Tire Question - on Passat

[webbie]

I bought a Passat new a couple years ago - 30K miles on it now.
Tires are hardly worn - but I did take a gouge out of the side wall of one on a curve (at about 20K). It obviously has held well (I assume there are internal steel or other threads that are the actual structure) - but I don't want to temp fate too much....

So, should I replace just two tires? Or all four? My tires don't seem to wear unevenly, so I'm not sure rotation from front to back is needed. If I replace just two, I am of course stuck for the duration not doing any front to back rotation...but I save a lot of money!

 

[smokinj]

I would replace the 2 front and put the best to on the rear.....Balance them too!

 

[hilly]

I don't understand why you cannot do front to back rotations? Some patterns I have have the rear tires changing sides when they go to the front and the front tires coming straight back staying on the same sides. If you have two new tires, they would always be together.

 

[begreen]

I would replace the 2 front and put the best to on the rear.....Balance them too!

+1. The fronts are going to wear the fastest.

 

[joefrompa]

Put the gouged tire on the rear where the lowest load is and, god forbid it blows out, you have the most control. Drive them till worn without rotation.

If you can see ribs or steel belts, replace the tire or all the tires. If you just see thick rubber through the gouge, and it's holding air, continue driving on it.

My 99 porsche boxster has a sharp gouge in a front tire (non-rotatable). I've put 10k miles on it, including hard cornering and some time up around 110-120mph, and it holds fine

 

[ddddddden]

Nothing wrong with replacing a pair, but Costco makes a set of 4 very tempting with $70-100 coupons. Inflated with nitrogen too. Woohoo! Check the tag in the door jamb for proper front and rear tire pressures (not always 32psi all around.) This can affect the handling of the car more than having different tires on front and rear does.

 

[fbelec]

Put the gouged tire on the rear where the lowest load is and, god forbid it blows out, you have the most control. Drive them till worn without rotation.

If you can see ribs or steel belts, replace the tire or all the tires. If you just see thick rubber through the gouge, and it's holding air, continue driving on it.

My 99 porsche boxster has a sharp gouge in a front tire (non-rotatable). I've put 10k miles on it, including hard cornering and some time up around 110-120mph, and it holds fine

+1

i got the same on my work van but it's holding air and that is 80 pounds of it. the truck is about 7500 or 8000 pounds and holding. so what joe says i would do. you got 30,000 miles on them. how much is left? how close to the wear bars are you? most cars out there get 40 to 45,000 miles out of the orig. tires.

 

[Swedishchef]

I would personally replace all 4. You can get a decent set of tires for $400. Let's not forget one thing: there are 4 things keeping you on the road. Don't be too cheap and tempt fate too much. IMO I would get rid of all 4 and get a new set, especially if they are relatively worn out. Usually original tires on a car are crap and won't last too long.

Andrew

 

[heat seeker]

I would replace at least the pair. Driving on damaged tires is playing with disaster. What is your life and the lives of others worth? Good tires aren't cheap, but they're your only contact with the road. The steel belts do not go up the side of the tire. The sidewalls are very thin and flexible, which is one of the radial tire's assets. But, they are vulnerable to damage. If you saw how little material there is in the sidewall itself, you'd probably be surprised. Do yourself and other drivers a favor - replace the tires!