[greenhorn]

For the first three years of car ownership, i was trying to get my S322's replaced with some better tyres, and my dad used to veto it every time as per the if it ain't broke, dont fix it school of thought. 4 years, 40K Kms and plenty of bad wheel alignment, I'm running on a set of partially bald tyres which have a tendency to lock up on anything above medium braking, especially with heavy loads. For normal driving, the tyres are fine, but ...

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, at least for another 6 months. Of course, the prudent option would be to drive sensibly and cautiously, but if you knew bhubaneswar roads, and being the hoon that i am, it's not going to happen. If i had a rear wheel drive car, this might have been a recipe for fun, but in a diesel indica, not so much.

So what can i do then? braking techniques, other workarounds to this problem, those of you with experience of making those tyres last, please pour them out

[rajeev k]

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[Akshay1234]

Greenhorn - I think the main thing you should avoid is locking up the tyres. No sudden braking, no spirited driving. No sharp steering movements at medium and higher speeds. I guess they will last but you can reduce the wear by doing these.

[GreaseMonk]

Extending your following distance will make it easier to implement the above recommendations. However, with Indian traffic, increasing your following distance is interpreted as a space for someone else to fill :P

[BusyBee]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

... and my dad used to veto it every time as per the if it ain't broke, dont fix it school of thought. 4 years, 40K Kms and plenty of bad wheel alignment, I'm running on a set of partially bald tyres .. tendency to lock up on anything above medium braking, especially with heavy loads. For normal driving, the tyres are fine, but ... 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, at least for another 6 months.

Heh! Heh! Your profile shows good ICE Introspect and find out why your dad put his foot down. If your tyres are seriously bald, you should replace them -period. That too after checking out your suspension doing necessary correction. Maybe you should have a heart to heart chat with your dad to find out his concerns too and work out a compromise and make sure your honour your part of the bargain.

[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.

[bblost]

Greenhorn. Would you run around your college with a knife held straight out in your hand.

I don't think so.
Why do you think your big lump of metal with highly compromised stopping ability is any different.

Either you don't drive it till you can fix it. OR fix it.

[hellmet]

Retreading would be the wiser option. I've never got it done for my vehicles but it still buys you a few more months of use and is much cheaper than new tires. Apparently, they're the most environmentally friendly way of recycling tires, although I'm sure many here would seriously disagree about the safety.

[phamilyman]

I can only suggest Reliance Life insurance: 4k for 15 Lakh.

No seriously - you are being stupid - riding on bald tyres is a recipe for trouble and you know it.

Can you afford a serious accident? Surely not - then replace the damn tyres - even 2 of them with the bloody 1.2k linglong chinese variety, if you will, but on tyres that are already misbehaving - its a recipe for trouble.

and if u cant spare the 2.5-3k for the cheapest alternative - take a bus.

You already know whats right - we won't come up with a miracle pill, no, bro?

[recker_us]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

I can only suggest Reliance Life insurance: 4k for 15 Lakh.

No seriously - you are being stupid - riding on bald tyres is a recipe for trouble and you know it.

Can you afford a serious accident? Surely not - then replace the damn tyres - even 2 of them with the bloody 1.2k linglong chinese variety, if you will, but on tyres that are already misbehaving - its a recipe for trouble.

and if u cant spare the 2.5-3k for the cheapest alternative - take a bus.

You already know whats right - we won't come up with a miracle pill, no, bro?

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.

Well, I was looking for a more creating suggestion on how to give a new lease of life to the balding tyres. In some of my trips to remote himalayas, I have seen the taxi drivers driving comfortably with almost treadless tyres. Not sure how they manage it. But they find it perfectly normal and dont even feel the need of changing. In one of my trip to Bharatpur camps(the small dhaba stop immediately after Bara lacha Pass on Manali - Leh route), the tyres of the vehicle were completely bald and this jolly driver of our jeep was driving mercilessly on those seemingly non-existing roads. Never in the route, we felt a skid or slide.

I fail to understand when those guys can manage driving with bald tyres on such bad roads, why the whole fuss about getting new tyres?

[DieselFan]

@greenhorn - I think you should look for the tyre brands which come into used market before they are used <500 kms and buy them at a relatively low price. Some of the OEM tyres come for replacements at major tyre/ alloy wheel dealers why don't you try them out and have a bargain deal and replace your bald tyres ASAP. Bald tyres are recipe to disaster as tyres are the primary safety equipment on the car (it is not the airbags,ABS, Brakes/EBD....).

@Hellmet - Retreading happens only on Truck and bus tyres not on Car tyres. Never heard of Car tyre retreading.

[mayankjha1806]

Bald tyres even of you are very careful can surprise you, and it would be better safe then being sorry at a later stage. So i would not suggest you to drive the car till the tyre business is sorted out. Until such time use public transport, car pool or some other means to keep things moving.

When my Indica's tyres were close to be changed (they were not bald) they would skid anywhere as per their convenience even if i was careful with speed and braking. Hence decided to change the front two tyres first and the rear two 2 months later. Which was ok as the front ones are the ones which need to have good grip.

[Klub Class]

greenhorn, in case if you're planning to get used tyres, I've got something to share.

There are talented people who 'cut' the thread patterns on a bald tyre and sells off the tyre. I must say it's pretty difficult to differentiate b/w a normal tyre and the bald tyres with thread patters marked the way I mentioned. Please make sure that you don't get cheated.

For the record, we bought a pre-owned Waggie last year and it came with tyres with thread patterns marked the way I mentioned. Though, I pointed it out, my family members refused to believe me and they believe me only when they heard tyre-wallah who we know of, told the exact thing.(Currently the car runs on brand new MRF tyres)

Originally Posted by DieselFan

@Hellmet - Retreading happens only on Truck and bus tyres not on Car tyres. Never heard of Car tyre retreading.

Incorrect. I've seen re-treaded car tyres and I know of places to get the tyres re-treaded in my locality.

DieselFan, you may find this thread informative : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...suv-tyres.html

[phamilyman]

or here's a better alternative. call your dad and tell him the car ended up with one wheel in a ditch because the tyres didn't grip well enough.

Then the school of thought mentioned below will change:

my dad used to veto it every time as per the if it ain't broke, dont fix it school of thought

That should solve matters in a jiffy.

I know it sounds stupid, but hey, if you can't get your father to appreciate the risk of driving around a car that can be unsafe to you/others (while surely paying for the fuel) - then you might as well feign a crisis and get things solved.

Beats calling him up from the TASS that you actually smashed the car, no?

EDIT: Chinese linglong variety tyres over the retreaded ones anyday in my limited visual take on it - have used neither (nor will) so cannot comment from experience in this matter.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by Klub Class

There are talented people who 'cut' the thread patterns on a bald tyre and sells off the tyre. I must say it's pretty difficult to differentiate b/w a normal tyre and the bald tyres with thread patters marked the way I mentioned. Please make sure that you don't get cheated.

+1.

Also, retread is sort of Ok for a Bias / Cross Ply tire but retreading a Radial tire (assuming yours is one) is something definitely NOT worth.

Spike