Tyre tread depth

[ChrisUK]

Your replacing your tyres after 10k miles ??

**** mate - you do silly miles a year or just like wheel spinning ????


How long should tyres last for (approx) ?

 

[Wrighty]

Old thread, new question!

My Leon FR TDI has done 10k miles and im replacing the front tyres with Goodyear Eagle F1's. I just need to know whether i should put them on the front or back?

I want to put them on the front to see what they are like as havnt used them before but want to do whats best!
General consenus on here seems to be put new tyres on the back. Does this just mean the 'better' tyres on the back?
Since the car has only done 10k miles the rear tyres should still be ok (look fine to me) so in this case can the new F1s be put on the front?

Only good thing i can see fromn swapping the new tyres to the back is that after another 10k miles or so the last 2 Potenza's put on the front would need changed and then id have 4 Eagle F1's on the car.
Would the handling be ok with Potenzas on the front and Eagle F1s on the rear (or other way around)??

my bridgestones lasted to 18k

had the fronts changed to Eagle F1's which i've since put on the back, no problems with handling

 

[Snoopcousins]

Only bought the Leon about 5 months ago with already 6k miles on it and i could see that there wouldnt be long left on them. The last few months even inside the legal limit on the Potenzas you can really feel the difference, the ride is very lumpy and no traction from stand-still in the wet.
Apparantly around the 10k miles is about right on the Potenzas or Eagle F1s from searching through all the tyre related threads. I hope my next set do more like 15-17k miles.

Funny thing is I hardly ever drive with the traction control off and would rarely boot it off the lights, normally put the foot down mid gears...

 

[ChrisUK]

Since my remap, it now wheelspins in 1st, 2nd & 3rd - so I can see me going thru tyres more quickly.........

 

[Deleted member 7659]

Put your new tyres on the back, for any number of reasons explained in the thread already.

From your point of view it means your old but still legal tyres currently on the back can go on the front and will get toasted over the next 6k miles or so, at which point your by-now nicely bedded in F1's can go on the front and the sidewalls will last longer than if you stick them straight on the front. You'll end up with a full set of F1s with virtually full tread depth.

If you're in the habit of switching the TC off, having very sticky tyres on the front and slightly harder/more worn tyres on the back will result in some unwanted oversteer when you least expect it.

 

[Snoopcousins]

Cheers BX, that was nicely described.

So you think that the Potenzas after 6k miles on the front will need replaced and then put new F1s on the back and have F1s all round? That sounds like a plan although it means another £200 on tyres in about 6 months!

 

[Deleted member 7659]

Hiya

Yep, that's the way I'd do it - to be honest it's a nicer position to be in than replacing all 4 at the same time as you can't then avoid putting new tyres on the front.

Without knowing how much tread you've got left on the old Potenzas on the back now, it's difficult to say how long they'll last. If they've still got 7mm of tread they could last another 10k, if they're nearer 4mm then you'll want to be changing them far sooner. Legal limit is 1.6mm across about 3/4 of the tyre, but the German limit is more like 3mm and on tyres as wide as these I'd sooner not have tyres that will aquaplane due to insufficient tread depth to give the water somewhere to go.

It's best not to leave tyres on the back for their whole lives as you'll almost certainly take years to wear the tread out, and will end up replacing them because the sidewalls crack or you have no grip because tyres get 'harder' as they age, so you never get the full benefit of them.

By running tyres on the back you give them an easier time while they're bedding in as they don't get subjected to the same variation in angle that you get on the steered wheels. After a few hundred miles they're good to go and will last ages on the front.

Glad that helps!

Adrian