New Car Tire Needed

[frank]

I had good luck with sams club buying tires. I bought a set and they come with road hazard warranty from sams, at 5/32nds they got a nail out in the middle of the tread which they said couldn't be repaired, so they replaced the whole set under road hazard. I usually wait until they have the 80 dollars off 4 tires and then mount and balance, with all the tires warranties, free as a promotion. this promotion is currently going on. if you are a prime member you get the mount and balance for free, no prime is 10. per tire.

 

[jazz4cash]

50k plus miles on the tires - I'd change all of them and keep the best one for a spare. If you have a full size spare.

Agree. I didn’t see it mentioned but I presume it is an older vehicle without pressure monitor system. At any rate I’d get at least a pair but more likely a full set. I’d even go with a set of economy tires. No used tires for me unless I knew for sure they were brand new takeoffs.

 

[ncbill]

I'd grab my tire wear gauge and see how much tread depth was left on the 20k tire.

Then I'd buy three used tires with roughly the same tread depth, even if the used tires were different brands.

Though I'm daily driving a dead relative's FWD car where they would replace tires only one at a time.

But tread depth is roughly the same on all.

 

[easysurfer]

Ended up only needing 2 new tires.

 

[Music Lover]

Yeah, try that in Minnesota in the winter. Traction FAIL!

Not only that, most of the weight of a front wheel drive vehicle is over the front tires, which are the drive tires, which means they will wear out faster than the "passive" rear tires.

I see nothing in that article mentioning rear vs. front wheel drive configurations.

I'm north of Minnesota and I disagree. It doesn't matter if it's RWD, AWD, or FWD, if you're only getting 2 new tires they should go on the back. In fact, many shops will refuse to install 2 new tires on the front leaving old ones on the back.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I'm north of Minnesota and I disagree. It doesn't matter if it's RWD, AWD, or FWD, if you're only getting 2 new tires they should go on the back. In fact, many shops will refuse to install 2 new tires on the front leaving old ones on the back.

Hey, tire shop--I've got two new tires with snow/ice chains on them and two regular tires with 30K miles on them. Would you please mount these snow chain tires on the rear of my front wheel drive vehicle?

It doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

 

[JoeWras]

There's just too much at stake to mess with the dynamics of a vehicle by creating a severe differential between front and back axles.

The best solution for the "snow tire" situation is to mount all 4. Same for chains. All 4. In my opinion, the the postulated problem of having 2 snow tires and 2 old tires is a non-starter. Don't do it. If I owned the tire shop, I'd send the customer packing for their own safety.

 

[Music Lover]

Hey, tire shop--I've got two new tires with snow/ice chains on them and two regular tires with 30K miles on them. Would you please mount these snow chain tires on the rear of my front wheel drive vehicle?

It doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

I'm not a tire or driving expert so I defer to those who know more than me.

Have you asked you local tire shop what they would do in your scenario?

 

[ERObjd]

if you are a Sam's Club member or Costco they usually have better prices than most chain tire stores like Discount tire and Goodyear or Firestone. Also if you are a disabled veteran "shopvcs" or "patriotstoredirect" has very good deals on tires as well.

 

[easysurfer]

My 2 new tires were installed on the rear. Car is FWD.

 

[pacergal]

DH noticed the tires on one of our cars was balding on the inside, so a new round of tires.
About $1100 for 4 65,000 mile tires, wheel alignment, etc. at a local tire shop.
They will fix any flat tire for free for the life of the tire, and pro rated discount for new tires if needed before 65,000 miles, and rotate tires after every 5000 miles for free.
Seemed like a good deal to me, DH no longer does any car stuff himself.

 

[OldShooter]

DH noticed the tires on one of our cars was balding on the inside ...

That's often a symptom of too much camber (tire top tilted inwards). That should have been detected and corrected with an alignment but it's worth asking about. There are other possible causes, too. Regardless, if the cause of the asymmetric wear has not been found and corrected you will ruin another set of tires.

 

[Car-Guy]

This thread made me (well not really) go out and buy a couple of new tires for my Challenger. The front tires were okay but the rear tires where getting close to the wear bars. Bought two Nitto's for better traction. Actually the original set of Pirelli's on the rear, lasted ~15k miles which is really pretty good that car.

 

[Qs Laptop]

This thread made me (well not really) go out and buy a couple of new tires for my Challenger. The front tires were okay but the rear tires where getting close to the wear bars.

I don't understand, how in the heck does that uneven wear happen?

 

[JoeWras]

That's often a symptom of too much camber (tire top tilted inwards). That should have been detected and corrected with an alignment but it's worth asking about. There are other possible causes, too. Regardless, if the cause of the asymmetric wear has not been found and corrected you will ruin another set of tires.

Agree. pacergal should have an alignment done if the tire shop did not do one.

BTW, I do not have alignments routinely done. I only do them when I see some uneven wear or feel pull. On my last 3 cars, that has resulted in exactly 2 alignments, both past 100k. New cars generally hold alignment well unless you beat the living tar out of the car, ram a curb, etc.

 

[Car-Guy]

I don't understand, how in the heck does that uneven wear happen?

That doesn't look anything like my car!!!!!!!



Mine is gray.

 

[brett]

Had the same issue at 50K miles.

No brainer. Replaced all four tires even though one had slightly less. They were 5 plus year old.

I am very fussy about tires and brakes. When I am going down the highway at 70 Mph I am very aware that the only thing between my vehicle and the pavement (or the ditch) are my tires.

I buy higher end tires, check the air regularly, and get a free tire rotation at Costco every 8K miles or so.

 

[FLJim]

I check the tire pressure of my car every couple of months. I do so at the start of the months otherwise I'd forget.

So, today when looking the first thing I noticed is one tire as a bulge. I do remember hitting a big pothole a couple months back and think that may be the reason.

I expect to need a new tire (have an appointment at car place tomorrow).

Had a similar thing happen years back (but sidewall blew that time). Then, had one tire changed. I expect this time, one tire change too.

Makes me think, so what's the thing about making sure to change all tires or in pairs and front or back (I forget which) for best traction? Doesn't only have one tire replaced at a time defeat the rule of thumb?

One my one tire was changed to a new one after the sidewall blow out, I did notice a difference in traction. Until I assume the new one got evenly worn like the rest.

Checking tire pressures is very important, and almost no one does it. OEM's have realized the importance of it, and many new cars of TPMS systems that display each tire's pressure. If one tires reads low, you likely have a screw in the tread and it will be flat 'soon'.
For OP, don't compromise safety - get 4 new tires.