Car Tyre Life....

[Nawtier]

I've had a car for 2 years here and did not have one for 8 years prior to that......when I did for the last few years back home it was a normal sedan type car.......I have not had a 4wd since 1996.

Just wondering if 4wd tyres technology has changed a lot.....I never remember my 4wd tyres lasting as long as these ones have...or have I just received a mutant tyre ??

My Wranglers on the vigo have just done 92k kilometres and still have enough meat to reach 95k and possibly 100k, but will be changing them just prior to the wet season start.....so might not get to 100k cos of rain.

Is this normal for tyres these days ??

[Gary A]

I just bought a new set of Dunlap tires for my Nissan pickup. The original set had 89,000 kilometers and still had about a third of the tread left. The only reason I changed them is after more than six years, the original rubber was hard and slippery on wet roads, a safety issue for me. The original tires were Bridgestones.

[transam]

50 K for me.

[katabeachbum]

yepp OP, 80k km is normal for the inexpensive 4x4 pickup tyres. Long lifetime has been given priority over traction.

But I will not use them for more than 3 years. my present ones are 1,5 years and 25k km, and traction is remarkably reduced from new due to fast hardening natural rubber. and thats for a pickup parked in a garage, not in sunshine making it age even faster

[soundman]

50 K for me.

Heavy feet = empty wallet.

[guzzi850m2]

My tires on my Honda City had fine small cracks all over but still a lot of rubber left. This really made me nervous so I went to a tire shop for new tires and was told to change again at app. 50k km or 2 years whichever come first. This is bad news for me as I only drive app. 10k km pr year, but reckon the hot climate is hard on them.

[Gary A]

My tires on my Honda City had fine small cracks all over but still a lot of rubber left. This really made me nervous so I went to a tire shop for new tires and was told to change again at app. 50k km or 2 years whichever come first. This is bad news for me as I only drive app. 10k km pr year, but reckon the hot climate is hard on them.

While I was in the tire shop having my new tires mounted, there was a German guy also getting new tires. He actually was telling me that using my original tires for six years was really stupid and that he changed his every two years regardless of how much wear they had. It irritated me some to be criticized by someone I never met before but I managed to keep my mouth shut. Some new tires have been in the store more than two years.

[richard_smith237]

When choosing the tires make sure 'new tires' are fitted (you can google how to tell the age of a tire).

As GA said - some tires have been in the shop for a while.

In addition to ensuring your tires are well kept (i.e. no micro-cracks due to sun cooking etc) checking the tire pressures regularly is critical.

I didn't and had a left rear blow out at 120 kph a few years ago. When checking the other tire pressures were down by as much as 8 psi (from 35 to 27psi).

I quickly changed all the tires on the off-chance the blow out was a result of 4 year old tires.

[richard_smith237]

Edit: Duben post !

Edited April 8, 2011 by richard_smith237

[jcon]

The intense heat can bake the tires here. For some people who don't drive much, you could end up changing your tires after a few years with minimal kms on them (and minimal ''road wear'').

I'll store my cars here for months at a time and tires will get pretty crispy here!

Also, make sure you get the real thing - yes there are copies, sigh. Tire safety is key! Good luck.

richard_smith - you still have that L322 Range Rover?

edit: oops mislabeled the RR!

Edited April 8, 2011 by jcon

[Nawtier]

How do you know if you are not getting copies ??

I'll give google a go for 'new tyres'....but I hate scrounging through pages of crap to try to find stuff....so if anyone actually knows this, please post it for me n all.

[richard_smith237]

The intense heat can bake the tires here. For some people who don't drive much, you could end up changing your tires after a few years with minimal kms on them (and minimal ''road wear'').

I'll store my cars here for months at a time and tires will get pretty crispy here!

Also, make sure you get the real thing - yes there are copies, sigh. Tire safety is key! Good luck.

richard_smith - you still have that L322 Range Rover?

edit: oops mislabeled the RR!

Yep - And 4 new tires were not cheap !

How to ensure we are not getting counterfeit tires? Nawtier... I've no idea to be honest. I guess if they are too cheap, a deal is too good to be true etc etc.. We can only protect ourselves as best we can. Perhaps obtaining tires directly from the car dealer itself may help, but then what is ensuring they don't have someone 'on the make' ?

Googling how to age tires does come up with some fairly immediate and simple information - it's easier to look at a photo on google with its explanation than to understand the convoluted bumf I might use to attempt to explain it.

[jcon]

Way to go richard_smith, stickin' with the RR. A beast to navigate in traffic but it sure makes for one heck of a sitting room while actually in traffic.

Nawtier, on the sidewall of tires/tyres there is a long (oblong - very oblong) marker which will have a bunch of numbers in it. The last 4 numbers should indicate the week and year of manufacture of the tire. For example, if it ends in 5010, then that would be the 50th week (mid-December) of 2010.

Now I guess we could go on forever about counterfeiting even these dates of manufacture, but for now if assume that they are real, then that is a good way to see if your tires are ''new'' or not. That may be what richard_smith is referring to. I'm sorry I'm having a hard time explaining the shape of the marker, but it is a bunch of numbers enclosed in a long ''circle-ish'' shape. So the longer the string of numbers, the longer the shape.... does that make sense? So basically call it a rectangle around a string of numbers, with parentheses on each end (forming a closed loop with rounded edges). God that was awful.

As for getting real tires, well you're just going to have to go to your most-trusted source. Usually if you are a member of a car club (LandRoverClub Thailand, for example or AudiClub Thailand, yada yada), you can ask the guys in those groups who they trust regarding any issue (beyond just tires). Or else, go up to a guy with a shining example of whatever make/model of your car and ask where he buys his tires. You can tell a lot about a man from how he treats his cars (my opinion), so pick the best and you hopefully get the best advice. Kind of like asking a guy with a sharp suit where he buys them or who his tailor is - get my drift?

If the new tire explanation wasn't useful, I'm sure some other helpful member of the board can come up with a less verbose response. My apologies, it's Friday

edit: I just went out to check my own cars and fumbled around with a flashlight (sun going down)... I have a) Pirelli Scorpion STRs b ) Yokohama Geolanders and neither one had what I just posted about above lol.... I have another car with some Toyo tires on it and I swear that one has the numbers I am referring to (I remember looking at them when I bought that set) but unfortunately that car is at the shop.

I've seen the numbers on Michelin PS2s and also Yokohama AVSs (I've owned these, also), or at least I thought I saw them. Sorry if I've confused more than helped.

Edited April 8, 2011 by jcon

[jcon]

too late to edit....

I just went out for a 2nd time to check my spare on my RR (dark now) and again, I didn't find the string of numbers to which I was referring (Yokohama Geolander full-sized spare). I did find that somehow my tire-iron is gone and there is an large adjustable wrench in its place - also found an extra set of LR wheel bolts in a men's underwear bag - classy.

I'm not changing the tire myself on a 4600lb truck anyway (there are flat-beds in BKK) but it looks like I'm shopping for a tire-iron this weekend. Check your spares, folks!

Again, Nawtier, hopefully somebody can explain what I just managed to cock-up.

[lannarebirth]

Each set of original equipment tires I've had here have gotten 80k-85k before needing replacement. The best I've ever got from replacement tires (name brands) is 50k. Different spec?

[Nawtier]

Ok....shall take a looksie.

[katabeachbum]

How do you know if you are not getting copies ??

I'll give google a go for 'new tyres'....but I hate scrounging through pages of crap to try to find stuff....so if anyone actually knows this, please post it for me n all.

tyres manufactoring week is displayed at tyre wall with 4 digits like 1011, indicating week 10 year 2011

i would not pay for a tyre older than 6 months, even if stored in dark

[katabeachbum]

Each set of original equipment tires I've had here have gotten 80k-85k before needing replacement. The best I've ever got from replacement tires (name brands) is 50k. Different spec?

yes, some suppliers in LOS have 2 qualities of identical looking/marked tyres. car manufactorers have requirements to tyres quality, aftermarket buy brandnames without knowledge

[hakku]

You buy proper branded tyres you get good ones. You can keep an eye on the "freshness" of the tyre but it is a thai superstition that they need to be younger then 6 months. This was created in the old days when the local manufacturers tried to convince the thai that local tyres where better because more fresh. Manufacturers guarantee their tyres for 7 years in Europe to the retailers assuming stored properly (No UV and no excessive heat).

OEM tyres, especially if they use different patterns than the mainstream for that brand are often cheaper and harder. Just good enough without causing issues. They call these patterns OEM patterns and availability for the aftermarket is limited because of that.

some manufacturers sell their oem patterns also to the aftermakrket and they are always the cheapest version.

I'm not talking ultra high performance here, but regular fast moving sizes.

In real life, what you have to worry about is how much tread is left and most important, especially if little usage, if the tyre is hardening out and showing cracks. As OP's have mentioned.

I haven't run into copied premium branded tyres yet. If you use quality tyre shop you will be alright and you'll get a proper warranty anyway (B-Quik 2years/ 50k km).

Do not ever believe that OEM tyres are better, they might last longer but as tyre functionality goes, they might be as good as the aftermarket product in the best case.

Unless you consider tyre quality in terms of keeping tread after 100k km

hak

[Shocktreatment]

Change tires every two years on the wifes car and and the family car due to age more than any thing .

Transam 50K 5555555

Check your tyre pressure and buy good tires, if you are getting only 50k from a set on 4x4 and changing due to wear you are doing something wrong.

Or is it your 1000hp chip that is doing it

Edited April 9, 2011 by Shocktreatment

[transam]

Change tires every two years on the wifes car and and the family car due to age more than any thing .

Transam 50K 5555555

Check your tyre pressure and by good tires, if you are getting only 50k from a set on 4x4 and changing due to wear you are doing something wrong.

Or is it your 1000hp chip that is doing it

, With me it's two things on my ''mega'' chipped 4x4.

1. Stop light drags, l know l am old enough to know better but can't break the long time habit ..

2. Run 35psi in the front. Which is what l want for the perfect ''feel'' for me. Must add that the fronts are not worn out in the middle, even wear across the tread.

Original factory tyres and probably could get another 10K out of them if l want to be tight.

[lannarebirth]

You buy proper branded tyres you get good ones. You can keep an eye on the "freshness" of the tyre but it is a thai superstition that they need to be younger then 6 months. This was created in the old days when the local manufacturers tried to convince the thai that local tyres where better because more fresh. Manufacturers guarantee their tyres for 7 years in Europe to the retailers assuming stored properly (No UV and no excessive heat).

OEM tyres, especially if they use different patterns than the mainstream for that brand are often cheaper and harder. Just good enough without causing issues. They call these patterns OEM patterns and availability for the aftermarket is limited because of that.

some manufacturers sell their oem patterns also to the aftermakrket and they are always the cheapest version.

I'm not talking ultra high performance here, but regular fast moving sizes.

In real life, what you have to worry about is how much tread is left and most important, especially if little usage, if the tyre is hardening out and showing cracks. As OP's have mentioned.

I haven't run into copied premium branded tyres yet. If you use quality tyre shop you will be alright and you'll get a proper warranty anyway (B-Quik 2years/ 50k km).

Do not ever believe that OEM tyres are better, they might last longer but as tyre functionality goes, they might be as good as the aftermarket product in the best case.

Unless you consider tyre quality in terms of keeping tread after 100k km

hak

Ok, thanks for that. It's funny how grateful I am for 85k km these days out of a set of tires, when I routinely got 85k miles out of a set. I guess it's the shitty roads and I may be a little heavy footed.

[Kwasaki]

How do you know if you are not getting copies ??

I'll give google a go for 'new tyres'....but I hate scrounging through pages of crap to try to find stuff....so if anyone actually knows this, please post it for me n all.

tyres manufactoring week is displayed at tyre wall with 4 digits like 1011, indicating week 10 year 2011

i would not pay for a tyre older than 6 months, even if stored in dark

Yes I think that is good practice and make sure the tyres that you checked are the ones that go on.

The last set of 4 bought by me were 4 months old.

A grippy Bridgestone will wear quicker than a Michelin say, 50K on Bridgestone is good.

I wouldn't change my tyres after 2 years unless there apparent signs of faults.

And I also liked the 4 year old slicks on my truck but not in the wet.

Edited April 12, 2011 by Kwasaki

[Nawtier]

I got the name wrong for my tyres in OP....dunno where i got wrangler from...mine are Bridgestone Dueler H/T 17"....I cannot see the date stamp on them anywhere, unless on the inside.

Has anyone bought a set of these recently ?? Wondering how much in Bangkok ??

I was also thinking to get the 'All Terrain' tyres as I used to have them back home and they were good, if anyon has put new tyres on their Vigo recently can you quote brand and price....particulalry the Bridgestones.

I think I will go for the same as happy with the performance of these, they wore very even, still near perfect tread pattern, very quiet and lasted a long time.

They are 6500b here where we live.

[katabeachbum]

I got the name wrong for my tyres in OP....dunno where i got wrangler from...mine are Bridgestone Dueler H/T 17"....I cannot see the date stamp on them anywhere, unless on the inside.

Has anyone bought a set of these recently ?? Wondering how much in Bangkok ??

I was also thinking to get the 'All Terrain' tyres as I used to have them back home and they were good, if anyon has put new tyres on their Vigo recently can you quote brand and price....particulalry the Bridgestones.

I think I will go for the same as happy with the performance of these, they wore very even, still near perfect tread pattern, very quiet and lasted a long time.

They are 6500b here where we live.

I v got the same ones on My 2010 Vigo, and very happy with them. date stamp is there, just look a again

Many new Vigo/Fortuner buyers trade these wheels for larger ones at tyre/wheel shops, and they are typically for sale at 20-25k baht including rims. have a look around, before paying same or more for tyres only

I v had Bridgesones A/T here in LOS, and find them crap compared to the H/T. Noisy, lousy traction and long braking distance. and not any better off road

Isu still use them on DMax. dated 5 years ago IMHO

[Spoonman]

You guys are doin good at getting mileage out of your tyres, Ive put 2 new ones the front of my pickup, one lasted 300km the other 800km.................. fookin potholes and 40 profile tyres don't play nicely it appears.

[katabeachbum]

You guys are doin good at getting mileage out of your tyres, Ive put 2 new ones the front of my pickup, one lasted 300km the other 800km.................. fookin potholes and 40 profile tyres don't play nicely it appears.

yeah, there is a reason I keep my boring looking 65profile 17"

saw and od Mitsu pickup yesterday, totally off road geared with snorkel, rised bumber, winch, air lock front and rear. and 20 inchers onroadtyres 40profile

[transam]

I got the name wrong for my tyres in OP....dunno where i got wrangler from...mine are Bridgestone Dueler H/T 17"....I cannot see the date stamp on them anywhere, unless on the inside.

Has anyone bought a set of these recently ?? Wondering how much in Bangkok ??

I was also thinking to get the 'All Terrain' tyres as I used to have them back home and they were good, if anyon has put new tyres on their Vigo recently can you quote brand and price....particulalry the Bridgestones.

I think I will go for the same as happy with the performance of these, they wore very even, still near perfect tread pattern, very quiet and lasted a long time.

They are 6500b here where we live.

I v got the same ones on My 2010 Vigo, and very happy with them. date stamp is there, just look a again

Many new Vigo/Fortuner buyers trade these wheels for larger ones at tyre/wheel shops, and they are typically for sale at 20-25k baht including rims. have a look around, before paying same or more for tyres only

I v had Bridgesones A/T here in LOS, and find them crap compared to the H/T. Noisy, lousy traction and long braking distance. and not any better off road

Isu still use them on DMax. dated 5 years ago IMHO

My Thai relative just came up from Sattahip in his new Vigo Prerunner, to see that his boots are Michellin All Terrain.

[Spoonman]

You guys are doin good at getting mileage out of your tyres, Ive put 2 new ones the front of my pickup, one lasted 300km the other 800km.................. fookin potholes and 40 profile tyres don't play nicely it appears.

yeah, there is a reason I keep my boring looking 65profile 17"

saw and od Mitsu pickup yesterday, totally off road geared with snorkel, rised bumber, winch, air lock front and rear. and 20 inchers onroadtyres 40profile

Yeah im rollin on 65 series 17's at the moment, the 20's are off for powder coating plus I need 4 new <deleted> tyres.................