Look I'm really sorry to raise the "WT" issue in June !
But, here's the thing, a young lad who works for us has just treated himself to a not very second hand Astra from a private vendor.
It's certainly very smart, some kind of sporty model and looks great in silver. He is chuffed to bits with it and is clearly still at the stage of cleaning it pretty much daily etc.
I'm pleased for him, it's the first decent car he's ever had and he admits it has stretched him to buy and insure it but like I said, he's delighted with it so all good you might think.
Yesterday, I was outside our office getting something from my car and it was parked next to mine and being a nosy old so and so I had a good look at it. Couldn't fault it at all. Not a mark on it. All four tyres were also in very good condition.
But here's the rub, the two front tyres are winter tyres and the two rear ones are summer tyres.
Now my understanding is that all four wheels should have either summer or winter rubber for safety's sake ?
I've been agonising about whether to draw his attention to this mainly because I know he'd not be easily able to afford to change the front tyres just yet having only had the car a couple of weeks.
Secondly, remembering some of the shonky old heaps I drove around in without harming myself at his age maybe I should just keep my mouth shut and let him enjoy his car.
Don't want to rain on his parade sort of thing and what he has isn't illegal I don't think but would you tell him?
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Wed 11 Jun 14 at 20:26
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You should tell him, but don't freak him out.
If he's a very gung-ho driver (he probably isn't) you might suggest gently that he could try swapping the fronts and rears to see how that drove.
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We just came back from Turkey (Istanbul) where is is ~25˚c and I would say half the cars are on snow tyres with snow flake symbol and the complex tread pattern. Didn't seem to cause any problem, but no idea why that was so. I don't think they're bad in summer, just noisy, higher rolling restistance and wear out quickly.
Last edited by: Shiny Tailpipes on Wed 11 Jun 14 at 20:41
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I'd mention it in passing but as long as they match on the axle it's not the end of the world provided the tyre sizes are what the manufacturer specifies.
My wife's car is still running around on winter tyres. The car is going back next spring. I'll put the very fresh tyres it came on back on and sell the winters separately as they'll still be over 4mm.
Last edited by: gmac on Wed 11 Jun 14 at 21:00
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Mention it, you'd hate yourself if you didn't and something happened. However, present it from an educational and helpful point of view, rather than a scaremongering or disapproving point of view.
If he can't afford to replace them, then there's perhaps little he can do except drive a little more circumspectly.
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I must admit to being a bit of a slut with tyres, but having learnt my trade on a Reliant with cross plys...
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>> But here's the rub, the two front tyres are winter tyres and the two rear
>> ones are summer tyres.
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>> Now my understanding is that all four wheels should have either summer or winter rubber
>> for safety's sake ?
>>
As has been said, mention it, but it's really not a big deal - the difference between winter and summer tyres in summer conditions is far less than the same mix in winter conditions if you see what I mean. And if the winters are on the front they will probably need replacing before the winter giving him a chance to put things right.
As an aside, Italy has just banned the use of winter tyres in the summer....
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Yep at least, by conventional wisdom, he has the "weaker" tyres on the right end for the summer period. Anyway it's a front wheel drive so it will be fine... not like one of these snaky snaky rear wheel drive things.
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I may ask him if he's been aware of any chirping or flickering since he's had it.
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Of course if he's up to it you should suggest he might like to try getting it a bit out of shape in a suitable place in wet and dry conditions, with the tyres swapped back to front to give four separate sets of conditions.
Or you could offer to do it for him. I would, if I knew him well enough. Almost certainly though the whole picture would quickly become apparent more or less from the start to an experienced and interested driver (lots aren't really interested, poor things).
Pressures are far more important than many realise. Most cars are wallowing around on too-soft tyres.
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>> Most cars are wallowing around on too-soft tyres.
And how many adjust pressures to take into account colder/warmer temperatures?
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Me me me
OTOH I see customers who park outside the shop where I work whose tyres only look half inflated. Beats me why they either ignore the fact or it simply doesn't register with them.
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It probably doesn't register.
When I got this car it came with tyre pressure monitoring as standard. And self sealing tyres. And it was because of the latter I got the optional tyre pressure monitoring that tells me pressures. I can live with a puncture but self sealing tyres made me think I'd want to know if pressures dropped.
As it happens never had a puncture.... And only one set of front tyres so far. Probably all it gets before December to be honest. But in winter you see the drop in pressures. Not enough to worry of course.
And if you pumped them up when cold.... when warm that might be a problem.
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I checked mine yesterday as it happens. They hadn't lost as much, relatively, as usual. I equalized them and put an extra psi in because the roads were hot yesterday and they would lose pressure overnight.
Of course if it was a sporting machine more care would be taken.
Of course the variation in garage pressure gauges may be a can of worms.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Thu 12 Jun 14 at 01:12
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>> Of course the variation in garage pressure gauges may be a can of worms.
>>
A bigger variation would surely arise from the length of time you had been on the road before calling at the garage. Tyres heat up in use and pressures are supposed to be measured when cold.
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>> Tyres heat up in use and pressures are supposed to be measured when cold
It's just two or three miles to the garage, far enough to warm the tyres in hot weather but not to make them really hot.
I suppose I should get a schrader pressure gauge - got one somewhere - and check them before driving. But unless it's a sporting jalopy that isn't really worth the trouble. Unnecessarily finicky for a communal holdall jalopy.
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My car has a tyre pressure sensing / warning thingy. Works too.
I swapped the back tyres to the front on 'hers' at the weekend, just as well I did, chuffing great nail in the tread of one of them. Got that fixed. Wouldn't necessarily have noticed it if I hadn't been faffing about with the tyres and 'she' wouldn't have noticed until it was making a funny grinding noise as the alloy wheel became increasingly square.
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Interfering or helping? - Armel Coussine
