Some people’s lax attitude towards tires (lease, good tire, best)
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Thought I was being helpful by pointing out to someone a serious issue with their vehicle’s tire condition. All four tires were in bad shape but one was on the edge of a sidewall blowout. Owner’s response was “oh, it’s been that way for months now. I’ll get it changed when it goes out.”
Single Vehicle Accidents nowadays are primarily related to Worn and/or Old Tires (six plus years regardless of mileage).
A new set of tires is "Chump Change" compared to the Personal Injury or Death, Physical Damage to the Vehicle along with the overall inconvenience. There are many far better ways to save a few bucks than driving on old, worn out tires.
I agree with you for the most part except about braking. I don't really see how bad tires can cause brakes to not work? You still have the calipers in place even with a flat or blown tire.
remember that the tires are the last connection to the road for the car. if they fail to grip the road properly, then nothing works right. you can have the best brakes in the world, but the tires must grip the road or you aint stopping.
I believe the number one cause of tire failure is under inflation, which can occur with a tire in any condition of wear.
Bald tires are on the low spectrum of safety, though I've seen some (not on my vehicles) hold up incredibly well.
The new, at least to me, issue of tire age/dry rot concern is a difficult one because I feel a balance needs to be struck between taking reasonable safety steps and not wasting resources by replacing unnecessarily. In our area very few people put enough miles on their tires to wear out the tread within 6 years, or even 10 in many cases.
I believe the number one cause of tire failure is under inflation, which can occur with a tire in any condition of wear.
That was the problem with the infamous Firestone tires.
It was NOT the Ford Explorer itself that was the problem.
It was the Ford goofs that spec'd them and the Firestone goofs that agreed to make such a substandard product.
How do I know it wasn't the Explorer that was the problem?
Because I got a set of brand new takeoffs for $20 a tire and put them on my Mitsubishi Montero.
I believed the "Explorer's the problem" crap and thought this was one heck of a deal.
A Mitsubishi Montero is not a Ford Explorer, so it'll be all good, right? Wrong!!
I blew two Firestone tires and threw away the other two.
Blizzaks are dual compound tires, Bridgestone is big on doing that. They make motorcycle tires with a harder compound in the center but softer on the sides. The Blizzak only has snow compound and tread down to 5/32, after that they are effectively an all-weather type tire. You can use half-worn Blizzaks as a summer tire if you are not wanting a more performance-oriented tire.
Anyway, in contrast to Michelin snow tires, where they make an effort to make them work on snow down to the wear bars, Blizzaks are done as a snow tire when half-worn.
Good to know. I am in the market for winter tires now and I was looking at Blizzaks. Which Michelins do you recommend for a G550?
Also, do you think it is worth it to buy separate rims for them, or just replace the tires on my current 19” rims?
I currently have the stock scorpion all weather tires but I prefer winter tires in the snow.
Last edited by AnesthesiaMD; 09-26-2019 at 06:30 PM..
It is hard for people who do not make a lot of money here.
Your alignment and suspension are always a mess due to road conditions.
Alignment and suspension issues eat your tires pretty quickly, so often people do not spend the money on good tires unless they also have the money to temporarily fix their suspension /alignment issues.
it is pretty rare or maybe extremely rare for tires to blow out anymore when they get worn. Usually they just peep losing air faster and faster until you just cannot use them anymore. Sometimes they got flat while you are driving and come off the rim, but they start shaking like mad before that so you have already slowed down (unless you are a complete moron). Explosive blow outs at speed are really rare. When they do happen, you just pull to the side and put the spare on or call AAA.
I have seen a dozen or more people drive with tires that have cords showing for weeks or even months without any big problem. Eventually the tire fails and they have to change it. Most of the time, they simply wake up one morning and the tires is flat in their driveway.
Is it a good idea to drive on bad tires? no not at all, but it i s not something to get hysterical over.
Spoken like someone who never had a steer tire blow out at 75 mph. When you actually have it happen....you’ll get religion.
I can’t tell you how many people tell me that they have AWD so they don’t need to worry about having snow tires. AWD doesn’t help you stop!!
Traction is dependent on the tires first then the drive wheels. So FWD is superior to RWD in snow, AWD is superior to FWD, but FWD with good winter tires is superior to AWD with all-seasons.
I can’t tell you how many people tell me that they have AWD so they don’t need to worry about having snow tires. AWD doesn’t help you stop!!
Absolutely, it only helps you go-even when the tires aren't great, BTW.
I sold an old 4Runner to my neighbor many years ago that had 10 year old tires on it at the time. They were BFG's with decent tread because, well, they were BFG All Terrain and also they hadn't seen a whole lot of miles.
He drove on them for 10 more years, and put a lot of miles on them! They were completely bald by that time. However, they did get him back home up one of the steepest hills in our town, every day of the winter we had 198 inches of snow. A real cheapskate, this guy.
Thought I was being helpful by pointing out to someone a serious issue with their vehicle’s tire condition. All four tires were in bad shape but one was on the edge of a sidewall blowout. Owner’s response was “oh, it’s been that way for months now. I’ll get it changed when it goes out.”
I know for some people the cost of a tire is a major financial decision but your vehicle, your life, and the lives of others are far more important. Even the cheapest new tire is better than one about to blow. Even some used tires are better than one about to blow.
Tires are one of the most important parts of the car! They aid in vehicle suspension as well as braking. Best suspension in the world isn’t going to overcome bad tires. The best quality brakes in the world aren’t going to stop in time if your tires are bad. Flipping burgers for $3.35 an hour and lucky to get 20 hours a week meant I bought some extremely cheap tires in the 80s. Most times I couldn’t afford to replace all four so I replaced two at a time when I could afford to do so. It’s as if they focus on the vehicle’s electronics and appearance and ignore the tires until they go flat or blow out.
It is very simple, out of sight, out of mind. Do you think 90% of the drivers out there look under their car ever to see what the tread condition is ? As long as they are round and holding air, they are fine with it.
Tires are also a major hit financially. If you can stretch getting a little more time out of them, so be it. I have to admit, even though I am a car builder/lover, on my daily driver maintenance is the furthest thing from my mind. As long as I turn the key and it runs, I am good to go. Now, on my hot rods and muscle cars, that is a different story, I maintain those perfectly.
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