[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Now unfortunately at this time I'm a broke student, for whom the price of a replacement set of tyres is well beyond my means...
...a diesel indica...
So what can i do then?

Many years ago, during a terrifying drive in a hired Omni from Darbhanga to Patna, I received this gyan from the driver (in a mixture of Hindi and Maithili that I am unable to replicate now: Tyre without tread doesn't get punctured, since nail cannot poke into tyre when it is bald - nail gets deflected away! Now, I wonder if your dad insists on the same logic...

Originally Posted by GTO

...just go out and get the current ones retreaded.

I agree. Try MRF Pretreads cold retreading (pretreads, sales_network), provided the tyre carcass is intact and the belting isn't showing through. For a low-power vehicle like the Indica, cold retreading is the way to go if cost is the chief concern.

[vikash49]

Originally Posted by GTO

Greenhorn, driving on partially bald tyres is bad news man! Not only is it dangerous for you, but also for other road users (think of that motorcyclist in your path). As a car owner, it is your responsibility to maintain the car in a road-worthy state...and an Indica on bald tyres certainly isn't (road worthy).

Though I don't recommend it, but if you can't buy new tyres right now, just go out and get the current ones retreaded. Or you could carefully inspect & buy used tyres. Note : I don't recommend either of these solutions, but would choose them over driving on bald tyres.

+1

That's exactly what I was going to say.

I would recommend you to at least get the two front tires replaced. These are the ones that lay down all the power on the road, handle your steering inputs and also handle the majority of the braking forces.

Getting two tires instead of four would reduce your monetary commitment by half. To explore the possibility of reducing it further, you could visit the Performance Tire / Alloy shops around your place. I'm not referring about the regular tyre shops... but the shops which people visit for up-sizing / upgrading their tires and alloys. These guys usually buy back the OEM tires at reduced prices from people who are upgrading.

These guys can give you great deals on some low mileage or even brand new tires.

As an example, I recently took delivery of a New Honda City, and the first thing i did was upgrade the stock Goodyear 175/65 R15 GT3s to Yokohama 195/65 R15 A Drives.

I gave away my stock tires with only 29km on them for 2000/- a piece, when the market price of the same tires at a GoodYear outlet was Rs. 2925/-

[Santoshbhat]

The biggest danger of bald tyres is in wet weather conditions on smooth tarmac. The grooves on the tyre are meant for dispensing/ channeling the water away from between the tyre and the road. If there are no grooves then there is possibility of a thin film of water causing your tyre to completely lose its grip and causing your car to slip and slide all over the place. This phenomenon is called aquaplaning. We are able to steer our cars only when the tyres are gripping the road. If the tyres are sliding freely then the car is no more in the drivers control. Imagine driving a car on a skating rink.

Get rid of those tyres ASAP. They are seriously unsafe for you as well as others on the road.

[greenhorn]

hey my tyres are not bald. visually they are okay with some amount of tread. the problem is that the edges are worn out (similar to the type of wear that happens with underinflation, except that it happened one side at a time due to bad wheel alignment) . Am thinking of putting the tyres with decent tread in front (need to get some alignment) . Normally they dont lock, but bhubaneswar has a seductive but dangerous mix of empty four lane roads populated with bikers who take turns without signalling, which results in a lot of sudden braking, and this has recently come to my notice after two abrupt stops in the last week (with a full load of 5 people) ended with the wheel locking up and a strong smell of burnt tyres. Otherwise it stops just fine.

If i tell dad I need money for tyres, he'll say dont drive in the first place

I suppose I have no alternative to curbing my enthusiasm. dang it!

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

.... my enthusiasm. dang it!

Well, living with bald tyres for a safety conscious enthusiast, is like making you spend a night with your favorite brand of 'Scotch' and letting you know that its poisoned.

Well, I have experienced the same in my college days, with the OMNI which runs in our farm. If you are looking to live with it, you better drive like there is only enough fuel to take you to the pump, and your brakes are gone.

Jokes apart, as a responsible fellow member, I do not recommend it. And, I see that GTO's suggestion makes most sense.

Also, try to get a cheap pair of worn out nylon (Bias / Cross Ply ?) tyres and retread it. Just make sure the SIDEWALL is OK, and has no cracks in it. It will give adequate grip. You just have to sacrifice a bit on comfort.

[bblost]

@greenhorn:

Considering the way I used to ride/ drive when younger, its a miracle I made it to my late twenties without any damage to my body.

I always told myself, its my life. I can do whatever I want with it.

Till one fine day, I saw an accident occur right in front of my eyes.

I swore to myself that my carelessness/ recklessness should not kill or maim some innocent.

You might want to upload the pics of your tires, so we can get a better understanding of the same.

[humyum]

Retread or buy used tyres which have some life in them. Don't go around driving with bald tyres. On Indian roads you never know who comes in your way when. Might end up killing someone or having an accident.

Money saved now on tyres will later go X 100 in other eventualities.

[mayankjha1806]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

hey my tyres are not bald. visually they are okay with some amount of tread.

If i tell dad I need money for tyres, he'll say dont drive in the first place

Well, you being close to the tyres can only tell if you think they are safe for some more time also getting them checked at a tyre shop will help, so in the end this decision is all yours.

Incase you find that they need to be changed (as Dad says don't drive the car) i would suggest follow what he says (with eyes closed).

When i was young following Dad's advise was not something that came first in the list of things, so kept driving the LML T5 that we owned (For folks who dont know LML T5, it was a very fast scooter but even with good tyres would skid like hell), until i met with my very first accident which ended up in me having some stitches in the forehead and bicycle which turned triangle and a bicycle rider with sprain in his ankle.

[greenhorn]

here are pics of 2 rear tyres and one of the fronts. it seems the good ones are already in front.
anyway 6 months more and I'll be filthy rich

[goandude]

Whats wrong with bald tyres? all F1 drivers use slicks in the dry. In fact bald tyres have better grip and that is why they use them. How safe are worn tires?
It is another matter in wet conditions where they aquaplane.

[vikash49]

Originally Posted by goandude

Whats wrong with bald tyres? all F1 drivers use slicks in the dry. In fact bald tyres have better grip and that is why they use them.

True.

Now, put into the equation dust, mud, cow dung and like you said, water. F1 cars don't have to deal with these, do they?

[goandude]

Originally Posted by vikash49

True.

Now, put into the equation dust, mud, cow dung and like you said, water. F1 cars don't have to deal with these, do they?

dust, mud and cow dung are episodic conditions where one goes over them in a moment. you would be terribly unlucky to have to brake or turn while your slicks are momentarily on the cow dung or mud.

For most part of a "normal" road in dry conditions, read non monsoon, bald tyres are OK. of course with the chance of nonseasonal rain, like in Bangalore yesterday, take the bus.

One more thing, are punctures more frequent on bald tyres?

[Lalvaz]

Looking at the pics, I'd recommend changing those tyres immediately. But hell, you are a distinguished BHP'ian, you already know the risks you're taking with those tyres.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

Looking at the pics, I'd recommend changing those tyres immediately. But hell, you are a distinguished BHP'ian, you already know the risks you're taking with those tyres.

Lalvaz, I'm an absolute zero on this mechanical stuff. If I'd known the risks i would not have asked you guys. Let me see if i can talk dad into a new set of tyres

[SushilBajpai]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

here are pics of 2 rear tyres and one of the fronts. it seems the good ones are already in front.
anyway 6 months more and I'll be filthy rich

I'll take your word that you'll be rolling in money by May 2012. But for that to happen, you need to live those six months. don't you?

Like nearly everyone on the thread has recommended - change them, retread them or buy used ones. Better still, give up driving for time being ...