I managed to get home late last night with a slow puncture to one of my rear wheels :thumbdwn: . I've since had it replaced with the spare wheel but this has lead me to a couple of questions.

1) What pressure should the spare wheel be set to while it's in use - the same as for a normal (rear) tyre?

My car has done over 17,000 miles on its original Continental 225/40 R18 tyres and is due for its first (variable) servicing this week. I was hoping to get the front and rear wheels rotated to get the most out of their tyre life but with this puncture I'm not sure what the best choice would be. If the rear tyre cannot be repaired (the damage looks severe) I will need to buy a new tyre but buying just one is silly.

2) Should I buy two new tyres and use them at the front, moving the current front wheels to the back and keep the good rear tyre as a spare? Or should I buy four new tyres and replace the lot?

3) How long should the original standard set of tyres usually last?

4) What's the going rate for a full set of Continental tyres these days? What other would you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

Assuming you have a full sized spare (which it sounds like you have), it should be running whatever the recommended pressure is for the axle it's on and the loading of the car. I imagine the rear tyres aren't very worn at all so I guess you could either just get a single new rear tyre and rotate them as planned, or if there is a bit of a difference, move the tyre from the spare onto the rear wheel, pair that up with a new rear and move them both to the front with the part worn going on the spare?

Personally, I wouldn't replace with Conti's, but if you're only looking at buying 1 (I think they're 120-130 quid) then it makes better financial sense to match the existing ones than chuck away tyres with loads of tread on them....

Chris

I managed to get home late last night with a slow puncture to one of my rear wheels :thumbdwn: . I've since had it replaced with the spare wheel but this has lead me to a couple of questions.

1) What pressure should the spare wheel be set to while it's in use - the same as for a normal (rear) tyre?

My car has done over 17,000 miles on its original Continental 225/40 R18 tyres and is due for its first (variable) servicing this week. I was hoping to get the front and rear wheels rotated to get the most out of their tyre life but with this puncture I'm not sure what the best choice would be. If the rear tyre cannot be repaired (the damage looks severe) I will need to buy a new tyre but buying just one is silly.

2) Should I buy two new tyres and use them at the front, moving the current front wheels to the back and keep the good rear tyre as a spare? Or should I buy four new tyres and replace the lot?

3) How long should the original standard set of tyres usually last?

4) What's the going rate for a full set of Continental tyres these days? What other would you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

What a bu**er; decisions, decisions.

I had the same problem with my Fabia that had 195/45 16 Michelin Pilot Exaltos just before I moved it on to someone else in the Company. Ended up buying one new tyre to replace the punctured one and aimed to sort out the fronts in a few thousand miles BUT the Pilot Exaltos are GREAT tyres and worth keeping a set on board.

For you its not so simple 'cos the Contis are widely rated (on Briskoda anyway) as being carp and they are probably getting to the time to be changed. What tread depth to you have on the front pair? If less than 4mm will be worth changing them.

Swapping one tyre into the boot for the spare won't work as I expect you have a 205/55 16 wheel/tyre for that. Also DON'T put the worn fronts on the back; unless you want the car to swap ends easily in an emergency. Industry standard these days if putting a new pair only on a car is for them to go on the BACK.

A full set of 4 Contis fitted etc I would expect to be c.

Well it's been in for its servicing and everything was fine. The punctured tyre cannot be repaired so I definitely need a new one.

The tread depth for the front two tyres is 3mm and for the working rear tyre, 4mm but 3mm at one edge. This basically means that I should start thinking about replacing the fronts as 3mm is not far off the legal or safe level.

Getting hold of the tyres (225/40 R18) seems to be tricky as my garage said they couldn't source any locally. I guess I'll have to search around this weekend but I don't want to drive for too long on a spare wheel.

I have an idea that I could buy a brand new wheel rim and tyre and keep the existing one as a spare in the boot (also replacing its tyre). Either way I need three tyres and given the cost implications it may be better to get a full set.

Now I just have to find somewhere that sells tyres in my (car's) size whether they be Continental, Michelin, Yokohama or something else.

With 3mm on your front tyres, my recommendation is to repleace them NOW and clearly with only 4mm tread on the rear you are clearly in to buy a set of FOUR. The legal 1.6mm is the barest min you should go to; tyre performance, particularly in the wet, drops off rapidly with less than 4mm of tread.

Your local Skoda dealer is NOT the place to buy tyres; they would have to get them in from 'outside' so you may as well do this your self.

225/40 18 is not an uncommon size, OK a tyre dealer may only have them in stock at 'the warehouse' and not his premises, but they should be readily obtainable.

When I bought my vRS recently I have the dealer fit B14 18" alloys fitted and specifically wanted Michelin Pilot Exalto 2s to go on them. My local tyre shop, whom I have used for years, could do them (a set of four) for me for

Good advice 'bahnstormer vrs'. I stumbled across Event Mobile Tyres and they indeed looked like an excellent service and reasonable price.

I booked them in to change one tyre today but they were fully booked so I will get it done later in the week. I've managed to get a hire car for my trip to the airport and up to Glasgow tomorrow and Wednesday but when I return, I'll take my car to a reputable tyre place nearby that can fit one new Conti-SportContact 2 for

But if you change the one for a Conti NOW you will have an 'odd man out' once you've fitted the Toyos. Why not get a Toyo NOW and then a set of four later (if you must have a full size spare).

Personally, I keep the spare as a spare, whatever it may be, and just rotate/replace the four on the car as reqired.

I took the plunge and ended up getting two new Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tyres which have been put onto the front wheels. The good ContiSport 2's are on the rear but they will be changed for another pair of Michelin PS2's in the next month or two.

All in all I'm happy with the selection and have already noticed some improvements in handling from the new tyres. Thank for all your help guys.

Sorted - well done!

My experience of Event Tyres was top notch too! Better than most of the static tyre fitters I've used!

Chris

Not sure if orinj used Event Tyres for his Michelins. Did you (orinj)?

I didn't use Event Tyres on this occassion but would be happy to in the future. There was a local dedicated tyre service that lots of people recommended to me so I visited them and they fit the new tyres for a reasonable price. I also had the tracking checked and adjusted.

The following day I checked the tyre pressures and pumped them up to the recommended values (2.0bar = 29psi). They said that the tyres were up too high but when I compared their new settings they were around 26psi rather than 29/31 for front to back.

Any way, I'm happy with them now and will give the car and wheels a wash next Monday.

Just seen video and photos of the new Michelin airless [and sidewall less] tyres, on an Audi. Not available yet but could make for an interesting, flat-free future.

Just seen video and photos of the new Michelin airless [and sidewall less] tyres, on an Audi. Not available yet but could make for an interesting, flat-free future.

Had that sent to me, thought it was a joke.

Had that sent to me, thought it was a joke.

So did I but checked a few other web sites and it is apparently true and been under way for a couple of years. In one description they are fitted on "deformable" wheels. (DON'T ASK !! )

Try eTyres.co.uk - lowest prices on car tyres, van tyres, 4X4 tyres & car batteries mobile tyre fitting service for prices. They were cheapest when I replaced the tyres on the wife's Clio.