Thread: New and old tyres on the same car

Originally Posted by l00kin4

As a sidebar question, what size tyres are you running? That price seems steep to me. 265/60R18 D697’s under $300 over on this side
David

When I last bought some of that size in Darwin over a year ago they were only just under $400 each.

Ouch

Across Australia the law on your question is dealt with this way. Normally you are allowed/required to have the same wheel and rim on each axle. So that means you can be different F-R. But most if not all will also require you to have the same "size" tyre F&R as an added requirement. Apart from that all must be within placard.

Spare should always be rotated with the rest on the car. That way you get the most use from it and yes they do age and as you are not able to sell tyres older than five years I would reckon checking how old what you have underneath is would be a good move

Rob

Hi Gavin

My penny’s worth having seen your tyres.

1. Matching tyres on one axle OK but not side to side.
2. I couldn’t see any damage or cracking on the tyres and given the remaining tread depth and where you are heading I’d keep them on. (Just drop your pressures when you hit the dirt and keep to 80kph)
3. Check the date on that unused spare. If it’s more than 4 or 5 years old you’ll probably not get the full life out of it even if you pair it with a fresh 697.
4. Bridgestone 697s have a good rep. Bridgestone often have 4 for 3 deals so watch out and you’ll be able to get a matching set at a reasonable price. I did that recently for the Alfa and got a set of performance potenzas for less that what I paid for 10 years previously for 4, run of the mill Toyos.

Cheers

Steve

Originally Posted by l00kin4

As a sidebar question, what size tyres are you running? That price seems steep to me. 265/60R18 D697’s under $300 over on this side
David

Quite large at 285/65R18, and for all the "concerned" comments, all of my tyres are quite "young" and well within the specs identified - not that I'd allow anything else on my wheels (pun not intended) - for those that know me I'm quite anal about being mechanically kosher, and would throw away a new tyre rather than have any concerns with its reliability and performance. Kind of goes with the territory for those of us with multiple driving licences. A bit like a pilot not wanting to fly anything that might shorten his earthly tenure!

EDIT - Oops - tyres are 285/60R (31.5"D) , not 285/65R (32.6"D)

Originally Posted by RobA

Across Australia the law on your question is dealt with this way. Normally you are allowed/required to have the same wheel and rim on each axle. So that means you can be different F-R. But most if not all will also require you to have the same "size" tyre F&R as an added requirement. Apart from that all must be within placard.

Spare should always be rotated with the rest on the car. That way you get the most use from it and yes they do age and as you are not able to sell tyres older than five years I would reckon checking how old what you have underneath is would be a good move

Rob

Normally a firm believer in rotation - my D2 has 6 Pirelli Scorpion ATRs that have done about 80K with plenty of tread still there, despite the CSR and a few other episodes. Given the choice, would have preferred the new AT+ on the D4 , but can't justify throwing away good 697s at this point.

It wasn't a Land Rover, but about 15 years ago I put same-species but new front, went for another 5000km on the rear tyres.
I got about another 1000km from the rears, then it rained.
I was going through a roundabout at less than usual speed - and totally lost control of the car - took out a door and a light pole at low speed. And I couldn't work out what went wrong.
I went to the cop-shop and dutifully reported - coming home on only slightly wet roads, another very familiar corner - spun out all over again, also at low speed, but this time no damage.

It was like 'spin the tail on the donkey'. The front tyres - new and bedded in - gripped - the rear tyres - still perfectly legal and with about 4000km life remaining - slid like they were on ice.

Ever since then, I've made sure I've got tyres of same species and comparable wear front and back.

Side issue.
Lately, I've started retiring older tyres earlier, going for more safety, grip, etc. Getting those last 5000km out of tyres can mean 5-6 metres difference in braking distance.

Relevant to your post:
An 'old spare' will not grip like a new tyre. It will have been hardening over time - part of what happens is 'solid evaporation'. So you can have a new tyre on one side and an old tyre on the other - same tread depth - and get different rates of traction, and much different rates of wear.

While it costs more to run newer tyres, it's only a very few cents or fractions of a cent per kilometre - which weighed up against the costs of even a minor, single car accident - (including insurance excess, and the inconvenience) - you're way, way ahead.

I think there was a study somewhere that proved that the biggest single safety improvement one could do on any car was 'good tyres'.

Cheers,

Phideaux

"I think there was a study somewhere that proved that the biggest single safety improvement one could do on any car was 'good tyres'. " I know a D4 owner who won't change the original tyres it came with until June, even though they're all just about illegal, as he doesn't feel he's got good value from them if he does!
He won't be persuaded otherwise by others who've seen his tyres as well as me.
Maybe a good slide during the coming wet weather will convince him to change them before he has an accident.
AlanH.