Car tyres (or tires)

Last September, we bought a new Ford Focus here in Scotland.  It's now got 8,000 miles on it, and our driving instructor told us this week that we might need new tyres on the front.  So we took it in to the dealer, who confirmed that we should get two new tyres.  We were just astonished, and commented to the dealer that we usually replaced tyres after a much higher mileage rate in the US.  The dealer said that 5,000 - 10,000 miles per set of tyres was normal here, and a neighbour of ours agreed.
Can anyone explain this?  The last time we got tires in California, we had at least 20,000 miles on the car!  Are tyres made to a different standard in the UK?

What kind of tyres are they?

Last September, we bought a new Ford Focus here in Scotland.  It's now got 8,000 miles on it, and our driving instructor told us this week that we might need new tyres on the front.  So we took it in to the dealer, who confirmed that we should get two new tyres.  We were just astonished, and commented to the dealer that we usually replaced tyres after a much higher mileage rate in the US.  The dealer said that 5,000 - 10,000 miles per set of tyres was normal here, and a neighbour of ours agreed.
Can anyone explain this?  The last time we got tires in California, we had at least 20,000 miles on the car!  Are tyres made to a different standard in the UK?

Don't know if they're made differently, but I find that most car maintenance issues over here leave me scratching my head - like how they only change the oil once a year, regardless of whether you've driven 3,000 or 10,000 miles in that year!    And don't even get me started on buying wiper blades...

Last September, we bought a new Ford Focus here in Scotland.  It's now got 8,000 miles on it, and our driving instructor told us this week that we might need new tyres on the front.  So we took it in to the dealer, who confirmed that we should get two new tyres.  We were just astonished, and commented to the dealer that we usually replaced tyres after a much higher mileage rate in the US.  The dealer said that 5,000 - 10,000 miles per set of tyres was normal here, and a neighbour of ours agreed.
Can anyone explain this?  The last time we got tires in California, we had at least 20,000 miles on the car!  Are tyres made to a different standard in the UK?

do the tyres *look* worn?
if so, then replace them.
if not, dont.
I think these people are full of mince!   My friend drives 5000 miles every 2 months, and he certainly would not be expecting to change his tyres every 2 months.
My 1 year old car has 10k miles on it and plenty of tread depth... i wouldnt expect to change these tyres for at *least* another 10k.

To check your tyres for wear- first you should look at them for any signs of bulges, bumps, etc.  Feel them for any large lumps, abnormalities, etc.   - you should do this anyways normally to make sure that the tires are balanced properly.  You want to make sure that the tyres are wearing evenly across the entire tire and not lumped/leaning on wide side or the other.

Next, see if you tyres have tread wear marks- most new tyres have them in the US, and I would assume that the UK wouldn't be any different (but! that being said I can be completely wrong to assume)  These are little red/green marks on top of bumps, or sometimes just bumps in the tyre tread.  If these match up to the top of the tyre tread, its time to replace the tyre.

You can also check the depth of the tread with a tire tread gage-  if the depth is less than 1/16", its time to replace them.  If you have access to a US penny, put it in the tread with Lincoln's head pointing down.  If you can see the top of Lincoln's head, time to replace them. 

The front tyres are both worn; our driving instructor showed us how to measure the tread depth (mandatory 1.6 mm) and check over the tyres for signs of wear.  She wanted us to have good tyres before taking our driving test in the car, of course.  The garage checked for signs of poor alignment and found none.

Our Orcadian neighbour says he buys the best tyres (he likes Michelin) for his car, and still only gets 7,000 - 9,000 miles average per set of tyres.  He has lived in America, and says that American tyres from makers like Firestone and Goodyear were better, in his experience, than British tyres.

My husband is wondering if British garages routinely do tyre rotation?

We just hit 20,000 miles on our car and our tyres are just now looking worn enough to replace. I agree with Genau! - if they look worn, replace them. If not, don't.

My husband is wondering if British garages routinely do tyre rotation?

Rotate the tires!?  That puzzles everyone here that I mention it too.  My DH had never even heard of it.  I told him I used to do my own back in the states.  I get some kind of response like since cars are so much more computerized you can't just rotate your tires. There are specific ones for each wheel or it will throw the tire sensor off (if you have one of those computerized tire sensors on your dashboard).  It does puzzle me why they don't do it over here.

The dealer said that 5,000 - 10,000 miles per set of tyres was normal here, and a neighbour of ours agreed.

As little as 5000 miles on a set of tires?      You must be joking.   According to my notebook, I bought a new set of Pirelli radials for my Bronco II in October 2006.  So far they've done about 4000 miles, including regular driving over rough unmade roads every time I go in and out, and the tread isn't down much from that on the so-far-unused spare.

You could question whether the road surfaces have an effect, but when I was running older U.S. cars here I tended to use American-made BF Goodrich tires, and they would do 20,000 miles and still have some life left in them. 

Rotate the tires!?  That puzzles everyone here that I mention it too. 

It always used to be done here, and I still do it.  For some reason it seems to have fallen out of favor, but if you look in the manuals for old (1960s/70s or earlier) British cars you'll see the recommended rotation arrangement (different for radials and crossply).

I get some kind of response like since cars are so much more computerized you can't just rotate your tires. There are specific ones for each wheel or it will throw the tire sensor off (if you have one of those computerized tire sensors on your dashboard).

Tire sensor?   

The only thing remotely resembling that I've ever heard of on some newer cars is a remote pressure sensor which will give an alarm if the air pressure in the tire drops too low, and even that is rare. 

There's absolutely no reason why rotating the tires would interfere with any onboard computer systems.

Tires should last 40k miles and then some.  Well the decent ones at least.  I think the problem is all those damn roundabouts and the number of stops and goes.  Most drives in the states are straight and constant speeds.  Constant highway speeds will see less tire wear of course.

Maybe somebody has been buying here!   

Hi there,
Good advice so far!

If you're in any doubt, take it to a number of different places to see the verdict from each.

As to how long tyres should last? - how long is a peice of string type question! Tyre's are not created equal, various different types of tyres exist and each has a particular set of characteristics (in the tyre game - 'Compounds' of the rubber) - you'll need to research what 'characteristics' suit your car, driving style and budget in relation to your car maintenence schedule you'd like to keep or can keep!

I've had brand new tyres that have lasted me well over 3 years and 40,000 miles and other brand new ones last 6 weeks before being at the threads!!!(granted, the ones that wore down so quickly were on a car that I had extensively modified and the downside was an out of limits camber setting which I couldn't adjust cost effectively and thus wore my tyres down at warp speed!)

Have a browse through AutoCar weekly online and have a look at its group tests and search out the Tyres group test. A breakdown of a number of popular tyres for cars are indicative of the kind of characteristics I mean.

Tyre rotating does happen in the UK, but not nearly as as much as the US. I know of rotating tyres and have done so here and there as my cars require it with level of modifications and driving style I have. Bread and butter cars/motorists simply can't be bothered or don't know about tyre rotations.

I also don't think theres any manufacturer differences between country to country - i.e a Pirelli P zero tyre for instance isn't different to the P Zero in UK or Italy or USA or Canada or Australia etc...

One thing I won't do is go for the really budget made tyres, but I understand for some cars and drivers etc they're perfectly acceptable for use...

Hope this helps!

DtM! West London & Slough UK!

When I had a Lincoln Towncar I would expect and did over 100,000 miles on my tires(tyres). I just rotated the tyres on my new Honda Accord at 16,000 miles and the one on the back are like new.
I like Michelan tires the best.
I would be spiting blood if I was told to change tyres after 8,000 miles. What is the warrentee on them?