how often should you flip your tires?
10-31-05, 10:05 AM
#2
I dont think you want the inside to wear too much before you flip, otherwise the ugly, worn down sidewall will now be visible on the outside of the vehicle. When I had my last set of Toyo T1s I flipped them at about 8k miles and you could tell they were worn a bit but it wasnt bad. It would have given me a few thousand extra miles but I bought new wheels and tires before I put another 3k miles on them. I wouldnt wait too long but I think 7k to 10k should be ok.
10-31-05, 11:19 AM
#3
Originally Posted by GS300Rich
I dont think you want the inside to wear too much before you flip, otherwise the ugly, worn down sidewall will now be visible on the outside of the vehicle. When I had my last set of Toyo T1s I flipped them at about 8k miles and you could tell they were worn a bit but it wasnt bad. It would have given me a few thousand extra miles but I bought new wheels and tires before I put another 3k miles on them. I wouldnt wait too long but I think 7k to 10k should be ok.
10-31-05, 04:41 PM
#5
Originally Posted by rominl
to be honest, i have never flipped the tires on my wheels
how many months/miles do you get outta your tires .....maybe cuz you keep swithching wheels and buying new tires you havent had the need to
10-31-05, 04:51 PM
#6
Racer
They often wear more on the inside even if your car is not lowered...
There's a formula to follow to see if it is worth flipping, it goes like this (the numbers are rounded off to perhaps unrealistic amounts to make the math easier to follow):
Suppose your tires cost $200 each and cost $20 each to initially mount/balance, and would last 10,000 miles if your camber was zero (totally vertical and wears evenly). Also suppose that if you never flip your tires, the inside edges will wear to an unacceptable condition at 7,000 miles.
That means if you never flip, your 4 tires cost you $880 for 7,000 miles (12.5 cents per mile). If you flip at 5000 miles, it costs you $80 more for the tire shop to flip, but the tires last to 9000 miles before you think they are shot. That's $960 for 9000 miles, or 10.6 cents per mile.
Those are just ballpark numbers and of course your situation may be different, but you can usually save money by flipping, especially if:
1) Your tires are expensive
2) Your tire shop has reasonable rates for flipping
3) Your camber causes significantly more wear on one side of your tires
The real trick is knowing when in the tire's lifespan to flip. After penciling out a few scenarios (see below) , it came to me: The best time to flip is when the sum of the usable thread left on the inside edge plus the outside edge equals the total usable thread the tire had when new. If you flip it before that point, the original outside edge (which ends up being inside) will wear out before the rest of the tire. And vice versa. But if you use the summation method, both edges of the tire will wear out at the same time.
So invest in a tire thread depth gauge and stay friendly with your local tire shop!
(Disclaimer- this is from a purely economic perspective, i.e. tire-life maximization, and ignores aesthetic and performance considerations, which admittedly are very important to many CL members.)
Suppose your tires cost $200 each and cost $20 each to initially mount/balance, and would last 10,000 miles if your camber was zero (totally vertical and wears evenly). Also suppose that if you never flip your tires, the inside edges will wear to an unacceptable condition at 7,000 miles.
That means if you never flip, your 4 tires cost you $880 for 7,000 miles (12.5 cents per mile). If you flip at 5000 miles, it costs you $80 more for the tire shop to flip, but the tires last to 9000 miles before you think they are shot. That's $960 for 9000 miles, or 10.6 cents per mile.
Those are just ballpark numbers and of course your situation may be different, but you can usually save money by flipping, especially if:
1) Your tires are expensive
2) Your tire shop has reasonable rates for flipping
3) Your camber causes significantly more wear on one side of your tires
The real trick is knowing when in the tire's lifespan to flip. After penciling out a few scenarios (see below) , it came to me: The best time to flip is when the sum of the usable thread left on the inside edge plus the outside edge equals the total usable thread the tire had when new. If you flip it before that point, the original outside edge (which ends up being inside) will wear out before the rest of the tire. And vice versa. But if you use the summation method, both edges of the tire will wear out at the same time.
So invest in a tire thread depth gauge and stay friendly with your local tire shop!
(Disclaimer- this is from a purely economic perspective, i.e. tire-life maximization, and ignores aesthetic and performance considerations, which admittedly are very important to many CL members.)
10-31-05, 04:55 PM
#7
Originally Posted by LEXISM
is your car a daily driver Rom?
how many months/miles do you get outta your tires .....maybe cuz you keep swithching wheels and buying new tires you havent had the need to
how many months/miles do you get outta your tires .....maybe cuz you keep swithching wheels and buying new tires you havent had the need to
that's my daily driver, same with the sc430.when the tires wear, i just change them. though to be honest, so far i have only changed tires once. other times i just sold my wheels and got new ones.
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10-31-05, 05:10 PM
#8
Originally Posted by rominl
about 15k a yr that's my daily driver, same with the sc430.
when the tires wear, i just change them. though to be honest, so far i have only changed tires once. other times i just sold my wheels and got new ones.
that's my daily driver, same with the sc430.when the tires wear, i just change them. though to be honest, so far i have only changed tires once. other times i just sold my wheels and got new ones.
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