How to find out tires remaining life

[jacksonaw]

Hey Guys, I have been watching couple of interesting discussion in past.

So thought of asking something interesting and curious to my mind and i hope any one of you can help. Please forgive me if you find this no brainier question as i have been told from service adviser that i need new tires costing me close to 4000 dhs. Before i spend this money i want to understand and realize if its really needed or just service adviser making it sound must to do job? Is there any indication apart from looking at tread which in my case seems like same in last 6 months back when i purchased the car. How to identify the tire life, i read whole manual and it doesn't say a thing on this subject.

Hoping to hear from you guys, love you all.

[bossie]

No question is dumb jackson and its nice to ask what you don't know or curious with....!

Tires have the datestamp written on the sidewall closer to bead which sets in wheel, every tire has that. This year of manufacturing is displayed in number of week format by year. So if you read 2410 this means 24th week of 2010 means Dec 2010 your tire have been manufactured. You can add 6 months for shipping and sales that makes them in use (assuming) by June 2011. Every tire is good for 3 years to max of 5 years.

[rizwanq]

Apart from age of tire another important factor is usage, which is determined by "Treadwear". Every tire also display there treadwear as displayed in second picture in bottom. If Treadwear rating of 200 means it can last 40k kms then rating of 350 will be 70k km, every tire manufacturer have their own set of ratings which differ from one brand to another (more you can read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treadwear_rating). In short higher the treadwear more number of kms you can put on those tires.

Based on year of manufacturing and usgae you make calculative decision that when is good time to change the tire. Hope it helps.

While buying your next tires make sure that you buy that has following ratings

--> Temperature A, B (Temp rating: C is not good for Dubai heat)

--> Traction A, B is good.

[markw]

Before determining the life of tires, please ensure regular and proper tire rotation it promotes more uniform wear for all the tires on a vehicle. Tires should be rotated every 6000 to 8000 miles (please check your user manual) FWD vehicle may require rotation even sooner.

The basic way to determine your tire's life is to look at the tread bars. The more prominent it is the better, as the tires wears this tread will start getting even. So if it getting more plain it's time to go for the new ones.

[Jeh]

Checking tyres could save your life