Tyre Tread

[Kenneth]

Hey there,

I've looked round the forum and I don't think this has been covered (I've searched). Few of us got together yesterday and somehow talked about tyre wear and tread left on our tyres but all of us dont actually know how much tread left or if we have even wear on our tyres

so question is, what is a quick way to check ur tyre tread without any tools or equipment, any rule of thumb when u look @ ur tyres?

whats the minimum tread? and how long (km's wise) does tyres usually lasts (average)

Thanks :)

Ken

Edited March 30, 2008 by Kenneth

[Hiro]

Hey there,

I've looked round the forum and I don't think this has been covered (I've searched). Few of us got together yesterday and somehow talked about tyre wear and tread left on our tyres but all of us dont actually know how much tread left or if we have even wear on our tyres

so question is, what is a quick way to check ur tyre tread without any tools or equipment, any rule of thumb when u look @ ur tyres?

whats the minimum tread? and how long (km's wise) does tyres usually lasts (average)

Thanks :)

Ken

In the big water channels of the tyre (aka the ones that run the whole way around the tyre), there will be wear indicators every 30cm or so. They are little chunks of rubber about 1.5mm thick. Once your tread gets down to the level of these indicators, your tyres are no longer legal. So as a quick check, find one of these water channels, and run your finger around till you hit a wear indicator. If the tread is higher than the indicator, you're fine. Remember to check the inside and outside shoulders of the tyre, and all the way around to check for flat spots and camber wear

[Kenneth]

what do u mean by camber wear and flat spot :) coz i find my rear tyres is still *** but front one is getting crappier (like towards the indicator) and only bit less then 20 000k has been done on them

but on the front the outter layer wears more then the inner side

[CAP]

what do u mean by camber wear and flat spot :) coz i find my rear tyres is still *** but front one is getting crappier (like towards the indicator) and only bit less then 20 000k has been done on them

but on the front the outter layer wears more then the inner side

The fronts will always wear faster (especially along the outside) so you have two choices. I prefer the later.

1. Don't rotate the tyres, allow the fronts to wear out first, when they wear out, replace the fronts only and continue with the original rears until they wear out too.

2. Rotate the tyres front to back every 10,000km's also have them re-balanced every rotation, then all four tyres will be wearing at the same rate and would be replaced at the same time.

[Jaaassseeee]

Ken, you don't rotate your tyres enough. It's normal for your front tyres to wear out faster than the back, therefore you should rotate it every 10,000km like CAP said. Or if you've got a really heavy foot, I suggest every 5,000km.

When you take your car for a service they should be doing it for you theoretically.

[Mopp]

Well said, for a softer compound tyre i suggest every 5,000 you rotate and balance!

i would replace the fronts and start to rotate them correctly.

[Kenneth]

:) just thot i would share this

http://www.1010tires.com/tires.asp

gives u info bout all kinda tyres :) kinda useful when ur trying to compare two diff tyres thou they are all based on user review not proper review..

[Kenneth]

what do u mean by camber wear and flat spot :) coz i find my rear tyres is still *** but front one is getting crappier (like towards the indicator) and only bit less then 20 000k has been done on them

but on the front the outter layer wears more then the inner side

The fronts will always wear faster (especially along the outside) so you have two choices. I prefer the later.

1. Don't rotate the tyres, allow the fronts to wear out first, when they wear out, replace the fronts only and continue with the original rears until they wear out too.

2. Rotate the tyres front to back every 10,000km's also have them re-balanced every rotation, then all four tyres will be wearing at the same rate and would be replaced at the same time.

now tht i got some toyo px4 on the front and still crappy old maxxis on the rear.. i will do the 1st option.. since the maxxis on the rear been in use for a while now so i assume they should wear out @ the same time

Ken, you don't rotate your tyres enough. It's normal for your front tyres to wear out faster than the back, therefore you should rotate it every 10,000km like CAP said. Or if you've got a really heavy foot, I suggest every 5,000km.

When you take your car for a service they should be doing it for you theoretically.

it was my camber fault :P... fixed now so they should be alrite..

[leasaunce]

Rule #1 about tyre, NEVER DEFLATE HOT TYRES!

[Kenneth]

Rule #1 about tyre, NEVER DEFLATE HOT TYRES!

alright i will remember that.. not like i'd ever deflate my tyres :P

[wil_rolla]

did you say you were on maxxis?? i had maxxis MAV1's and i only got max 20,000km out of them too,

the maxxis are a softer tyre thats why we only got so little km's

[Kenneth]

did you say you were on maxxis?? i had maxxis MAV1's and i only got max 20,000km out of them too,

the maxxis are a softer tyre thats why we only got so little km's

yeh i was on exactly those... got some Toyo Proxes 4 now... i think they get bit more km's out of them so hopefully its true :P

the rear are still on maxxis and they r going strong lol.. i suppose rear tyres dont wear much :P