Our Mazda 2 will be four years old next month. Just had it serviced and MOT'd at the main dealer (at 20,500 miles). Passed MOT OK - but with advisories on three tyres. We'll replace the rear tyres anyway - due to one having a cut in the sidewall and the other having a nail in it.
The OS front tyre is slightly worn at the inner shoulder - measurements 3.0, 4.0 and 4.0 mm. The nearside tyre measured 4.0, 4.0 and 4.0 mm. The service advised an alignment check.
Torn between replacing all four tyres with one brand - probably Kumho (currently got Yokohamas on the front and P Zero Neros on the rear) -, or replacing just the rears.
Either option would also involve getting the tracking adjusted.
Tyres are 195/45 R16 V's.
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Personally, i would replace all four. I regard 3mm as the minimum safe tread depth for me as 80% of my driving is motorway or dual carriageway, plus as i cover a fair few thousand miles a year i would rather not have the hassle of having to go back for the other two to be changed within a couple of months. However i suppose if you only do 5000 miles a year then they might give you another years service on the rear wheels.
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Make sure the load rating for the tyres is up to scratch too, our C2 is on the same size and not all tyres offered have the correct load rating of 84V, some Kumho's i've seen are only 80V rated.
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The original tyres (Pirelli P Zero Nero's) are 84v, as are the Yokohama's on the front. You're right that the Kumho's are 80V.
The owner's manual lists both the 80V and the 84V as fitments for Europe and outside Europe So, if I replaced the four, the Kumho's should still match the manufacturers spec.
However, if I replaced the two rears, I would go for an 84V - as that is what we would have on the front.
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Why not buy 4 (Camskills have Vred Sportracs @£60 at the moment if of interest), fit 2 new on the rear now, run out the best of the others over the next few months and stick the other 2 new ones on for the winter?
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Hang fire on the fronts until the rainy season kicks in? I'd get the geometry sorted (not just tracking if it's the inner shoulder wearing on one side only).
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Id replace with 2x new ones and put on the front and those with 4mm on the rear and yes i know new ones should be on the back till they bed in.
But if your not short of cash buy a new full set but go for a better tyre you won't get another 20k out of a cheap set.
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If you buy four, you get a bigger discount
.. If you need three, it's a no brainer...in my view..
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Thanks everyone for your advice.
Had four Kumho Ecsta's fitted yesterday. First impressions are that they are noticably quieter than the original Pirelli P Zero Nero's, and the more recent combination that we had of the Pirelli's on the rear and Yokohamas on the front.
Went for the Kumho's on the basis of reviews I've seen, including their results in tyre testing by the German magazine Auto Bild. Also Kumho's are one of the tyres VW are fitting as OE on the Polo.
The fully fitted price through Black Circles was just shy of £ 212 for the set of four.
Tracking was found to be 'slightly out', and was adjusted.
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We used Kumo's on the Fiesta, got 25,000 miles out of the last pair of fronts. Seem to be a great solution to the cheapo ditch finders and the over priced premium brands, the well known brands would have been £100 each for the Fiesta.
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>>cheapo ditch finders
Do you have any evidence for this assertion?
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>>First impressions are that they are noticably quieter
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That was exactly what I found after I got rid of a set of Fateos ( which were new when I bought bought the wagon S/H)i
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>>Went for the Kumho's on the basis of reviews I've seen,
I have bought a couple of sets to date and about to buy another pair so you can see I am more than happy to fit them.
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Mazda Mazda 2 - Tyres - renew two or four - Skip
