This is just a simple question to see what the general consensus is. When do most of you start looking to buy new tires? Do you wait until there is absolutely no amount of life left in the tires and you risk failure? Or do you replace when you know you've gotten most of the wear out of them but you don't want them to actually blow? Or do you just do it when you're tired of the ones you have? I'm sure there are other reasons, so feel free to let me know.

I'm curious because I have 52,000 miles on my Nitto Terra Grapplers and am getting antsy for something new. The birth date for the tires was August 2006. I'll take some pictures of them when I get a chance, but the tread still seems pretty good as far as depth goes.

So let me hear your thoughts. Thanks.

 

First is going to be safety for me. I would have to say how much tread left on them. You dont want to run them till they are bald because then you will risk your traction control with them. Especially if the weather were to be crappy and then your stuck with sh**ty tires and risk the chance of being hurt or yet killed. Then you also got the blowouts as well but then again it could happen at any time with any tire. Look for dry rotting in the tires. If you have plugs that could also play a factor in it as well. Cut up from hitting curbs and random crap.


I sold my 35s because i got tired of how small they looked and wanted to upgrade so that just motivated me to put my body lift on and get a set of 37s. This set im going to keep as an extra set because i plan on getting 42s next. Just something i can use to get the truck from point A to B knowing im not going to break anything.

 

Thanks mhockey. Yeah I'm concerned with safety for sure. I'm always just second guessing whether I'm being a little too greedy and the tires I have are fine. Its raining here now so I can't get out there and take pics, but as soon as I can, I will. I've had a couple of them plugged a few times and the lugs definitely look a little chewed on the edges. There's cracking, but never sure if its approaching rot or just stress cracks. I had them balanced and rotated 2000 miles ago at Discount Tire and they said they were fine still. He indicated that I'd probably have to replace them due to cracking before I would due to tread life.

I am quite envious of your truck by the way. I wish I could go bigger. The wife is definitely not supportive of me spending "our" money on a lift. Thanks again for the input.

 

Usually for me just depends on performance, with a truck I tend to replace a bit sooner than something with some more weight on the back end. I had a spinout on my stock tires on my old truck that ended up causing a bent axel rod and bent rim, tires still looked pretty good but the performance was clearly lacking. General rule of thumb is at 4/32'' to start looking to replace pretty soon.

 

My goal is the rated mileage for the tire, or about eight years life (in Virginia climate) or upon the recommendation of a tire professional.
If I suspect the recommendation may be self serving, I seek a second opinion.

I own three vehicles and am financially obligated for a fourth.
My pockets aren't deep enough to buy tires because I'm sick of them.
It's important to me to choose wisely when selecting tires.....
....and razor blades
.....and house paint

 

I only put about 10k miles on a tire a year and I usually get sick of them before the 60k miles are up. I've never let a tire make it down past the wear lines and even by then they're worthless in the rain.

 

Thanks for the input guys. The wife has given me permission to get some new tires, but she always manages to tack on that last question that gets me everytime; "Do you need need new tires yet?" Here are some pics I took. Tell me what you think. Remember I've got 52,000 miles on them and have had them since August 2006.

 

I generally replace mine when the first one gets down to the wear bars. On my cars that has been at about 15K miles.

 

Check your wear bars and see how close you've gotten to them. Just from what I can see, I think you may be able to finish out the year on them, at least another 6 months of good driving, but I would check those wear bars.

 

Dangit Project F150! Thats not the answer I wanted! I was hoping you would tell me for my safety and the safety of others and my future family, I'd have to rush out and buy a new set immediately! I will check to see how close to the wear bars I'm getting though. Thanks for your

 

If your guts telling you to change them man, by all means, especially if you notice a performance loss on rainy days, mostly light rains when the roads are most slick. Saving money helps protect the family too in financial crises, which makes getting everything you can out of a product safely come in handy, especially costly tires . Ultimately, do what you reckon is best.

 

dang dude your tires have about quadruple the tread that mine have

 

Haha. Project F150, I didn't want you to take that the wrong way. You were the voice of reason, I was hoping wasn't there. Haha. I haven't noticed a performance decrease and we've had some rain lately. They've actually continued to be fantastic. As I type this it seems funny I would want to replace something that has been so good, but you know how the itch gets going and you're just ready for something new!

Alex, Yeah I figured my tread was still good. I've rotated them every 6000 miles along with my oil change. Once I go over 50,000 miles I start wondering if its time to change. I'm not one that likes to get to the point where failure is a risk.

 

yeah mine is defeinitely at risk I just have a lot to pay right now so I'll putting some used ones on shortly. I have always skimped on tires but thats because Im still payin for the truck shouldnt they provide you tires and maintenance if your still making payments? lol

 

I couldn't agree more!!! Fortunately, my truck has been paid off for about 3 and half years or more now. Just paid off the wife's car, so we're now vehicle debt free. That didn't help my itch by the way. My eyes lit up and I started researching the tires I'd put on next!