What are part worn tyres? Part worn tyres are exactly what they sound like, second-hand tyres. Typically, part worn tyres are sourced by scrap merchants, who deal with old cars and write-offs and sell the tyres to make extra cash. Or, if a vendor is scraping a vehicle, they'll try to salvage the tyres too.
If you buy a second-hand vehicle and do not replace the tyres with a new set immediately you are, in effect, buying part-worn tyres. But some tyres are sold as part-worn without the second-hand vehicle! It is not illegal to sell and fit these part-worn tyres.
With less tread depth than a brand new tyre, part-worns will generate less grip, particularly in the wet. That means your car will have less traction and - more pertinently - less cornering and braking grip.
How long should a part-worn tyre last? Consider this; 1.0mm of tread on premium tyres — think Dunlop, Michelin, Pirelli — can drive roughly 10,000 miles.
Drivers choose to fit part worn tyres as they're much cheaper than new or budget tyres. However, while it seems on the surface that they offer better value for money, this isn't necessarily true.
Changing tyres in pairs
But should tyres be replaced in pairs? The answer is ideally, yes. Replacing just the one tyre without changing the tyre on the opposite side of the axle at the same time may cause an imbalance to the vehicle – potentially leading to wheel misalignment and excessive tyre wear.
Because tyres are the only point of contact between your car and the road, having two different tyres on the same axle is not advised. Pairing an old tyre with a new one will cause an imbalance in rolling resistance and grip, causing unpredictable performance, steering problems and using more fuel.
It may be tentative, but tires do have an expiration date. There is a general consensus that most tires should be inspected, if not replaced, at about six years and should be absolutely be swapped out after 10 years, regardless of how much tread they have left.
According to Tire Review, new tires should always go in the back. Rear tires provide the vehicle stability, and if they have little tread, then stability is lost.
Check the tread indicators
Small bars of rubber running across the grooves in between the tread – called tread wear indicators – tell you when the tyre is worn out. If the tread is worn down to these bars on any part of the tyre, it's worn out, unroadworthy, and needs to be replaced.
Primarily, you should avoid mixing different tyre brands and different tread patterns. There are rare exceptions for approved mixed-tyre fittings, but in general, manufacturers do not recommend tyre mixing at all.
They are simply tyres that have already been used by another vehicle. These sort of tyres are generally imported from Germany as the legal minimum tread depth for cars there is 3mm. Once tyres in Germany have reached this limit, road users would remove these tyres and buy new ones.
Used tyres won't last as long as new tyres and so you'll end up replacing them more often and spend more in the long run. And, unless you know the back-story of the tyres, and even if you do, you're risking the safety of you, your family or someone else's.
Part-worn tyres must legally have 2mm of tread left across the entire breadth of the tread and circumference of the tyre.
Our advice is to avoid part-worn tyres, as you can't rely on a used tyre with less than 3mm of tread. At lower tread levels than 3mm, the tyre's grip really starts to deteriorate and could pose a risk to everyday driving, especially in the wet.
Budget tyres tend to wear more quickly than premium quality tyres. Grip. Budget tyres generally don't provide as much grip as high quality tyres. Especially in wet conditions, they won't stick to the road quite as well as a premium quality tyre.
Under normal driving circumstances with a front-wheel drive vehicle (passenger cars, minivans, etc.), the front tires will wear at a slightly higher rate than the rear tires.
New tires are always balanced when they first go on the rims. When you come in for your regular tire rotation, the mechanic often rebalances them during the process. Your wheels should also receive rebalancing whenever you get suspension work.
Regardless of the drive type, we recommend not fitting the better tyres at the front, but always fitting them at the back. The reason is simple: The rear axle ensures the tracking stability of a vehicle.
An average of between 25,000 to 50,000 kilometres for drivers with normal driving styles.
Tyres will generally last an average of 40,000km, although this can vary widely depending on quality of road surfaces and your driving style. They should be checked annually once they reach the 5-year mark, and should be replaced every 10 years at the very least.
Low tire pressure is the most common cause for tires to wear out prematurely. Low tires will cause the tires to run hotter than they are designed to and will put more pressure on the outer edges of the tires.
Primarily, you should avoid mixing different tire brands and different tread patterns. There are rare exceptions for approved mixed-tire fittings, but in general, manufacturers do not recommend tire mixing at all.
Having a new set of tires will provide a cushion of safety for the next 65,000 to 100,000 miles of the vehicle's life (depending on the tire tread-wear rating). At the same time, new tires increase the ability of your vehicle to stop, go and turn.
It is perfectly legal to use different brand tyres on your car, however, this doesn't always mean you should. Slight differences in the tyre could end up causing huge differences in performance, which can ultimately end up damaging both your car and your wallet as a result!