And this is why we need spare tyres!

[macd2401]

Not me !.
We have covered 12,500 miles and the fronts still have plenty of life in them at the moment.
VW suggest that new tyres should be fitted when they down to 4mm !.
A new tyre only has between 7 and 7.5mm on the tread when new for gods sake !.
Another money spinner.
I fully understand that tyres are the last thing between you and the road, but come on, replacement at 4.0mm is just madness!.
On a lot of the FWD drive cars I have owned, front replaces are usually fitted at around the 20,000 mile mark ish.
VW also recommend doing a wheel front to back rotation every 5,000 miles.
I do support this idea because it evens out the tyre wear, but means that all four tyres are likely to be replaced at the same time.
More expensive in the long term, but I have found that tyres left on the rear for a long time, results in the side wall cracking due to UV and age etc.
Therefore these tyres need replacing due to the hair line cracks, but the tyre still has usable tread left.
This why I prefer rotation myself.
It was something that could be done at home on my previous VW.
But I think I am right in saying that you can not do this on the ZS because it remembers it position on the car.
It must be the TPMS system they use ?.
Strange that the front and rear tyre pressure are the same, but the car knows if you have done a wheel rotation ????.
Question :- If when you replace your front tyres, will the TPMS system flag up a warning on the dash that needs resetting at the dealers ?.
Or if you refit the wheel back into its same location, will it be fine ???.
My guess is it would because it has been returned to the same location,
I think that is a crazy way for the system to work myself.

I think the 4mm refers to the acceptable depth for use in snow.

Have had a few sets of all weather tyres that have 2 sets of TWI, one at 4mm, and another at 2mm. To be honest, I don't feel comfortable in running tyres to the limit. I usually don't go below 3mm, and if it's getting close to that come October/November time, I'll replace them early.

When my old Golf wore through a set of fronts, the rears would get switched forward, and the new ones went on the back. Since that was happening basically once a year, it wasn't a massive issue.

 

[Kithmo]

At the low mileage I do, I usually change the car before the tyres need changing. I can't remember the last time I replaced a worn out tyre.

 

[Stormgrey]

View attachment 3801

Came back from a weekend trip away last night, and on the journey, noticed the back right was showing high 20s psi, whilst everything else was mid 30s. Took the wheel off today, and found that little darling hanging out of the tread

Sods law says of course it wouldn't be in the repairable area, there's nobody with any replacements in stock (Hankook Kinergy 4S²), and delivery will take a few days (back to work before any available delivery slot). And yes, the tyres are only a few months old

Am now feeling pretty glad that I bought a spare wheel a few weeks ago (even though it was a spacesaver) because at least now I've got some options to keep me going until the new tyre gets here.

That's why I bought another alloy wheel & tyre

 

[BarryH]

I've got a kit for the bike, not sure of the manufacturer off the top of my head. Looks like a door key, but with a screw in spike that you force into the puncture, then snap off.

I think you'll find that these repair plugs are illegal on car tyres the past 15 years or so. The professional repair in the central tread belt only have a large flat mushroom disk of rubber which is self-adhesive and sticks to the inside of the tyre carcase. because of its shape it can't be used close to the side wall of the tyre. Most large change Tyre sellers will do these repairs for £10 to £20 but would prefer to sell you a new tyre.
There is an alternative but it requires specialist equipment and is called "Vulcanisation" and involves a patch applied but requires a 2 hour curing time with heat under pressure. Well worth doing if there is otherwise a lot of life left in the tyre. I last had one done in Wigan for £20 where a large 2" screw had given me a slow puncher near the shoulder of nearly new tyre. I did another 35,000 miles on the tyre.

 

[ARealHuman]

The repair kit I mentioned is for bikes and not illegal to use as a temporary repair. It will work just as well on a car as far as I can tell if the puncture is in repairable place (e.g. you wouldn't use it on a sidewall). The mushroom shape is on the inside of the tyre and inserted after preparation (tools come with the kit) and air pressure pushes the internal mushroom against the inside of the tyre, preventing air escaping. Thankfully, I've not had to use it, however when riding around the bleakest and remotest parts of Wales it was comforting knowing I had it.

 

[macd2401]

I think you'll find that these repair plugs are illegal on car tyres the past 15 years or so. The professional repair in the central tread belt only have a large flat mushroom disk of rubber which is self-adhesive and sticks to the inside of the tyre carcase. because of its shape it can't be used close to the side wall of the tyre. Most large change Tyre sellers will do these repairs for £10 to £20 but would prefer to sell you a new tyre.
There is an alternative but it requires specialist equipment and is called "Vulcanisation" and involves a patch applied but requires a 2 hour curing time with heat under pressure. Well worth doing if there is otherwise a lot of life left in the tyre. I last had one done in Wigan for £20 where a large 2" screw had given me a slow puncher near the shoulder of nearly new tyre. I did another 35,000 miles on the tyre.

Did say the kit I had was for a bike . I'm not sold on the use of the foam/gel/snot bottles that come with most cars now. And I won't go near a puncture with noodles or anything similar on a car. Different on a bike, because there's no potential for anything other than a temporary repair kit.

Having had, and repaired, many punctures over the years, I'm just annoyed I don't still have access to all the tyre changing gear my dad had.

 

[Kithmo]

I got a self inflatable aerosol of gunk with the GardX paint protection kit.
So in my car I have the original gunk and pump kit, a spare wheel kit, the GardX gunk and one of those motorbike tyre repair kits. That virtually guarantees that I won't get a puncture, because I'm so well prepared for one and all these kits will go out of date before I get chance to use them.

 

[macd2401]

I got a self inflatable aerosol of gunk with the GardX paint protection kit.
So in my car I have the original gunk and pump kit, a spare wheel kit, the GardX gunk and one of those motorbike tyre repair kits. That virtually guarantees that I won't get a puncture, because I'm so well prepared for one and all these kits will go out of date before I get chance to use them.

Did you just poke fate with a pointy stick???

 

[Kithmo]

Did you just poke fate with a pointy stick???

View attachment 3893

I was grasping tightly on a piece of wood at the time.