General Tire Pressures

[frupi]

Mmm, I oh so know! Sitting in mine is like sitting on my three piece suite! Some say it's absolutely no driving pleasure sitting on lovely parchment leather on cruise control mile after mile and I get to do it almost every day as I only live two miles from the M1. Sometimes I actually have to remind myself to stay awake! Getting into the driving seat of our 500 instantaneously brings me back to earth! Good fun to drive though, especially as it takes so long to get to 62!

 

[jnoiles]

Thats an interesting choice jnoiles! Must make the front a bit more unstable. I think I will just stick with what I do.

I actually find it makes it more predictable. I know how hard I can push it and I know how its going to break away when it does. It makes it much easier to find that break away point though.

Whilst I wouldn't say 500's are harsh on their front tyres by any means

Depends how you drive it. I've scrubbed a set of front T1R's in a day around brands hatch In normal road use I usually go through a set of fronts about every 8000 miles and rears about twice that.

Of course putting the two new tyres on the rear is definitely the right way to go if you choose to only replace two tyres.

You say that and I would have agreed up until a few months ago. I've subsequently heard from a few people that if you're only putting new tyres on 2 wheels, always go the driven wheels. This sort of makes sense in as much as the front wheels are dealing with power, grip, steering, etc. The rears just have to roll.

 

[306maxi]

If you're a keen driver and you're willing to accept that it won't be quite so surefooted in the wet then that's fine and you certainly don't come across as a fool who's going to chuck his car into a wet corner and not think about the state that the 4 patches of rubber underneath you are in

When I got my 406 it had 4 barely legal Tigar's on it and to get it through its MOT I put two new Michelin Pilot Primacy's on the front. One morning for a giggle I put my foot down around a roundabout knowing what would happen and got power on oversteer in a FWD car which was quite easy to control with a little lift and some steering input. Whilst that was fun I went out and got 2 new Conti's for the rear after my next payday.

Perhaps I should have qualified my "put the new tyres on the rear" statement by saying that this is the best thing for most people to do as it gives more predictable handling in the wet

 

[306maxi]

Mmm, I oh so know! Sitting in mine is like sitting on my three piece suite! Some say it's absolutely no driving pleasure sitting on lovely parchment leather on cruise control mile after mile and I get to do it almost every day as I only live two miles from the M1. Sometimes I actually have to remind myself to stay awake! Getting into the driving seat of our 500 instantaneously brings me back to earth! Good fun to drive though, especially as it takes so long to get to 62!

The thing with the 500 (especially a 1.2 or a Twinair) is to maintain your speed. Come up to roundabouts as fast as you dare (I'm not talking warp factor 5 or anything silly like that) and try to slip into the flow of traffic without having to brake.

 

[frupi]

Interesting point about the rears (on non rear wheel drive cars) just rolling along and not wearing as much as the fronts. Personally, I like to shift those rears to the front once the front ones have worn to the limit, that way, you don't have (potentially) one set of tyres on the vehicle for an inordinate length of time. I do know that tyres do deteriorate over time, even if they look ok. Personally, I wouldn't feel particularly comfortable having, let's say, tyres over four years old on my car - I'm thinking about that spare just lurking in the wheel well which some people sometimes forget!

 

[306maxi]

Interesting point about the rears (on non rear wheel drive cars) just rolling along and not wearing as much as the fronts. Personally, I like to shift those rears to the front once the front ones have worn to the limit, that way, you don't have (potentially) one set of tyres on the vehicle for an inordinate length of time. I do know that tyres do deteriorate over time, even if they look ok. Personally, I wouldn't feel particularly comfortable having, let's say, tyres over four years old on my car - I'm thinking about that spare just lurking in the wheel well which some people sometimes forget!

Yep, that's another good reason for putting the best tyres on the rear or rotating them around so all 4 go at the same time.

Having spun a car which was on Michelin's which still had plenty of tread, but which were rather old (I'm talking at least 10 years old) I certainly don't feel comfortable running old rubber.

 

[306maxi]

Depends how you drive it. I've scrubbed a set of front T1R's in a day around brands hatch In normal road use I usually go through a set of fronts about every 8000 miles and rears about twice that.

Definitely. I've rotated my tyres of course, but so far my Potenza RE050A's are all sitting on about 4.5 mm of tread or thereabouts after about 23,000 miles. So I guess how long they last depends on when I choose to get rid of them.

 

[frupi]

I did actually check the dates on the tyres on the wife's 500 this morning whilst checking the pressures. They are dated the 38th week of September 2010, so were only a couple of months old when put on our own 500 in the factory, so basically, in just over a week's time, they will only be a year old, but they've only got just over 1000 miles on them anyway. The rears on my Cadillac on the other hand are dated 3rd week in January 2008 and they are just about ready for changing - wallet opens, moths fly out, wallet closes!

 

[frupi]

I would just like to point out what looks like a deliberate mistake concerning my rears and their age, I was lucky enough to be given a couple of nearly new (but older) tyres which I stuck on back after I shifted the original ones to the front.

 

[306maxi]

I did actually check the dates on the tyres on the wife's 500 this morning whilst checking the pressures. They are dated the 38th week of September 2010, so were only a couple of months old when put on our own 500 in the factory, so basically, in just over a week's time, they will only be a year old, but they've only got just over 1000 miles on them anyway. The rears on my Cadillac on the other hand are dated 3rd week in January 2008 and they are just about ready for changing - wallet opens, moths fly out, wallet closes!

Tbh I don't see there being a need to replace a tyre just because it's 4 years old. The tyre manufacturers seem to think 6 years is a more sensible date. As long as the sidewalls aren't cracking stupidly and they've got no bulges in the tread or sidewall then I'd say keep them

 

[frupi]

Yep I do see your point, I used 4 years as an example of when I put an old spare on in the past (many years ago before tyre compounds were as good as many are today), which although looked good tread wise, was actually awful once on the car and had weight on it. My Caddy didn't come with a spare or space saver, just a can of tyre foam which I wouldn't use anyway. I just went to my local scrappy and bought a compatible space saver wheel and then subsequently a full sized alloy spare. Now I'm just a bit off topic, so humble apologies!

 

[306maxi]

Yep I do see your point, I used 4 years as an example of when I put an old spare on in the past (many years ago before tyre compounds were as good as many are today), which although looked good tread wise, was actually awful once on the car and had weight on it. My Caddy didn't come with a spare or space saver, just a can of tyre foam which I wouldn't use anyway. I just went to my local scrappy and bought a compatible space saver wheel and then subsequently a full sized alloy spare. Now I'm just a bit off topic, so humble apologies!

Bah! The OP has had their answer

With spares I would only run them as a spare Our Subaru's spare is original so getting on for 18 years and is OK for use as a spare. But I wouldn't drive a great distance at any great speed on it

 

[frupi]

Blinking 'eck? Are you saying the Sub's spare tyre is 18 years old? Shouldn't it be in a motor museum (the tyre, not the car!) or something lol

I looked at the wife's skinny space saver in the 500, I'm sure (I hope!!) we don't have to use it. Not sure if a full size rim will fit in the 500 wheel well with the jack and tool tidy removed? Stupidly, I forgot to actually try it yesterday when I had the rear wheels off to do the flaps:bang:

 

[306maxi]

Blinking 'eck? Are you saying the Sub's spare tyre is 18 years old? Shouldn't it be in a motor museum (the tyre, not the car!) or something lol

I looked at the wife's skinny space saver in the 500, I'm sure (I hope!!) we don't have to use it. Not sure if a full size rim will fit in the 500 wheel well with the jack and tool tidy removed? Stupidly, I forgot to actually try it yesterday when I had the rear wheels off to do the flaps:bang:

Yep. It's on a steel wheel so you can hardly use it as part of the tyre rotation can you?

 

[frupi]

Oh yep, sorry, I forgot you mentioned you had alloys. This has now actually got me thinking about the space saver for the Caddy, which is secured on the inside of my garage wall. It has a big 08 sticker stamped on the steel, so I guess that means it was off a 08 car? I'll have to have a look and see how old the rubber is on it tomorrow. Another thing people often forget to do with the space saver, is checking the air pressure (phew, back on topic!) in that too. My own requires 60 psi, and indeed when I checked over my cousin's Rover the other day, hers required 60 psi too. It only had 30 psi in it!! I spent 5 minutes pumping the ratting thing up!

 

[306maxi]

Oh yep, sorry, I forgot you mentioned you had alloys. This has now actually got me thinking about the space saver for the Caddy, which is secured on the inside of my garage wall. It has a big 08 sticker stamped on the steel, so I guess that means it was off a 08 car? I'll have to have a look and see how old the rubber is on it tomorrow. Another thing people often forget to do with the space saver, is checking the air pressure (phew, back on topic!) in that too. My own requires 60 psi, and indeed when I checked over my cousin's Rover the other day, hers required 60 psi too. It only had 30 psi in it!! I spent 5 minutes pumping the ratting thing up!

Buy a 12v Michelin pump from Halfords. Well worth it

 

[frupi]

Thing is 'cause I can sometimes be a total doughnut, I forgot about my lovely GM supplied 12v electric air pump in the back of the Caddy :bang:

 

[ahmett]

Thank you everyone for the feedback. To be honest I prefer changing all 4 tires, in the end of the day its a matter of personal choice. Since I prefer changing all 4 I simply rotate them often enough (3,000 miles) to the point where the difference between front and rear is neglible. Since i do about 18,000 miles a year and am at about that now and feel nothing wrong with the tires, I will probably go on to at least 25,000 miles before changing all 4 completely. I mentioned in another thread what are the best tires to go for in the Fiat 500 and I will let you know when I consider all the options and choose. (summer tire btw it snows in athens like twice a year and rarely goes below 7c so no need for winters!)

 

[306maxi]

Thank you everyone for the feedback. To be honest I prefer changing all 4 tires, in the end of the day its a matter of personal choice. Since I prefer changing all 4 I simply rotate them often enough (3,000 miles) to the point where the difference between front and rear is neglible. Since i do about 18,000 miles a year and am at about that now and feel nothing wrong with the tires, I will probably go on to at least 25,000 miles before changing all 4 completely. I mentioned in another thread what are the best tires to go for in the Fiat 500 and I will let you know when I consider all the options and choose. (summer tire btw it snows in athens like twice a year and rarely goes below 7c so no need for winters!)

I quite like my Potenza RE050A's. They're quite grippy and seem to be wearing well. The only fly in the ointment is that they don't perform well in the cold and the snow, but if this isn't going to be a common problem for you

 

[jnoiles]

I looked at the wife's skinny space saver in the 500, I'm sure (I hope!!) we don't have to use it. Not sure if a full size rim will fit in the 500 wheel well with the jack and tool tidy removed?

It won't take a full size 195/50 15" or a 195/45 16". I've tried.