..that is the question!
The Mondeo has been into the main dealer for an aircon service today and they noted the two front tyres were 3mm and 2.5mm. They have done around 14000 miles from new.
We're off to Cornwall next week towing the van so will be putting at least another 1000 miles on it over the following two weeks, so do we replace them or swap them with the rear ones and then have 4 new ones altogether.
Is 14000 about right for Goodyear Eagle AS 2's?
I have found Black Circles can replace them for £116.00 each and can get them fitted not too far away from where I'm training this week, has anyone used Black Circles?
BTW, aircon was fine and all serviced under warranty plus a courtesy car of a little petrol Fiesta which went like poo off a stick!
I still couldn't park it:(
Pat
Last edited by: VxFan on Thu 6 Jun 13 at 01:10
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I change my tyres when they get to that sort of tread depth, but there will be many on here who let them get down to the legal minimum before they replace them without incident.
Whats left on the back ones ?
Black Circles are good, I have used them several times.
Andy
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>> there will be many on here who let them get down to the legal minimum
I try to get mine done as early as possible... but lease company has a minimum depth. I might try to haggle soon as they fronts are getting low. And at the miles I've been doing it's likely to only need one more set of front tyres! They will have assumed at least a few more sets when the lease was taken out.
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Not knowing the power output of your Mondeo's engine, but 14,000 to get the tread that low sounds about the same as I've got on my 170PS Passat. I got a lot more out of the tyres on the Mazda6 but that was only 143PS.
Tesco uses Black Circles for their tyres service so they must be okay.
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>> Tesco uses Black Circles for their tyres service so they must be okay.
They also sell beefburgers and lasagne made from old Romanian horses, so maybe not?
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If they are worn evenly, then I'd just continue to use them for 1,000 miles and replace them when appropriate. - and going by your wear rate that may be another 2,000 miles..
Swiching back/front for 0.5mm is not worth it.
If they were unevenly worn then the approach might need to be different.
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I would would swap them. You might get 5k miles out of them on the back.
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Goodness. I don't recall the last time I failed to get 40k from a set of tyres, always Michelin.
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Michelin Energy are very good tyres - hardwearing, good in the wet (far better than the previous Energy E3A gash they had).
Around 30k miles on the front of our FRV (FWD, petrol auto).
Not a tow car however.
Last edited by: Lygonos on Mon 3 Jun 13 at 19:05
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What I wonder is if Pat and Ian are as conscientious with tyre pressures on the family barge as they are (I am sure) with their giant trucks. If they run them a bit soft on the front, as many people do out of slobbishness and for comfort, and often use the car for towing a weighty gypsy shed-on-wheels (sorry Pat and Mr Pat, couldn't resist it), then wear on the fronts might well be accelerated, all that scrabbling for grip up Welsh hillsides and so on...
Just a thought really. My jalopy seems to get through them fairly quickly too, and I keep the pressures quite high when I remember...
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FWD turbo diesels can shred tyres in a very short time. 12-15k is about average for me though I have had that down to 5k with a few track weekends thrown in.
The Fiesta Pat, was it the 1 litre 3 cylinder? The 100PS one is nippy, the 125PS is very nippy.
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Mrs RP's Volvo's Conties are getting close to the wear indicator at 24k - I wouldn't swap, prefer to replace now.
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It was the 125PS gmac and very nippy it was too:)
Pat
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>> Goodness. I don't recall the last time I failed to get 40k from a set
>> of tyres, always Michelin.
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>>
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Same. My present set on the Volvo have done about 40,000 miles. There is still bags of tread, in fact they don't look worn at all.
As HJ says, low-profile tyres are designed to give maximum profit to the tyre and wheel manufacturers, as well as incidental discomfort to the occupants.
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>> has anyone used Black Circles?
Yep, and mytyres, both 10/10.
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Yup, used them to supply the last two tyres I bought. No problems, got the tyres of my choice fitted nearby and cheap(ish)
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I'd swap 'em round and then change them at your leisure on return, start searching now and keep checking, the right bargain will turn up....handy chance to give the brakes the once over whilst the wheels are off too.
Haven't used Black Circles because they have always been too expensive every time i've checked.
Have used Mytyres, Camskill and Tyremen several times each without problem and then simply get one of several indies i know to fit them.
Mytyres in particular are worth revisiting often long before you need tyres, sometimes tyres come up so cheap that they can only have been mispriced, maybe whoever does the job mistook Euro for Sterling, whatever the reason they have always honoured the deal and often enough the online price has been corrected/raised almost immediately after.
Just a thought, the haulier you work with and for must have a local tyre supplier...have you asked them for a quote...my companies local tyre depot sort our drivers out well enough.
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Pat
I see the choice as this:
You are getting close to the limit and are getting your moneys worth if you squeeze another thousand out of them. The weather has warmed up so lack of tread is not an issue unless you encounter some of that, sorry to use the R word, but rain.
The other issue is that you are towing your caravan and for me I would want the tow car to be in tip top condition to cater for the extra stresses and strains.
That really hasn't helped you has it?
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If it were me I'd leave them, but I know other on here are more conservative than me.
I've used etyres a few times and been happy.
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Pat, if you get a puncture in that 1000 mile trip that results in the tyre needing replaced, would you prefer it happened to
a. A tyre with 3mm on it that you were probably going to change anyway
b. A brand new tyre that you have just forked out £120 for?
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I'd leave them too, change them round if it will make them all last longer, why not? You will get a better deal surely on four tyres (gb's suggestion of going to yr employers' tyre suppliers sounded pretty professional to me and a good idea).
But suppose, God forbid, you write the car off in the meantime? 260 odd quid on two new tyres will really hurt then.
Of course lightning can strike at any time. Four new tyres on a crashed motor would hurt even more.
Appease the gods, that's my advice on mature (if crazed) reflection. Kill a couple of chickens sort of thing.
:o}
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Mon 3 Jun 13 at 20:20
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I'm with Fullchat: Extra weight of the 'van plus some rain = new tyres.
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>> has anyone used Black Circles?
Nope. I've yet to get a competitive quote from them when I've shopped around the online tyre sites. Every time I've tried, BC have always been more expensive than the others.
I usually end up buying from www.camskill.co.uk
Generally I buy tyres online, then slip the local tyre fitters some beer money to fit them rather than using their list of 'recommended' fitters. Last time though the local tyre centre were only approx £20 dearer for 4 tyres and as I was getting a 4 wheel alignment carried out by them it wasn't worth the hassle of ordering and then getting them fitted elsewhere, then going to them afterwards for the wheel alignment. The place where I would normally have them fitted haven't got a 4 wheel alignment set up.
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2 or 3mm? Our Cit Relay's fronts are like that atm, still using it for towing in all weathers. Should last another month / 4000 miles with a bit of care, it's just annoying not being able to give it full beans when pulling away in the wet. You're not racing drivers Pat & Mr Pat, you're going to toodle along at 60 with the 'van hooked up and not much more without it. Leave 'em until you get back, then you know they'll go til next summer without needing another change.
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What are the rears at ? I seem to think that modern thinking is to put the best tyres on the rear, in any case the rears on a FWD car where the suspension geometry is OK will wear out very slowly. Leaving them on the rear until they deteriorate rather than wear out is a false economy imho.
You've probably got some life left in the fronts, my UK leasing company changes tyres at 2mm which for me was OK but I'd have preferred 3mm having read that this is much better so it's your call.
So, you should swap the rears to the front (assuming they're better than 3mm and in good condition), I'd probably change the worn tyres but you might decide to run them longer - seems like a small price relative to the other costs of running a car and it's not something I'd ever penny pinch on.
My 170PS A4 Diesel managed 23K miles on the fronts. My 330D wore out the rears in a similar mileage. 14K seems a little quick for me, only time I've ever had a car wear tyres that quickly was when there was a problem with the wheel alignment.
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>>The other issue is that you are towing your caravan and for me I would want the tow car to be in tip top condition to cater for the extra stresses and strains<<
Both Woodster and Fullchat hit the nail on the head.
We talked it over and decided to replace them this week.
If we had a puncture on holiday we would be backed into a corner and end up paying for two matching tyres at a premium price, and we do a lot of OS map tracks and lanes once down in Cornwall, so it's not worth the inconvenience.
We've always been impressed with the grip of the Goodyear's in the wet anyway and have (well, I have!) come to rely on that when I want her to pick up her skirts and go!
Black Circles have come out well enough and have a fitting centre conveniently placed but the icing on the cake is they also came up with a very competitive price for two tyres for the GS1400, and this garage fits motorcycle tyres too.
So, like a typical man, Ian wants to take the Mondeo on Saturday to have her tyres fitted so he can se what sort of a job they do and check them out, before ordering a couple for Bertha!
Now, the jury is out on whether the new tyres should be fitted on the back or the front?
The rears are at 5mm at the moment, so you have until Saturday to argue the toss on that one:)
Thanks for all the help.
Pat
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>> Now, the jury is out on whether the new tyres should be fitted on the
>> back or the front?
>>
>> The rears are at 5mm at the moment, so you have until Saturday to argue
>> the toss on that one:)
>>
>> Thanks for all the help.
>>
>> Pat
That's cruel Pat, now we will have all the armchair experts who know better than the tyre manufacturers trying to justify their superior knowledge. :-)
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I know ON, but it will be fun!
I forgot to mention I got 693 Clubcard points too as Black Circles have a triple points deal on at the moment.
Pat
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>> The rears are at 5mm at the moment, so you have until Saturday to argue
>> the toss on that one:)
Simples arithmetic based on wear rates. Put your new tyres on the front, and when those are worn out your rears will need changing as well, so you then just do all four.
Plus will all the rain on your holiday you will need the extra grip and drive to haul your shed outa the mud.
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Shed?
The awning cost more than your car is worth;)
Pat
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I could have sold you a plastic sheet cheap.
Slightly oil stained....
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Hmmm...Mickey Mouse Mechanics Ltd!
Pat
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Correct decision to change the tyres now. New on the front... obviously.
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>> My 170PS A4 Diesel managed 23K miles on the fronts. My 330D wore out the
>> rears in a similar mileage. 14K seems a little quick for me, only time I've
>> ever had a car wear tyres that quickly was when there was a problem with
>> the wheel alignment.
The 320d fronts are still at 5mm at just shy of 25,000 miles. Rears down to 3mm.
I do enjoy the car's handling on a fairly regular basis, hence they haven't had the easiest of life.
The Golf tends to kill its fronts in about 12k. Rears were changed 5k ago and still look brand new - reckon they will outlast the car now.
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Quite busy for early June, and what glorious weather! www.looebaycaravans.co.uk/webcam.htm
Bit of rain about next week though - but nothing like last year thank gawd.
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We'll be on our way down there a week tomorrow:)
Going on Friday this year to be there for the Looe Luggers at the weekend and I'm watching that webcam hoping the caravan moves out of *our* spot!
I shall ask Mike to switch the webcam off while we set the new blow up awning up on Friday afternoon, 'cos I'm not having you watching me.
Now, can you give me a local weather forecast for daybreak on midsummers day yet, please?
Is it to be the Hurlers, Duloe or the Merry Maidens?
We're fancying breakfast at Lamorna Cove.
Pat
Last edited by: pda on Thu 6 Jun 13 at 08:27
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>>We'll be on our way down there a week tomorrow:)
Ah, it's next week is it, the rain should have cleared through by then (hopefully!)
>>I shall ask Mike to switch the webcam off while we set the new blow up awning up on Friday afternoon, 'cos I'm not having you watching me.
hahaha! LOL.
>>Now, can you give me a local weather forecast for daybreak on midsummers day yet, please?
Ask me again on the 20th June :)
>>We're fancying breakfast at Lamorna Cove
Gotta be the Merry Maidens then, Shirley.
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I don't bother swapping my wheels back to front. I just replace whichever pair of tyres is necessary. I've never had a problem with this practice. The one criterion I do observe rigidly is to always have a matching set ~ make, version and size.
Last edited by: L'escargot on Thu 6 Jun 13 at 09:02
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I change at around 3mm. If the other pair are at 4mm or less I'll usually change them too as there is usually a deal to be had for changing 4 compared to 2 (eg. Costco's 4 for 3 promotions).
Quite happy for the fitters to fit new to rear if they want. Wouldn't pay a surcharge for that though.
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I would spend time shopping around
I recently discovered asda were the best price for tyres on line but I also had a lesson buying on line.
When i went to my local tyre depot he offered to beat the online price so deal was done for 4 for my landrover.
I ordered 4 on line for my caravan but when i took them to be fitted I was advised " was I aware these tyres are over 3 years old " they were brand new but been standing around.
The supplier said its not an unknown issue with buying them on line so sent them back & had 4 tyres fitted by the dealer. The dealer explained to me that when their tyres are delivered if they find any more than 6 months old they send them back so guess thats partly how they end up on line for sale !
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I learned from experience that you have to be careful where you have tyres fitted. When I had new tyres fitted (at a branch of ATS) to the first car I owned which had alloy wheels, the fitter used balance weights intended to be fitted to steel wheels. They weights fly off after only a short distance. I then took the car to my Ford dealer and they rebalanced the wheels (free) using the correct shape of weights.
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Tyres...to buy or not to buy - Skip
