Replacing only 2 tires...

[Wooderson]

Ok here's the story. I had 4 Continental Extreme Contacts put on 12/28/07. They have had less than 10k miles on them in the last year. About 5 months ago I had a bulge in my side wall on one of them and had it replaced. And last night, I blew the 2 tires on the drivers side after hitting a pot hole on the expressway.

 

So basically, one tire on the passenger side is 12 months old, and the other is 5 months old. The 12 month old tire tread measures 6/32-7/32". The 5 month old tread measures 9/32-10/32".

 

I know I've read that tread varying between tires can cause problems. How much is too much?

 

Also, if I just replaced the 2 tires that blew, I would have 3 different tread depths on the car. Is this fine or do I need to replace all 4?

 

I'm calling my insurance tomorrow and I need to figure out if I need to try to get 4 new tires or just 2.

[Coupon]

The shop i work in won't replace less than 4 tires if the tread depth is more than 2/32 between any tire. I've also heard that 1 inch in circumference is the limit.

[Scotty]

Max difference in circumference is 1/4 inch according to the manual. That works out to 1/32 difference in the thread depth.

 

You need to replace all the tires. That is the price you pay for having AWD. I'm already on my 4th set of tires.

[GTTuner]

ALWAYS put the new ones on the rear. Go to michelin.com and they will show you why.

 

Plus your car is mainly FWD until it gets a loss of traction.

[fonts]

Max difference in circumference is 1/4 inch according to the manual. That works out to 1/32 difference in the thread depth.

 

You need to replace all the tires. That is the price you pay for having AWD. I'm already on my 4th set of tires.

 

+1

 

I'm only going on my third set though.

[vkchu]

Ok here's the story. I had 4 Continental Extreme Contacts put on 12/28/07. They have had less than 10k miles on them in the last year. About 5 months ago I had a bulge in my side wall on one of them and had it replaced. And last night, I blew the 2 tires on the drivers side after hitting a pot hole on the expressway.

 

So basically, one tire on the passenger side is 12 months old, and the other is 5 months old. The 12 month old tire tread measures 6/32-7/32". The 5 month old tread measures 9/32-10/32".

 

I know I've read that tread varying between tires can cause problems. How much is too much?

 

Also, if I just replaced the 2 tires that blew, I would have 3 different tread depths on the car. Is this fine or do I need to replace all 4?

 

I'm calling my insurance tomorrow and I need to figure out if I need to try to get 4 new tires or just 2.

 

same exact thing happened to me last night-blew two on the highway last night due to a monster pothole that i didnt see. i was going to replace one, since i had a blister in the sidewall on the left rear from a few weeks ago, but after hitting that pothole, game over. luckily i got home safely (slow leak).

 

what you can do is call up tirerack and have them shave down however many tires u need. i had one delivered, but after the dual blowout (i needed to replace two now), i said f it and got a shop to put 4 new conti extremes on.

 

so now i have a single brand new shaved tire sitting around - it still has the fedex stickers on it. if you want it, i can save you a few bucks and have the one shipped to you. i also have two other good tires that i took off that i can have shipped as well. all are around 7/32"

 

i will be posting this in tire subforum in the marketplace, so let me know if youre interested. im shipping from nyc area.

 

also, you may want to call up the local township or state that owns/maintains that section of the highway and see if you can get reimbursed.

 

and finally, if you werent already aware, the tire diameter differences can cause problems for the differentials. i dont remember the exact thread, but its on here somewhere. best to keep diameters same all around, be it a shave or swap for 4.

 

edit: sorry, im going to return the shaved tire to tirerack (unbelieveably they will refund me minus the shaving cost). the other two are still avail if you want.

[vkchu]

i see you double posted. glad things worked out for you.