7mm worn and new tyre across an axle...would you?

[eltax91]

hi folks

Wife's Ionic picked up a huge nail in the shouldher of a front tyre at the weekend. Both fronts were new in december last year, Goodyear Efficient Grip 2's. She does predominently local miles with the odd long distance client visit thrown in.

A new tyre is approx 8mm? These have both worn evenly to 7mm. Would you:-

A. Buy 1 don’t worry about it
B. Buy 2 and try to get some cash back for the other as a part worn

Am i just being paranoid about such a small difference?

[SAS Tom]

I wouldn’t worry, doubt it’ll make a difference

[DodgyGeezer]

option A for me - I'd have thought you are being a tad paranoid (nothing wrong with that mind!)

[Pistonheader101]

Next to no difference on a standard car

[e-honda]

I think you should buy 5 and replace all the wheels as well just incase

[snotrag]

At that level of wear imblanc, 1 new tyre will be fine. Stick the new one on the front left and itll even out pretty quick.

[BckFlash]

I know punctures are few and far between (although some people seem to like driving through nail factories), but when I had this, I got both tyres changed but kept the good one 'just in case'. The good one had 8k miles on it but still a decent tread.

As long as you keep the same brand / make of tyre, 1mm wear wouldn't bother me!

[Scrump]

Buy 1 new one.

[Krikkit]

Agree with everyone so far - just buy one.

From the title I thought you had an off-roader with 7mm of wear on one side.

[POIDH]

e-honda said:

I think you should buy 5 and replace all the wheels as well just incase

New car time IMO. Can't be too cautious.

[Roger Irrelevant]

FWIW I had to replace a tyre on my Volvo that was quite a bit more worn than that - probably 3 or 4mm gone - and the chap at the (very reputable) local tyre place said he'd not worry about it for a second. All those tyres that were on it at the time are now long gone and the car has suffered no ill effects.

[Funk]

snotrag said:

At that level of wear imblanc, 1 new tyre will be fine. Stick the new one on the front left and itll even out pretty quick.

Was about to say exactly this.

[QJumper]

Recently had the same with a puncture on one of new set of Crossclimates bought last November. I just replaced the damaged one and thought no more about it.

[eltax91]

Thanks folks. 1 new tyre purchased.

Then it's off to Hyundai to trade it in for a new one with matching rubber

[Scrump]

eltax91 said:

Thanks folks. 1 new tyre purchased.

Then it's off to Hyundai to trade it in for a new one with matching rubber

Drive carefully on those mismatched tyres!

[996Keef]

New matching tyre and do a burnout on it to take the 1mm off

[vikingaero]

I measured the tread depth of some Michelin Primacy 4's when new and they were only 7mm.

[Panamax]

The only significant point here is about your differential. Where unmatched tyres are fitted on the same driven axle the diff will be constantly turning to balance out the difference. (This can be any axle in some 4WD installations.)

With an "open" diff this is usually immaterial. But if you have an LSD it may be constantly "working" which can lead to heat and accelerated wear.

[GreenV8S]

Panamax said:

The only significant point here is about your differential. Where unmatched tyres are fitted on the same driven axle the diff will be constantly turning to balance out the difference. (This can be any axle in some 4WD installations.)

We have a lot of roundabouts round here and it's renowned for causing uneven tyre wear.