Part worn tyre blown out after 50 miles... Help
Discussion
Black_S3 said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Minimum in both UK and Germany is 1.6mm.
Not meaning to sidetrack, but I'd always thought the German limit was 3mm with a few additional rules like not getting stuck in the snow on summer tyres?Winters cease to legally be counted as winters at about 4mm, IIRC, so I think that's where the confusion's come from in the last few years - lots of 4mm part-worn winters on the 'bay etc.
I have used Part Worn tyres in the past. I had no issues with them. I bought from Ebay.
Inspect the tyre before fitting.
In your case I would have expected the seller to replace the tyre at the least. Report to trading standards, if you sell part worn tyres you have to have them marked up as such.
Inspect the tyre before fitting.
In your case I would have expected the seller to replace the tyre at the least. Report to trading standards, if you sell part worn tyres you have to have them marked up as such.
My immediate reaction was the same as the majority here, but then I remembered I used to fit part-worns to the first car I raced on circuit, the reason being we had to use one of the MSA tyre lists and for dry running, you can't be competitive with full tread so it was a huge waste of money to buy new tyres and get them shaved down to 2mm or so.
It was also quite common then (and we did it too) if you ran slicks in a low cost formula to go and buy part worn slicks from the richer formulas who had used them for 1 or 2 races and then chucked them away. There was usually at least another race left in them although obviously they wouldn't be at their best.
Having said all that, all the part worn tyres I bought came from suppliers I knew wouldn't sell me crap and stored them properly.
So part worns can be OK if you know what you're looking for.
Apart from damage to the sidewalls you may not be able to see easily, the biggest danger is if they've been stored outside for long periods of time in a big pile of old tyres and exposed to sunlight and the weather generally. You should also check the codes on the sidewall which will tell you when it was made. Usually a 4 digit code in the format WWYY (week number, year) If it's more than 10 years old I wouldn't touch it however good it looks.
It was also quite common then (and we did it too) if you ran slicks in a low cost formula to go and buy part worn slicks from the richer formulas who had used them for 1 or 2 races and then chucked them away. There was usually at least another race left in them although obviously they wouldn't be at their best.
Having said all that, all the part worn tyres I bought came from suppliers I knew wouldn't sell me crap and stored them properly.
So part worns can be OK if you know what you're looking for.
Apart from damage to the sidewalls you may not be able to see easily, the biggest danger is if they've been stored outside for long periods of time in a big pile of old tyres and exposed to sunlight and the weather generally. You should also check the codes on the sidewall which will tell you when it was made. Usually a 4 digit code in the format WWYY (week number, year) If it's more than 10 years old I wouldn't touch it however good it looks.
Utterpiffle said:
It's not usually about tread. Germans replace their tyres based on age (usually 6 years), and that's why we get their used tyres. How many people (general public, not the good PH collective of course 
) read the DOT number on the tyre?
I was going to post a separate thread to this, but it seems appropriate here. I live in the UAE and I recently needed 4 x new tyres. All within the legal limit for tread - but were getting to a dangerous to drive level. However the spare was brand new. So being a skinflint I asked for the spare tyre (same tyre and tread pattern) to be used, and the best part worn to be put on the spare. ) read the DOT number on the tyre? It was not allowed. Was no problem putting the part worn on the spare - the issue was that tyres have to be within 3 years of the manufacture date at the time the car is "MOT'd". My spare - never been used tyre - is manufactured in 2012, so when the "MOT" is up in October it would have been an issue. It is allowed to stay as a spare for as long as I like, as that is only a spare, and a spare is considered just enough to get you home, or for repair/replacement of ruined tyre.
My thread would have been that I was surprised in a country where health and safety is pretty much non-existent, they would be stricter than in UK. Or was it a law in UK had just bypassed me?
I believe they are trying to bring in a maximum tyre age thing Fats25 but you are correct, I don't think it exists yet which is a bit silly. I have bought wheels with tyres in the past, five in total where the tyre has pre-dated 4-digit DOT codes- meaning the tyres were made before the year 2000. One of them was a Uniroyal Rallye from 1994 fitted with an inner tube! All the tyres were up and looked usable. A less diligent car owner could've fitted them to the car and probably could've passed an MOT with them. An unscrupulous part worn tyres vendor could've added them to his stock.
The old tyres problem is a particular issue on trailers and caravans, which is why they're trying to introduce roadworthyness checks on these. Seldom used, and stood out in the elements, these tyres can rot and delaminate long before they wear out- causing a number of accidents every year.
HustleRussell said:
I believe they are trying to bring in a maximum tyre age thing Fats25 but you are correct, I don't think it exists yet which is a bit silly.
I heard something not too long ago about a proposed law banning 10 year old tyres. Personally, I wouldn't use a tyre once it's 6 years old.
R8Steve said:
TooMany2cvs said:
thescamper said:
What do yo do when you buy a second hand car then, put new tyres on it?
I bought a car this year. Two new tyres came as part of the deal. Then I bought another six new tyres.PF62 said:
Biker 1 said:
I guess we'll disagree then. I won't do secondhand tyres as I don't know the history of them & for the tiny bit of rubber between myself & the road is an unnecessary risk.
So how do you deal with hire cars? Do you just never rent one because you don't know the history of the tyres. HustleRussell said:
That tyre could've done a decade and 50,000 miles on the rear axle of a FWD car- constant UV exposure, thousands of heat cycles, possibly under-inflated, possibly severely under-inflated... You just don't know. Part worns are generally a false economy.
As could the tyres on any used car you buy.Devil2575 said:
HustleRussell said:
That tyre could've done a decade and 50,000 miles on the rear axle of a FWD car- constant UV exposure, thousands of heat cycles, possibly under-inflated, possibly severely under-inflated... You just don't know. Part worns are generally a false economy.
As could the tyres on any used car you buy.A lot is being made of these situations in this thread- “What about hire cars”, “What about courtesy cars”, “do you replace the tyres as soon as you buy a car”, “What about when you have to move your mother in law’s car out of the driveway” etc etc.
It’s really very simple. Inspect your tyres. If you know what a tyre should look like and you know how to read the age of the tyre from the DOT code, and keep a routine of inspecting your tyres, then your golden.
"What about hire cars?"
Personally I give the car a quick look all round before I drive it, a) to make sure they've not missed off any damage that they'll then try and swindle me for and b) because I've had hire cars with bald tyres and tyres with big gashes in the sidewall, which I've refused to drive.
Personally I give the car a quick look all round before I drive it, a) to make sure they've not missed off any damage that they'll then try and swindle me for and b) because I've had hire cars with bald tyres and tyres with big gashes in the sidewall, which I've refused to drive.
HustleRussell said:
Devil2575 said:
HustleRussell said:
That tyre could've done a decade and 50,000 miles on the rear axle of a FWD car- constant UV exposure, thousands of heat cycles, possibly under-inflated, possibly severely under-inflated... You just don't know. Part worns are generally a false economy.
As could the tyres on any used car you buy.A lot is being made of these situations in this thread- “What about hire cars”, “What about courtesy cars”, “do you replace the tyres as soon as you buy a car”, “What about when you have to move your mother in law’s car out of the driveway” etc etc.
It’s really very simple. Inspect your tyres. If you know what a tyre should look like and you know how to read the age of the tyre from the DOT code, and keep a routine of inspecting your tyres, then your golden.
This making putting part worn tyres on a car better/safer than those of a used car.
R8Steve said:
Surely it's easier to inspect a part worn tyre given it's not on a rim than it is for you to inspect the tyres on a rim though?
This making putting part worn tyres on a car better/safer than those of a used car.
All the damaged tyres I’ve seen have had evidence of damage on the outside. There may be instances where a tyre appears fine from the outside but is internally damaged. It’s swings and roundabouts though because when it comes to tyre damage / failures, many faults are only visible when the tyre is fitted to a wheel and inflated (sidewall bulges etc)This making putting part worn tyres on a car better/safer than those of a used car.
I fit and balance my own tyres so I see all of this, but people who buy part worns from a tyre fitter probably aren’t going to benefit from being able to internally inspect the tyres.
The fact remains that part worn tyres have been removed from a previous vehicle for reasons unknown and may or may not have been involved in an accident, abused or neglected. At least if you buy a car you can ask the seller when the tyres were fitted, whether they were part worn etc etc.
TooMany2cvs said:
Black_S3 said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Minimum in both UK and Germany is 1.6mm.
Not meaning to sidetrack, but I'd always thought the German limit was 3mm with a few additional rules like not getting stuck in the snow on summer tyres?Winters cease to legally be counted as winters at about 4mm, IIRC, so I think that's where the confusion's come from in the last few years - lots of 4mm part-worn winters on the 'bay etc.
However Mercedes and VW dealers have told me the legal limit in Germany for summer tyres is 3mm. The VW dealer was especially forceful about it, saying that my 4mm tyres must be changed immediately as they were so close to the limit. Car goes to an indie now.
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