

 

I wish I had your mechanic, look after him, good people in the car trade can be few and far between.

 

I can't think if I've ever got 30k miles out of tyres even going back to when they used to last, would be more like how many sets in 30k-miles, but I don't do much motorways, now at least.

 

 

Cheers for your response. Ok that settles it I am going to replace them, no sense in risking it with a bigger trip in mind. It isn't just my frugalness that prevents me but also just the guilt of another pair of tyres langushing somewhere whilst being 'recycled'.

 

Yeah he is a good guy and loves his VW group cars. Not the cheapest I am sure but he gives solid advice and will never over sell me on anything. 

 

Anyway, thanks to you both.

[nta16]

1 hour ago, klang180 said:

no sense in risking it with a bigger trip in mind.

Most accidents happen nearer home - but that's obviously because of statistics, unless you rarely go home.

 

When you have new tyres fitted you should be advise to take it easier on them for the first about 100 miles (200 if damp/wet) because of the (always forget the correct terminology) grease that may still be on them from production.  Also you should recheck the torque tightness of your wheel (bloody stupid idea of) bolts after the first 30-50 miles.

 

1 hour ago, klang180 said:

Yeah he is a good guy and loves his VW group cars. Not the cheapest I am sure but he gives solid advice and will never over sell me on anything. 

Never mind look after him, marry him.  He's good value if he works on VWs and does a good job and doesn't oversell.  VW like most manufacturers are a lot more worried about production cost than servicing costs and use fixing that require special tools, assemblies and parts that require special tools for model variants let alone various models and marques.  And that's without VW's overcomplicated computers programs to help (them) with omissions and consumptions and stuff like that.

 

I bet you'll value him even more further into your car ownership.  Cheers.

 

Edited 7 March, 2022 by nta16
wrong worm

[J.R.]

Nothing wrong with them, I would happily drive on them till they reach the legal limit.

 

How much tread depth do they have? Or to put it another way, how much money are you throwing away?

 

Surface cracking will not cause a blow out.