[supertinu]

Thanks everyone for your great responses. I think the verdict is more or less unanimous. I will go ahead and change all 4 coming weekend. You all got me little over cautious now, yesterday while driving to and fro from Bangalore airport i did not cross 80kmph .

Based on my research on this forum I am inclining towards Michelin as 1st preference and followed by Bridgestone. My 1st priority is definitely low tyre noise which has never been Ikon's or MRF's strong point .

[Gansan]

This is what I found in Wikipedia regarding age of tyres:

Many automakers recommend replacing tires after six years, and several tire manufacturers (Bridgestone, Michelin) have called for tires to be removed from service 10 years after the date of manufacture. However, an investigative report by Brian Ross on ABC's 20/20 news magazine found that many major retailers such as Goodyear, Wal-Mart, and Sears were selling tires that had been produced six or more years ago. Currently, no law for aged tires exists in the United States.[35][36]

[Epic]

Well I personally feel that the change of one's tires doesn't really depend on the number of years its been on the car. The wear of a tire all depends on the number of kilometers its been driven on, size of the tire, terrain it been driven on, how hard it been driven, whether timely and proper wheel alignment and balancing has been observed etc.

For example, say a car driven 100 kms per day on a tire size of say 205/55/R15 will wear out faster than the same car driven the same distance on say 195/60/R15.

So, how does one actually know when to have the tires changed? I remember a mention of using a 1 rupee coin and stuff but don't know if that is valid.

[supertinu]

hey folks, once again thanks for all your feedback. I have gone ahead and changed my car tires today. Switched to Michelin XM1+ stock size of 175/70/R13 on my existing steel rims. Have managed to drive only for about 10/15 kms but the difference in ride is fairly observable. its as if i am driving with my car on mute vs with MRF ZVTS. As i increase speed (tried till 100kmph) i am tuned to getting more noise which didnt happen . Also comfort level is fairly high with undulations getting nicely ironed out.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Epic

So, how does one actually know when to have the tires changed? I remember a mention of using a 1 rupee coin and stuff but don't know if that is valid.

I replace my tyres when they show visible signs of wear, loss of 'normal' grip on 'normal' circumstances, or if they are OLD.

[autotranny]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

I replace my tyres when they show visible signs of wear, loss of 'normal' grip on 'normal' circumstances, or if they are OLD.

I do not know to detect tyre wear expertly. My i10 is running on OEM Bridgestones, May 09 model touching 37k kms. To add to it, its an automatic version and requires heavy reliance on brakes.

When should I change ? Now, or wait another 3 months to touch 40k.

[NMS]

Originally Posted by autotranny

I do not know to detect tyre wear expertly. My i10 is running on OEM Bridgestones, May 09 model touching 37k kms. To add to it, its an automatic version and requires heavy reliance on brakes.

When should I change ? Now, or wait another 3 months to touch 40k.

As a rule of thumb that I follow, 40K or 5 years (whichever is earlier) is a good time to change the tyres.


Also like already stated, you should always keep a check on visible damage marks on the car tyres. This would include checking for any visible cut marks on the tyres, or uneven wear of the tyres.

[RAC]

Hi
I noticed a crack in the front passenger side tyre of my Bolero. The crack is about 1.5 inch long and I am able to catch a glint of steel belt on a sunny day with the tyre turned outward.

I am planning an outstation trip to Chennai. Do you think this is safe for highway trip or does it need change.

If change is required, will it be okay to change only one tyre. The rest three would have run around 10k-12k kms. I would not like to change two tyres at this point of time.

[Sinner666]

Slightly but am planning to buy a new car soon (Swift/Figo) and am contemplating a tyre upgrade along with alloys.

Just wanted to check when would be the ideal time to do it? Was thinking right after I drive out of the showroom. Would the showroom guys itself offer me a better deal on my old tires and rim or would independent shops be a better bet? I figured showroom guys would also be able to use the rims, hence a better price for me!

[jfxavier]

I am planning to renew my tyres (2008 made) & would like to change from Bridgestone to Michelin.
My question is with regards to the spare tyre.
It has never been used (probably since it is a space saver and the problems with the tyres in service were never severe).
Is it OK to renew only the 4 tyres in service and leave the space saver as it is for another tenure?

Originally Posted by Habanero City

supertinu,
As pointed out by others regardless of the wear, the characteristics and strength of the rubber deteriorates with time and 7 years is quite a long time.
In my experience the OE tires weakened in 5 years and 30k KM.
Keep a close watch on the tire profile and shape along with the pressure and any first sign of deformation/bulging is death knell for the tires.
I would strongly suggest you to replace the tires as you also use the car at high speeds in the highway.


MAS,
You too need to consider changing the tires considering its age regardless of the tread wear.
If you expect reliability from your car one of the basic thing to take care is the tire especially for the highway trips.

HC

[coolkurt]

Okay guys, here's my problem. I have started driving my dad's civic. Ive used it for a couple of months and it has clocked 73k. 2007 March civic. Now my problem is, I don't know if I'm still on stock tyres or they've been changed. I don't know how to check so can anyone help me out?

[flipsyde]

Originally Posted by coolkurt

Okay guys, here's my problem. I have started driving my dad's civic. Ive used it for a couple of months and it has clocked 73k. 2007 March civic. Now my problem is, I don't know if I'm still on stock tyres or they've been changed. I don't know how to check so can anyone help me out?

I highly doubt your stock tyres lasting 73k kms. Stock tyres which came with the Civic was the Goodyear NCT5.

Just to be sure you can check the week and year of manufacture printed on the sidewall of your tyre. It will be a 4 digit number with the first two digits marking the week and last two digits marking the year of manufacture.

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by coolkurt

Okay guys, here's my problem. I have started driving my dad's civic. Ive used it for a couple of months and it has clocked 73k. 2007 March civic. Now my problem is, I don't know if I'm still on stock tyres or they've been changed. I don't know how to check so can anyone help me out?

There are a couple of ways, none of them fool proof, though hopefully together they should give you the answer. First, check on the tyre for production date. There is a thread in here where you will get how to decode manufacturing date of tyres. Assuming it is produced at least three to six months after your car was bought, it should be tyres that have been changed. Reason I say at least three to six months is your dad may have changed the tyres within a short period of buying the car for reasons like grip, noise, wanting to upgrade for safety etc. Of course one major problem is that tyres are not necessarily sold very shortly after they are manufactured so it is possible that a tyre manufactured in say early 2007, before you bought your car, was only sold in say 2009 or so and put in new on your car.

The second way is to inspect the tyres and see if they exhibit signs of having been run for 70 odd thousand km's. Low tread, hardening of the rubber with age, damage to the tyres etc. Of course tyres can get damaged in the span of a thousand km's as well if driven badly in bad conditions.

Also try and find out if the A$$ has any record of tyre change. Unless your dad has only used one A$$ and changed tyres there, the odds are slim, but worth an attempt.

Good luck and do let us know what happens.

[coolkurt]

Okay, so here's what I found. The front two tyres of my 2007 civic have '0712' basically implying they are new tyres, fitted last year. The rear two tyres and the spare all have '0706' or '0507' which implies they are stock tyres! Apparently my dad had only changed the tyres in the front as they must have been worn out. My dad expired last year and I inherited the civic so needless to say, I didn't have much knowledge about its service etc.
I tested the same with the one rupee coin test and the result is the same, while the front tyres are new and have good tread, the rear tyres have barely any tread left, the indicators are almost level. All are Bridgestone tyres.

So here is my dilemma. Technically I know all the tyres ought to be replaced when you go in for a change. But in my case, since the front tyres are barely 8 odd months old, what should I do?

How much discount do we get on exchanging the old tyres, on an avg?

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by coolkurt

So here is my dilemma. Technically I know all the tyres ought to be replaced when you go in for a change. But in my case, since the front tyres are barely 8 odd months old, what should I do?

How much discount do we get on exchanging the old tyres, on an avg?

As the front tyres are only 8 months old, and the car might not have run more than a few thousand kilometers on those (you will know how much it's run from July last year), I suggest you change only the rear tyres. I'd suggest you go for the same brand as those in the front, for the sake of consistency.

You'll get peanuts for the rear tyres, and perhaps nothing, as they've run 73 K kms.