fungus wrote:A tyre that is at the UK legal limit of 1.6mm is probably running at 10 per cent effiency in the wet.
Gareth wrote:fungus wrote:A tyre that is at the UK legal limit of 1.6mm is probably running at 10 per cent effiency in the wet.
I would like to know what you mean by this as, to my ears, the statement has no practical meaning that I can apply to how things feel when I am driving.
dth wrote:Information I have obtained from current forensic crash investigators is this:
Tyres have lost 30-40% of their efficiency when down to 1.6mm (measured by the ability to disperse water).
Tyres should be changed at 3mm which is the point at which efficiency starts to drop off rapidly as above.
New tyres should be put on the rear axle regardless of the driving wheels for reasons of stability during skids (unless vehicle manufacturer guidance says otherwise)
I'm happy to go with the advice given to me by those who deal with the aftermath of those who got it wrong and who have exceptionally high levels of knowledge and qualification in order to do what they do.
fungus wrote:May be they were using shock tactics to encourage drivers to change their tyres more frequently.
I would have thought that a tyre that was at 1.6mm would have lost considerably more than 30-40% efficiency in the wet though.
Gareth wrote:fungus wrote:A tyre that is at the UK legal limit of 1.6mm is probably running at 10 per cent effiency in the wet.
I would like to know what you mean by this as, to my ears, the statement has no practical meaning that I can apply to how things feel when I am driving.
Astraist wrote:Modern steel-belted radials wear little at the tread. Rather, they become unworthy of use in terms of grip and handling, merely due to the chemical changes that the rubber experiences over time, usually after merely three years of age or 35,000 miles.
Mr Cholmondeley-Warner wrote:A performance car such as Waremark's probably does very well if it achieves 10,000 miles from its driven tyres - Mark?
Gareth wrote:I'm sure it depends as much on the person and their style of driving - the last car for which i have figures was quite consistent in that front tyres would last about 22,000 miles and rears about 24,000 - fwd Alfa 146, 2.0 litres.
This makes me think that someone who doesn't demand so much from their tyres may easily get significantly more out of them.
fungus wrote:IIRC, the critical speed at which a vehicle fitted with good tyres, (ie. 7-8mm tread depth) will aquaplane is 54mph. Tyres that are less than 3mm will aquaplane at speeds considerably lower than that. A tyre that is at the UK legal limit of 1.6mm is probably running at 10 per cent effiency in the wet.
Mr Cholmondeley-Warner wrote:Astraist wrote:Modern steel-belted radials wear little at the tread. Rather, they become unworthy of use in terms of grip and handling, merely due to the chemical changes that the rubber experiences over time, usually after merely three years of age or 35,000 miles.
I don't know what kind of tyres you're buying, but I can assure you modern steel-belted tyres do wear at the tread and that's the main reason they need replacing on modern cars used in daily driving in the UK. 15,000 miles would be a pretty good life for most tyres other than those made of extremely hard compounds, and many owners will be uncomfortably familiar with much more frequent tyre changes in this country. A performance car such as Waremark's probably does very well if it achieves 10,000 miles from its driven tyres - Mark?
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