Replace one tire or all 4?

Joined
Mar 15, 2019
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49
Location
USA
Hello, hope you're all doing well.

I have a nail near the side of one of the tires so getting it patched looks very doubtful. One place already has said they would not do it. So it appears that this tire might be done. Another place I went to said they have to take the tire off the wheel to see but they're not sure. Right now there is a slow leak so I am adding air pretty frequently.

This is where the confusion starts though:

The rest of the tires look just fine and would last at least 10,000+ miles. I'm confused whether to just replace that one tire with a nice tire or replace all since I'm eventually going to have to do it anyway. I do drive quite a bit so it won't save me too much money but I also don't want to waste 3 tires with decent tread on them. My car is pretty old and has plenty of miles on it.

Thanks for any advice.
 
Tire depth for the front are around 6/32 or 7/32 and rear are around 5/32 or 6/32.
 
I'd be tempted to replace all four. This could be sweetened if the tire store will give you a trade in for the old tires. Discount Tire did that for me once when I was in a similar position.
Good idea. Will try if need be.
 
Try local classified ads/used tire shops to see if you can find an exact match, including wear to the same level as your other tires. I lucked out and found one this summer this way when I had a tire damaged on the shoulder. If not, then you should look at a matching pair on an axle at the minimum, trying to use either the same tire model, or one with similar performance and construction.
 
If they cannot patch and plug it I would just buy 2 tires and put them on the NON drive axle. That way hopefully when the 2 old ones are worn down the newer ones will have limited wear and you can keep the one old one that is OK just incase one of the other older ones gets a leak or puncture
 
Sorry if I've missed it, but I can't see where you told us what type of vehicle this question relates to. Many AWD systems require the tread depth of all four tires be matched quite closely. If it's FWD or RWD, the suggestion already given to replace them in pairs is a good one, with the new tires going to the rear of the vehicle. The challenge with that is with a FWD car, you'll likely never be able to wear the new pair down to match the partially worn pair, as the tires with the deeper tread will always be on the rear while the front tires do all of the work (steering, putting power to the pavement, and more of the braking), so you'll be dealing with mismatching pairs of tires for the foreseeable future. Not the end of the world, but not ideal if you're one who likes to keep tires rotated and wearing as evenly as possible.
 
I had same issue.
Money tight, got 1 tire at walmart.
Put it up front since i have a limited slip rear
 
Did you ever mention the vehicle in question? The one tire or all 4 discussion often depends a good amount as to which vehicle. As mentioned, in many cases a similar wear, used tire can be an option. One can check eBay, FB marketplace, Craigslist, and the larger tire shops.
 
Did you ever mention the vehicle in question? The one tire or all 4 discussion often depends a good amount as to which vehicle. As mentioned, in many cases a similar wear, used tire can be an option. One can check eBay, FB marketplace, Craigslist, and the larger tire shops.
You know it just about always seems when I am in that (one tire) position with (three still decent ones) all the tire places must come at us with the same standard answer... "well you know uhn..... its not good to ever mix and match different brand or specific model tires for best handling and safety etc... so is this car for your wife or kids..." really pour on the violin music to attempt to sell (four) new tires instead of the one tire. I called their bluff last time and said OK "put me two new ones (those same brand but different model) tires on the front and put my best two older ones on the back until I can break in the two new ones. They were Goodyears and very similar. The very first time I ever have two different tires on same car but it is only a grocery getter about 5000mi per year around the neighborhood car.
 
You didn't mention your vehicle or your current tires. However, I too would be tempted to get all 4 tires which is how I buy tires anyway. And consider how long you'll be keeping your vehicle. I'd look for highly rated/scoring tires that may carry a healthy rebate and tires that definitely meet your specific criteria of how you & where you drive your specific vehicle, region & roads etc. that you drive on.

If, and only if there are certain areas of ride/handling/performance that you're not particularly fond of in your current tires, consider getting tires that will improve those areas that you may not be so crazy about in your current tires. Now is a good time to upgrade although I'm not saying that you need to upgrade...I'm just saying!

I am kind of a stickler for good tires and I often sell off my reasonable tread life used tires through Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace which(as others mentioned), sweeten the pot.
 
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Here's the deal:

This is all about legal liability.

In an AWD, tire diameter differences can ruin an AWD system - very expensive repair! Since there is no regulation that a tire diameter has to be the same for the same size, there is some variation. Not to mention that some AWD systems are really sensitive to differences in diameter.

In 4WD, the issue is similar, but since 4WD is only supposed to be used in slippery conditions and only to extract the vehicle from those conditions, it isn't as critical. A good idea, but the risk is a lot lower.

The same is true of 2WD. The differential will wear more for different tire diameters, but the risk of driveline failure is a lot lower.

Then there is the issue that vehicles tend to pivot around odd tires in emergency maneuvers - and the more odd the tire is, the stronger that tendency! The problem here is that most people don't know they have a problem until they are in an emergency situation, and then it's too late! No, you can't test for this without ruining a set of tires!

So to minimize legal liability, tire shops insist that all 4 tires on an AWD be the same make, model and state of wear when the vehicle leaves the shop. Some include 4WD in that. For other vehicles, many shops will require the tire to be the same on a given axle.
 
You didn't mention your vehicle or your current tires. However, I too would be tempted to get all 4 tires which is how I buy tires anyway. And consider how long you'll be keeping your vehicle. I'd look for highly rated/scoring tires that may carry a healthy rebate and tires that definitely meet your specific criteria of how you & where you drive your specific vehicle, region & roads etc. that you drive on.

If, and only if there are certain areas of ride/handling/performance that you're not particularly fond of in your current tires, consider getting tires that will improve those areas that you may not be so crazy about in your current tires. Now is a good time to upgrade although I'm not saying that you need to upgrade...I'm just saying!

I am kind of a stickler for good tires and I often sell off my reasonable tread life used tires through Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace which(as others mentioned), sweeten the pot.
We are on the same page. I need to slow down. Not the car. The keyboard:)! I type a hell of a lot faster than I can think these days. At times what I am trying to express does not come across... :rolleyes: So - I am on the same page as a lot of folks about the tires. I am a stickler for tires to. Maybe even more than my Obsseive Compulsive Disorder about motor oil products and oci etc...
I did recently (this Monday) grit my teeth and replace all 4 tires on the wife's car because once again I have been bitten by Hankook tires. This is the second time in about 5 years it happened. That is what I am mainly mad about. The poor qaulity of those tires and having to buy new ones sooner than I should have needed to. I had purchased a new set of Hankooks for my 2009 Honda Accord. Within 12 -14 months they did not look good, they road and drove spongy and the car was eating up the treads so fast. Never had that before. Well the last straw was when I went for tire balance and rotation the mechanic I have used before pointed out to me that two of them were missing pieces of rubber from the tread area and one had a round bulge like a tennis ball on the sidewall. I was so disgusted at myself mainly for buying those. Naturally I replaced all 4 with Goodyears. Well here we go again. Wife had to have this certain 2018 Honda Accord about 16 months ago and when I saw Hankook on it I wanted to say NO, but she had spent so much time looking to find the car I kept quiet. Well this past week I am checking her car prior to a 140 mile drive she was about to go on and sure enough there is that same tennis ball looking bulge in one of them and the treads were starting to lose some rubber in chunks. Well there went some more $$$$ for a brand new set of 4 of the best Goodyear sedan tires they had on hand at local Goodyear shop. I did happen to get lucky and these high rated Goodyears come with a $200 rebate on the set I just bought. The only previous knowledge I had about Hankook was from stock car racing so I assumed they must make decent products YET I know race tires have nothing in common with street tires.
 
So what model are the "best Goodyear sedan tires they had on hand at local Goodyear shop"? What size are they? The only time I've seen tennis ball looking bulges is due to Impact damage from Potholes etc. What condition are the roads by you and have you asked the wife if she hit any large potholes or anything else? The chunks of tread could be from same kind of impacts or possibly a messed up alignment also. Big impacts will have that affect. What model was the Hankooks? Were they original tires? Date code?

1 week old Pirelli after a crater size hole between lanes on Long Island Expressway (I-495). Sam's Club Road Hazard warrantied it. And my alignment was off as well a bend in the rim. NY DOT at it's best.

accord tire1.jpg
 
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I don't know if they still do it or other places do, TireRack was able to shave a new tire also to a lower depth. Yeah it would suck to lose life on a brand new tire but if money is tight and 3 still have 8-9/32", an extra $20 to get matching depth might be an option.
 
Go to a junkyard and buy a tire already mounted with about the same amount of tread on it. Or go to one of those places that sell used tires and by the size you need with about the same amount of tread on it. After a couple miles, you'll forget you ever needed a tire. Just don't post on here what you did or these guys will "tire shame" you, for not buying a new set of 4 tires for almost what your car is worth .,,,,
 
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