[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Those problems shouldn't be if he sticks to the OEM size right (for a single tire change)? Asking as I have the exact same problem.

Of course he will stick to tyres the same size as his other three tyres. Take the following scenario. Your spare tyre is one of those biscuits (half size tyres). If you drove with that for a long time it would cause major damage to discussed parts correct. Now we have three tyres that have run 25 to 30k. Let us assume a diameter difference of say half a cm. The aforementioned parts will not suffer as quickly as with a tyre of different size but long term must suffer some. You may change the parts at 80k instead of 100k or even 180k instead of 200k. For me it is penny wise pound foolish.

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by pganapathy

Replacing only one tyre is generally penny wise and pound foolish if the other three tyres have run a significant distance. When you have tyres that have difference in height, your suspension set up, steering et al will suffer more and the cost of repairing this 20k km early is more than three new tyres.

I suggest you keep the three used tyres for the spare

That is the concern that I have. However, I have nowhere to store 2 used tyres, and one does feel bad about throwing them away.

Originally Posted by pganapathy

Now we have three tyres that have run 25 to 30k. Let us assume a diameter difference of say half a cm.

The question is what would the diameter difference be. I thought the tread depth where you need to replace a tire is just 1.6 mm - I have no idea, what the starting tread depth is, but I suspect I would be halfway between the starting tread depth and the 1.6 mm minimum right now. So the question is what is the actual diameter difference, and will it hurt balance or the suspension?

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

6 Punctures in one trip?!That too 4 on sidewalls?!

The tire would have burst with 4 nails on sidewalls.How did it happen?!

There were no nails on the sidewalls. There were 2 nails in the main body of the tyre, but the tyrewallah found a damaged valve and 4 sidewall punctures as well. I suspect I have been scammed, but that is besides the point.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by Hayek

A few questions:

1. Should I replace the one bad tyre only, at least 2 or all of them?
2. Is there an issue running with 1 new tyre and 3 oldish ones? Historically, I have replaced tyres in my cars at around 40,000 km / 4 years.
3. if I replacing only 1 or 2, will I have to stick to the OE NCT 5s or can I use something else?
4. Any feedback on the current preferred option for the Superb would be appreciated. While inconclusive, I think the CPC2 seems to have been the preferred choice on this thread.

- As 3 out of your 5 tyres are OK, I suggest you change only 2 tyres. That would be the best option. Put those 2 new tyres on front wheels which should cost you around 12K for the two. You can even replace a single tyre because I had replaced one by one like this when I owned my Corolla and did not face any issue. Eventually in the 55K ownership of the Corolla, I had replaced 3 OE Bridgestone tyres one by one at the time when I sold it off.
- Replace with only the OE brand and size tyre as I would avoid mixing unless you are changing all tyres.

[Parthasarathig]

Hayek sir if your stepny is new and unused, suggest you to do the following:

1. Remove the stepny tyre from the steel rim and get it placed on the alloy.

2. Also get a new tyre and place it on one of the front rims. Have the tyre from that rim fitted onto the stepny.

3. Now you have two new tyres on the alloys and one old tyre on the stepny.

4. Place the two new tyres on the front wheels.

This is speak from personal experience. I got the same done on my figo a few months back for a single tyre. In fact this was suggested to me by another bhp ian on the figo tyres thread. Currently have done around 1000kms on the new tyres. No problems with the handling. Rather the car feels much agile with the new shoes in the front.

If your stepny has been used for quite a long time, then you would need two new tyres at the front. And the let the spare tyre be as it is currently. You can discard the punctured one. IMO with six punctures it is too much of a risk to reuse the tyre.

Hope this helps.

And please carry a puncture kit from next time along with a portable compressor if possible. Its much better and cheaper than to get it repaired from those scamming roadside "punchaar" guys. A puncture kit of 20 strips cost me 600 rs, whereas my friendly neighborhood tyre repair guy charges 150 rs for each puncture strip.

[pganapathy]

I think we can all agree that suppose we had three 13 inch and one 15 inch tyre on the car, we would see suspension and steering problems in a few hundred or at maximum a few thousand km. What we have here is no different except that we are looking at the problem on a smaller scale and so instead of the problem manifesting itself in 5,000 km it might be 50,000 km or 500,000 km. The only question is when not if.

The principle of having two equal tyres on the front and two on the back is definitely the cheaper alternative than replacing all four tyres.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Reviving an old thread. I suffered 6 punctures on the left rear tyre of my Superb while returning from Poona Sunday (2 due to nails, and 4 on the sidewalls) - I am not willing to risk running with it for much longer. My car has done 23,800 km and is 2.5 years old, and the other three tyres seem to be okay. The spare had given me some problems shortly after I bought the car, and hence am not keen to use it to replace the damaged tyre.

A few questions:

1. Should I replace the one bad tyre only, at least 2 or all of them?
2. Is there an issue running with 1 new tyre and 3 oldish ones? Historically, I have replaced tyres in my cars at around 40,000 km / 4 years.
3. if I replacing only 1 or 2, will I have to stick to the OE NCT 5s or can I use something else?
4. Any feedback on the current preferred option for the Superb would be appreciated. While inconclusive, I think the CPC2 seems to have been the preferred choice on this thread.

The most cost effective option of course would be to get just one new Goodyear NCT and keep the spare as it is. When the time comes to repace the three old tyres, buy four new tyres and keep the one purchased now as spare.

I doubt if you'll be able to use the new tyre in one of the front wheels as tyres with varying wear levels (read upwards of 10K kms) cause alignment issues. The car will tend to veer towards one side. I experienced this when I had one of my tires replaced under warranty at 13,000 kms. I had asked the fitter to fit it onto the front wheel. But later found that the car was veering to one side. Since the car was due for wheel allignment , I headed straight to my regular shop and he said that the veering was due to varying tread depth in the front tyres.

The other option would be to buy four new tyres right now. Keep the best GY among the three as spare. Goodyears tend to become very hard post 20K kms resulting in 1) More road noise 2) Poor ride. THe NCT 5s which come as standard with the car are strictly average. Try Michelin PLCs and you will find a world of difference in the way your car moves. They are pricey though.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by dkaile

- As 3 out of your 5 tyres are OK, I suggest you change only 2 tyres. That would be the best option. Put those 2 new tyres on front wheels which should cost you around 12K for the two.

Typical mistake most people think/make including yours truly. The newer tyres must be on the rear wheels, as issues like puncture or blowout on rear tyres are more de-stabilizing to the vehicle. So, all tyre manufacturers, like Michelin, recommend the newest/best tyres for the rear wheels.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

Typical mistake most people think/make including yours truly.

Well, then we should agree to disagree, as I have been fitting new tyres to my front tyres, in front wheel driven vehicles (like the Superb), and have driven lacs of kms in the last 25 years, on this combination without issues. Mind you that rear tyres should NOT be flat and should have sufficient life left like the OP mentioned. It is only in extreme hydro-planing that new rear tyres are beneficial. For better control on mixed surfaces, newer front tyres are better, as far as my experience goes.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by dkaile

Well, then we should agree to disagree, as I have been fitting new tyres to my front tyres, in front wheel driven vehicles (like the Superb), and have driven lacs of kms in the last 25 years, on this combination without issues. Mind you that rear tyres should NOT be flat and should have sufficient life left like the OP mentioned. It is only in extreme hydro-planing that new rear tyres are beneficial. For better control on mixed surfaces, newer front tyres are better, as far as my experience goes.

You may have been doing that (and I have also in the past), but it is not what tyre manufacturers recommend, and for very good reason. The FWD or RWD has nothing to do with where the newer/better condition tyres go - its to do with hydroplaning & oversteer (in wet conditions, hydroplaning chances increase or if rear tyre blowout happens) vs understeer (if front tyre blowout happens) ! And in such situations, understeer is more easy to bring under control than oversteer esp in FWD cars!

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=52
http://www.michelinman.com/mediabin/...lin_042009.pdf

Of course, if the tread depth difference of old and new tyres is not much, one can behave as if normal tyre rotation is being carried out to have wear levelling :-)
Ideally, all 4 (or 5) tyres must be changed at the same time! I change all 5 tyres since I do 5-wheel rotation.

[Chewbacca]

This is OT but could not resist ....
I often think that hydroplaning & oversteer in wet conditions are the woes of developed countries. Should it really be much of a concern for Indians driving in India? Our expressways are mostly concrete with a coarse surface, so there would be plenty of room below the tread for the water to squeeze out. Even the best of our tar roads are seldom level surface to the extent that a sheet of water will accumulate evenly over a large area.

Just look at those youtube videos on hydroplaning - their roads are shiny smooth. Do you see any undulations on their roads? .... I certainly didn't. So that explains why they are prone to hydroplaning.

In India, most often we see small puddles even on the best of our tar roads and driving in and out of puddles shouldn't cause extremities like hydroplaning, even when it is raining.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by Chewbacca

This is OT but could not resist ....
I often think that hydroplaning & oversteer in wet conditions are the woes of developed countries. Should it really be much of a concern for Indians driving in India?

Yes. Even though all our roads may not be of international standards but there are many that are.

Originally Posted by Chewbacca

Our expressways are mostly concrete with a coarse surface, so there would be plenty of room below the tread for the water to squeeze out.

In my experience only about 20 ~ 30% of our highways are concrete, rest is asphalt.

Originally Posted by Chewbacca

Even the best of our tar roads are seldom level surface to the extent that a sheet of water will accumulate evenly over a large area.

In India, most often we see small puddles even on the best of our tar roads and driving in and out of puddles shouldn't cause extremities like hydroplaning, even when it is raining.

Aquaplaning does not mean that a sheet of water is formed over a large area but a sheet of water covering the contact patch of the tyre.

When you drive over the small puddle, a tyre with proper tread can channel the water away while still being able to maintain traction with the road. If the tyre is bald then there is the risk of hydroplaning where a sheet of water can form between the tyre and the road. Even if this happens for the brief moment that the car is passing over the puddle it can cause the tyre to lose traction and cause the car to spin out of control.

To assume that hydroplaning is a 'foreign' concept is very dangerous.

Mods : Sorry for the OT post. You may please move to the appropriate thread if necessary.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by Chewbacca

This is OT but could not resist ....
I often think that hydroplaning & oversteer in wet conditions are the woes of developed countries. Should it really be much of a concern for Indians driving in India? Our expressways are mostly concrete with a coarse surface, so there would be plenty of room below the tread for the water to squeeze out. Even the best of our tar roads are seldom level surface to the extent that a sheet of water will accumulate evenly over a large area.

Hydroplaning is not a function of concrete or bitumen roads. Besides, there are concrete highways in most of USA, while India has a lot of asphalted/bitumen highways. Only a few expressways/highways are concrete here.

Also, if pools of water can accumulate on the highway (due to uneven surface), chances of hydroplaning go up - and this happens way more in India. Finally, many parts of India receive a lot of rain in the monsoon months.
So, absolutely, we have hydroplaning issues as much or more than anyone else.

In India, most often we see small puddles even on the best of our tar roads and driving in and out of puddles shouldn't cause extremities like hydroplaning, even when it is raining.

Why is that ? Driving in a pool is one of the main causes of hydroplaning.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaplaning


Besides hydroplaning, tyre blowout situations also cause oversteer if rear tyre gets affected. So, please put your newer tyres to the rear (ideally change all the tyres at one go as I mentioned)

[Swanand Inamdar]

Hayek, more often than not, the dealers do deal with used tyres.
They might be able to knockoff 2-3k for the used tyres.
Check with them if such an exchange offer is available. If yes, then get new tyres.

If not, suggest you stick to two new (on the front) and continue with the one's with less wear and tear at the rear.

BTW, which tyres are you going in for?

[Chewbacca]

Originally Posted by anachronix

Sure?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaplaning

Thanks for the link and the video in the other post.
I quoted you here to draw your attention to this thread.

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

To assume that hydroplaning is a 'foreign' concept is very dangerous.

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

So, absolutely, we have hydroplaning issues as much or more than anyone else.

Point noted! Assumptions are always bad !!

I am not justifying my (bad) assumptions; the thing is, I have never experienced a hydroplane induced skid in the past 22 years of my driving. Yes, I have survived tyre burst twice but not a skid. Over all these years I must have driven more than 2 lakh kms .... Premier Padmini / Zen / WagonR / Omni / Logan / Corolla / Alto / Lancer. Most of it on highways and rural areas (no, I am not a driver by profession). A wet skid never occured; maybe the tyres were not bald enough or maybe the car was heavier or well planted but nevertheless I must thank my stars and be careful henceforth. Our roads are improving, tempting us to drive faster and one cannot be too careful.

Another angle of this being a 'foreign' concept stemmed from the fact that the majority of us 'conservative Indians' live with stock tyres that are kept to their minimum width by our miser car manufacturers; somehow makes it a blessing in disguise. The risk of a skid due to aquaplaning is minimized to a great extent, thanks to narrower OE tyres. Most enthusiasts unnecessarily upsize their wheels/tyres for the oomph and bling factor. More so in developed countries; they give rise to a new problem (risk) and then start cribbing about aquaplaning.

Just my 2 paise worth (no, 2 rupees worth >> inflation accounted) and I am sorry for being OT.

[lancer_rit]

@chewbacca, there could be reasons to suspect otherwise, but let's not go too much OT on this thread. Fact is aquaplaning can happen, and its very much applicable to Indian road situations. I have experienced it myself running over water patches, though if one is able to slow down, one is able to negotiate it.

@Hayek, I like another poster's idea is that you get 4 new tyres, trading of the other 2 for some sum. If you do get 2 new tyres, put them at the rear.