car question
October 8, 2011 7:23 PM Subscribe
shall i replace my tires now?
i have a honda civic 2008. its four tires have logged almost 20k miles now, but the tread seem to be quite OK (i.e., the penny test is a pass).
i heard somewhere that tires need to be replaces after 15k. with a 2-year old always with me whenever i drive, i really need some expert to help me figure out whether or not these tires should be replaced.
thanks for any advices.
i have a honda civic 2008. its four tires have logged almost 20k miles now, but the tread seem to be quite OK (i.e., the penny test is a pass).
i heard somewhere that tires need to be replaces after 15k. with a 2-year old always with me whenever i drive, i really need some expert to help me figure out whether or not these tires should be replaced.
thanks for any advices.
I have never heard of a hard-and-fast "replace at 15k" rule. The fact that car tires are manufactured with a WIDE variety of rubbers, build techniques, tread patterns for an even WIDER variety of loads, conditions, and usage patterns makes me think that any absolute rule like this is silly.
The tires are not too old, not out of tread, and not visibly damaged in anyway... they are fine.
posted by milqman at 7:33 PM on October 8, 2011
The tires are not too old, not out of tread, and not visibly damaged in anyway... they are fine.
posted by milqman at 7:33 PM on October 8, 2011
I dont think the rubber degrades within 3 years. Replace them when the tread is low, and not before.
posted by twblalock at 7:38 PM on October 8, 2011
posted by twblalock at 7:38 PM on October 8, 2011
The amount of miles you have put on the car so far is pretty low. Average annual usage is around 10-15K miles. You have a three year old car with 20K miles on it.
I am guessing you don't travel long distances per day, which will wear the treads on your tires quicker than if you drove in short distances.
Are you just passing the penny test? If you are just passing, then you ought to change the tires with the winter coming (if you live in the parts of the country that snows and has freezing rain during the cold months!) You may not like changing the tires during the winter months.
I wouldn't gauge the life of a tire with miles or years. You should just worry about how healthy the treads are and that the tires are properly inflated.
Good luck!
posted by Yellow at 7:47 PM on October 8, 2011
I am guessing you don't travel long distances per day, which will wear the treads on your tires quicker than if you drove in short distances.
Are you just passing the penny test? If you are just passing, then you ought to change the tires with the winter coming (if you live in the parts of the country that snows and has freezing rain during the cold months!) You may not like changing the tires during the winter months.
I wouldn't gauge the life of a tire with miles or years. You should just worry about how healthy the treads are and that the tires are properly inflated.
Good luck!
posted by Yellow at 7:47 PM on October 8, 2011
You should rotate your tires at 15K-ish miles or at the recommended intervals in your service manual. It is important to rotate the tires so have even wear in the front and back.
posted by birdherder at 7:58 PM on October 8, 2011
posted by birdherder at 7:58 PM on October 8, 2011
Replacing modern tires at 15k intervals is ludicrous, unless you are doing burnouts at every stoplight, which you aren't.
posted by sanka at 8:00 PM on October 8, 2011
posted by sanka at 8:00 PM on October 8, 2011
i heard somewhere that tires need to be replaces after 15k.
That's crap. Age is more important - 5 years is a good mark to ensure good quality rubber is still on your car.
If the tread is good, you're fine for good conditions. If you encounter a lot of rain or colder weather, be more cautious. I can't comment as I don't know where you are.
posted by Brockles at 8:07 PM on October 8, 2011
That's crap. Age is more important - 5 years is a good mark to ensure good quality rubber is still on your car.
If the tread is good, you're fine for good conditions. If you encounter a lot of rain or colder weather, be more cautious. I can't comment as I don't know where you are.
posted by Brockles at 8:07 PM on October 8, 2011
Check the inner sidewalls for wear: they're easy to overlook.
But: it might be worth paying a trusted mechanic or a knowledgeable friend for a one-time demonstration, because it's one of those situations where you'll only truly know what to look for once it's pointed out to you.
Relative to the value of a car, good tyres suited to local and seasonal conditions are an upgrade that deliver lots of bang for the buck. That doesn't mean throwing away a perfectly good set, but it's something to consider when it's time for a replacement.
posted by holgate at 8:43 PM on October 8, 2011
But: it might be worth paying a trusted mechanic or a knowledgeable friend for a one-time demonstration, because it's one of those situations where you'll only truly know what to look for once it's pointed out to you.
Relative to the value of a car, good tyres suited to local and seasonal conditions are an upgrade that deliver lots of bang for the buck. That doesn't mean throwing away a perfectly good set, but it's something to consider when it's time for a replacement.
posted by holgate at 8:43 PM on October 8, 2011
Tires are possibly the single most important piece of safety equipment on your car and are also quite expensive, so it's disappointing to see the answers in this thread. Tire wear is not something you have a feeling about, or guess at based on time or miles driven, or peer at sidewalls.
Check your tires' wear bars.
These are raised bars of tire material that are in the "troughs" in between the treads. If the tops of the wear bars are flush with the surface of the tread, replace your tires immediately. If the tread surface is more than 1/16 of an inch above the bars, you're fine. If the top of the tread is somewhere between 1/16 of an inch and flush with the surface, you should start saving up and doing your tire shopping, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to replace them before the surface is flush with the bars.
posted by kavasa at 9:27 PM on October 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Check your tires' wear bars.
These are raised bars of tire material that are in the "troughs" in between the treads. If the tops of the wear bars are flush with the surface of the tread, replace your tires immediately. If the tread surface is more than 1/16 of an inch above the bars, you're fine. If the top of the tread is somewhere between 1/16 of an inch and flush with the surface, you should start saving up and doing your tire shopping, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to replace them before the surface is flush with the bars.
posted by kavasa at 9:27 PM on October 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
I had a 2008 Civic that I replaced the tires on at about 27K miles. They weren't completely worn out, but were getting close and Les Schwab (I'm in Oregon) was having a sale. Assuming your Civic has the same tires as mine did, they are not long lasting, but should definitely last longer than 20K.
Tire Rack has a pretty good guide.
You can also use their site to get a good idea of what tires are available for your Civic for when you eventually need to replace the tires.
Consider, however, that you will have to find someone to install the the tires if you do buy them online.
posted by nickthetourist at 10:02 PM on October 8, 2011
Tire Rack has a pretty good guide.
You can also use their site to get a good idea of what tires are available for your Civic for when you eventually need to replace the tires.
Consider, however, that you will have to find someone to install the the tires if you do buy them online.
posted by nickthetourist at 10:02 PM on October 8, 2011
Depending on how your most recent alignment was done, the tires can be wearing on the inside of the tread (instead of evenly or on the outside) - do the penny test on the treads on the far side of the tire, deep in the wheel well, where it's difficult to see.
I had some tires that passed the penny test with flying colors - and they were completely bald. But it was easy to not notice when they were on the car, because the alignment put the contact patch out of sight, and the penny was going into an area that suffered a lot less wear.
i heard somewhere that tires need to be replaces after 15k
This varies based on tire. A tire designed for maximum grip will be bald at 10K, because it gets its grip by using soft rubber that doesn't last as long. Regular tires use less grippy rubber and last longer. Your tires are probably good for up to 40K under ideal conditions, and should still be ok. But do the penny test on the far side of the tread.
Seconding others - tires do make a big difference, and are one of the best places to invest money in a car.
posted by -harlequin- at 4:20 AM on October 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
I had some tires that passed the penny test with flying colors - and they were completely bald. But it was easy to not notice when they were on the car, because the alignment put the contact patch out of sight, and the penny was going into an area that suffered a lot less wear.
i heard somewhere that tires need to be replaces after 15k
This varies based on tire. A tire designed for maximum grip will be bald at 10K, because it gets its grip by using soft rubber that doesn't last as long. Regular tires use less grippy rubber and last longer. Your tires are probably good for up to 40K under ideal conditions, and should still be ok. But do the penny test on the far side of the tread.
Seconding others - tires do make a big difference, and are one of the best places to invest money in a car.
posted by -harlequin- at 4:20 AM on October 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
The tires that came with my 2009 were good for almost 40K miles. I wasn't quite to the wear bars, but I replaced them so that I could be ready for winter.
Depending on where you live that may factor in to your decision to replace the tires as well.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 6:35 AM on October 9, 2011
Depending on where you live that may factor in to your decision to replace the tires as well.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 6:35 AM on October 9, 2011
Tyres that have constant exposure to sunlight will deteriorate in ways other than the tread depth, so they won't last forever regardless of the amount of driving you do. But three years should not be a problem in this regard.
It's not really valid to rate the prospective life of tyres in terms of mileage, as this will vary dramatically depending on how the car is driven and maintained. If they have sufficient tread depth across the tyre width (don't just check on the outside edge) and are less that 5 years or so old, they should be fine.
posted by dg at 7:43 PM on October 9, 2011
It's not really valid to rate the prospective life of tyres in terms of mileage, as this will vary dramatically depending on how the car is driven and maintained. If they have sufficient tread depth across the tyre width (don't just check on the outside edge) and are less that 5 years or so old, they should be fine.
posted by dg at 7:43 PM on October 9, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
20k miles seems like an arbitrary number to me. As long as the treads are still good, then don't worry about it.
posted by erstwhile at 7:33 PM on October 8, 2011