JHZR2
Staff member
I agree. Benign climate. No snow. It would be a huge waste to swap something thst is as much if a hassle to dispose of as tires, with so much life left.
Wasteful and unnecessary.
Would you replace at 4/32nds ?
- Thread starter CKN
- Start date
Wasteful and unnecessary.
JHZR2
Staff member
A highlander isn’t exactly an uncommon car. The tire size is going to be common. I was able to find an actually uncommon old obsolete size tire, right off the I-15, last year when driving that road, from my phone, no issues.
How old are these tires and how many miles do they have on them?!?
Tires are OEM-2 years old with 25,000 miles on them. Snipes are gone-edges are worn-even on the rear tires. I assume 4-wheel alignment out of spec. No traction on wet pavement.
JHZR2
Staff member
Something is way wrong with the vehicle then. As much as people trash OEM tires, they are t that bad, and have always provided long service for us. I’m guessing they are OE spec Michelin?
My MIL’s two highlanders do better than that in severe service and terrain, which actually chunks tires (see tire tread chunking thread). Yet they last longer and still pull up extremely steep wet inclines.
They are OEM Bridgestone Open Country. None of their characteristics make them great tires. We can disagree-some OEM tires are pure garbage-with one or two attributes that the manufacturer wants-and everything else doesn't matter.
I would replace them, they seem to be wearing fast and they are going to be more prone to puncture.
My current summers have a wear bar at 2/32 ( 1/16) and the wear bar for my winter tires are at 4/32 ( 1/8). Some will keep the winter tires on and wear them down to 1/16.
Others will decide what’s important in terms of safety. What’s safe for some isn’t acceptable for others.
Others will decide what’s important in terms of safety. What’s safe for some isn’t acceptable for others.
That's the first time I've seen that type of, "built in wear gauge". Much nicer than those raised ribs. But I would be inclined to wear it down to the "2" behind the, "Replace By".
FWIW - the Rockies are well east of SLC. I-15 as posted is the only sensible route.
OP: How many miles will you accumulate on the tires before you leave?
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I was going to say the same thing. You beat me to it. I always run at least 40 PSI in all my vehicles out here in the warmer weather. The less sidewall flex you have, the less heat you will generate. Especially at high speed.
Maintaining a good PSI out here will guarantee a far safer ride than tread depth. This is also much easier on newer vehicles that have TPMS right on the dash. You know what you have with the click of a button.
Age is a false flag here as well. If a car, boat, or RV is parked in a garage, the age of the tire is far less concerning, than if it's parked outside in direct sunlight. The intense UV light out here can destroy tires very quickly.
I'm always amazed at how many people here have 3 car, boat deep garages, but still park their new to newer cars outside, because they have all 3 stalls of their entire garage packed to the doors with crap.
And if most had a huge garage sale and got rid of it, they would only get a small fraction of what one of their vehicles is worth.
4/32nds, quarter rule/guide, description in post #23 and long trip, count me in as replace before trip.
That said, if 2/32nd left till wear bars more important, your call.
That said, if 2/32nd left till wear bars more important, your call.
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
IIRC thinner tread squirms less, in theory less heat generation.
Race cars run on bald tires at over 200 mph all the time. 4/32 at highway speeds is no problem. If it starts raining, just lower your speed a little and drive more carefully.
Purchase a set of Michelin's from Costco, the up side is that you will enjoy the very quiet ride during your trip.
However, I'm a bit of a risk taker, so I'd probably go with the tires as is.
However, I'm a bit of a risk taker, so I'd probably go with the tires as is.
On clean dry pavement they also have more grip. Just slow down if safe or stop in heavy rain if it gets to the point of hydroplaning as you know there a bunch of others speeding around on 2/32 or less tires.... We don't do road trips on tight schedules anymore, so stopping for 20 minutes to watch a storm in a new place isn't really a problem, more like a chance to see something new.
Sounds like it's smokey burnout time to reduce them to the wear bars. 
Just made me think, almost nothing I drive has a spare. Not even a place for one on many (most?) cab and chassis trucks.
Considering driving the Dalton in my 5500 truck to work vs flying this summer, guess I'd need to buy a spare.
Was going to throw the camp shack from my Unimog on it and make it a couple day camping trip with the dog.
The rule in BC, which is no newby when is comes to winter driving is 3.5 mm ( just over 4/32 or 1/8 inch of thread). The summer requirement for the wear bar is 2/32. The cops can write a ticket based on those numbers.
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