When Should I Replace My Front Tire?

[970mike]

Just before the air is showing!

 

[Jrnyer]

Just before the air is showing!

Bawhahahahahahaha


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[stgolfer]

My favorite I just spent over $!~%^& dollars on a tire I could have changed @ home for $125

Yep! Happened to me last year. At ArkanSToc, I had enough to get me back home, but then found out I needed to go to Detroit first. Not enough for AR-MI-FL. Cost me about double what I could get at home and half of Saturday at ArkanSToc. That was the second time it happened to me and it won't again!

 

[thumperjdm]

Minority opinion....

Whether that front tire can make the trip depends on how many miles you've already got on it and how deep the tread was when the tire was new.

Huh?

Yep, if the tire started out with 4/32" above the wear bars, you're currently at 1/32" above the wear bars, and you've got 1500 miles on the tire, that means that you are burning up 1/32" of tread every 500 miles. If it were me, everything else being equal, I'd spoon on a new tire before the trip.

If, on the other hand, the tire started out with the same 4/32" above the wear bars, you're currently at 1/32" above the wear bars, and you've got 3000 miles on the tire, that means that you are burning up 1/32" of tread every 1000 miles. You've got another 1000 miles to go before hitting the wear bars. In my book (once again, everything else being equal), that means you can complete the trip safely and be due for a new tire when you get back.

I run 'em down to the wear bars, but not a smidge past (if I can help it).

JMHO!

Your math assumes that tire wear is linear throughout the life of the tire. My experience is the tire wears exponentially faster as the tire loses tread and gets smaller, generating more heat.

 

[ReSTored]

Can't speak for anyone else but I simply don't have a lot of time for trips with work, family etc........ So last thing I'd need would be an interrupted trip trying to use up the last 32nd of a tire bought and paid for a year or so ago. Aside from cheap insurance of having a fresh tire, if you have to, calculate the value of the tire use you think you're giving up, not the cost of a new tire. At most it might be 1/10 (likely less) of what you paid for it or about $15 maximum. Would you risk your life or spoiling part of your trip for 15 bucks?

 

[Jeff F]

Can't speak for anyone else but I simply don't have a lot of time for trips with work, family etc........ So last thing I'd need would be an interrupted trip trying to use up the last 32nd of a tire bought and paid for a year or so ago. Aside from cheap insurance of having a fresh tire, if you have to, calculate the value of the tire use you think you're giving up, not the cost of a new tire. At most it might be 1/10 (likely less) of what you paid for it or about $15 maximum. Would you risk your life or spoiling part of your trip for 15 bucks?

Very well put ... :yes:

 

[Digger1]

Your math assumes that tire wear is linear throughout the life of the tire. My experience is the tire wears exponentially faster as the tire loses tread and gets smaller, generating more heat.

Yes, my math does assume linear wear. And, for the tires that I use, anyway, that assumption lends a bit of conservatism into the extrapolation.

My own experience is that tread wear actually seems to slow down a bit as the tire wears. My personal theory is that the "flat spot" in the tread grows wider over the miles and the wear is then spread out over a larger area.

My calcs have never let me down, but if your experience is different, then, you're right, the assumption of linear wear could get you into trouble.....