Thread: New and old tyres on the same car

I’m running Maxis front and Cooper rear until the Cooper wear out and I get another pair of Maxis. It’s been fine.

To me, as long as they are the same size profile, you should not have any issues with mixing old and new tyres. Eg if one tyre is a 55 profile and the opposite side a 65 profile, the “smaller” tyre will spin marginally faster than the larger tyre at a given road speed. I’ve run old and new tyres before, but always the same size, and try to keep the ‘old’ set on the same axle

Should be okay I think, but think about grip for steering and strength for rear loads before deciding if to put them on the front or back.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Should be okay I think, but think about grip for steering and strength for rear loads before deciding if to put them on the front or back.

Yes, that was the secondary question. Given I plan to be towing over 3T, my thinking is to put the 2 newbies on the back with the higher air pressures.

Sounds like a good idea if towing a heavy load.

If you intend to use the D4 as a touring "tug" towing 3t behind it then personally I would bite the bullet and get 4x new tyres fitted to it
It is never a Good idea to head off on a trip with half worn tyres and with winter coming up do you really want to trust the lives of your family and yourself to old worn tyres??

Originally Posted by gavinwibrow

I have 1 brand new spare and 4 half worn 697s.

Be careful with a "brand new" spare. Is it actually recently purchased or just not used? Tyres degrade over time and whilst I would be happy for an old unused tyre as a spare to get me out of trouble, I would not put it into use full time to get some wear out of it. I just searched online for how long they should be ok and it ranged from 5 to 10 years if stored correctly. It was suggested that after 5 years they should be checked annually to be safe. It's to do with the tyre losing its suppleness and drying out basically.


Martin

I agree with Trout that it would be better to buy four new tyres now, rather than be forced into it later. I once had two simultaneous flats on the rear of our D1 while towing because the tyres were half worn and couldn't cope with a corrugated road.
And, as said above, if your unused spare is more than about five years old it may have dried out. It is possible to bath tyres in light oil to try to revive them, but the results are uncertain.