UKKid35

I've never been able to afford new tyres for my car, not least because it's taken me so long to resolve the tracking issues that used to destroy my front tyres so quickly. So I've always snapped up bargain tyres on eBay. I've found some real bargains that have helped me keep my car on the road, and had a chance to try several different brands. Almost all have been used and had 6mm or more tread, and none have had puncture repairs.

In preparation for a long roadtrip I fitted a pair of 245/45ZR16 Dunlop D40 which had about 7mm on the rear. The car was fully loaded and there was the possibility of sustained high speed so I inflated them to the recommended 43psi. I was really impressed with the Dunlops dry grip, I pushed them really hard on several mountain passes, and they performed really well.

However about 2000 miles in to the trip, on a very hot day I suddenly experienced a wheel bearing/cv joint/flat tyre type noise. I couldn't work out what the problem was, but I pulled off the autostrada immediately, and the sound got worse and worse. Eventually the car became undriveable and I jacked the car up to discover one of the Dunlops had developed a bulge in the tread rather than the sidewall. I checked the pressure and it had risen to 50psi.

I was about 40 miles north of Florence, Italy, with no sign of any tyre fitters, so I let both rears down to about 20psi and drove the rest of the way very slowly. I stopped at the first tyre fitter I found and asked for a quote for a new pair of 245/45ZR16, luckily I was sitting down when he said €500, that's about $770.

Obviously I left assuming that I could do much better, though every quote I had afterwards was higher or the same. I was even quoted €800 ($1230) for a pair of Pirellis. Bear in mind I'm used to paying no more $100 for a good used pair, so this really was a shock to the system. However I tried to console myself that at least I'd have a brand new pair of Bridgestones or Contis (the two makes that I was offered for €500), although in fact I knew the Contis wouldn't be available.

Eventually I found a fitter who quoted €500 and assured me that the tyres would be delivered the following day. I limped back to the campsite where we staying, as by now the damaged rear was leaking as well, and hoped I could coaz the car back there the following day. I didn't want the tyre issue to detract from our limited time in Florence, but I also had to get the problem sorted swiftly so our forward travel plans and booked accommodation weren't affected.

At 3pm the next day I limped back to the tyre fitter, having to stop every half a mile to pump more air in to the rapidly disintegrating tyre, but the promised Bridgestones had still not arrived. About an hour later they did arrive to my considerable relief, however I immediately noticed that they were Expedia S01 - surely they had not been made for some years... Sure enough the manufacture date was 1700 - May 2000, I was not impressed. I expressed my disappointment to the tyre fitter, who agreed it was not ideal, and asked whether I still wanted them.

I had no option, there were no other tyres in that size available, the other outlets probably had access to the same distributor, and if they had been returned and I'd gone to another supplier I almost certainly would have ended up with the exact same tyres. My €500 now seemed an extremely poor deal, but I had no choice at all. I didn't want to risk changing just one Dunlop, as the likelihood of the other tyre suffering the same fate seemed quite high.

I knew the Dunlops were '99, so I was replacing them with some Bridgestones that were just a year younger - very depressing...

I pointed this out to the tyre fitter, who initially dismissed the Dunlops as a poor quality brand, but then notice that I was wrong, the Dunlops were not '99 - they were manufactured in '89 - I had misread the three digit date stamp!!!

So, it was all my fault, I put the 20 year old Dunlops through hell, and they failed - hardly surprising. In fact I was very impressed with them, they had excellent dry grip, and when the tyre failed it did so very progressively. In fact it had warned me the preceeding day, but I had misread the sign - my steering alignment went out slightly, I assumed I must have knocked the alignment out without realising it, but in fact the tyre had simply expanded. When the bulge developed it did so gradually, but dramatically - I will post photos soon.

Jim bailey - 928 International

The other issue with used tires is you never know if they have hit a pothole or a curb and seriously damaged the inner cords there often is a reason why they were taken off the car BEFORE they wore out....like it's mate on the otherside blewout

UKKid35

Unless you always replace all tyres as soon as you buy a used car, then you are buying used tyres with unknown history. However, point taken.

killav

As a side note to buying used tires:
I had a vibration that would not go away until I bought four brand new tires and had them all road forced balanced. I was ready to buy new wheels because I was so sure it was a rim problem after fitting another set of used tires (they were also a different brand) on the back wheels with the same result--vibration at certain speeds. I just couldn't fathom that 2 different sets of back tires would cause my vibration, but it did. And both sets were used.

New tires have been the best money I have spent on the car to date.

Jim bailey - 928 International

Yea I do often buy new tires and sometimes wheels but I only putt around at about 75 mph max on the street. The Victor Racers/V710 s I have lost track of how many I have bought new but already " worn out "because of the minimal tread depth . Also if the tires wheels are on a car you at least know that the wheels are not broken and the suspension is still on the car

chaadster

UK,

What a horrible way to start a vacation! Sorry to hear about the troubles, but at least you got to drive your 928 in Italy, something I only dream about! I really hope I can get the car there someday.

I can hear the bwaaaah echoing off the hills of Chianti now....

Randy V

Paul, perhaps when you acquire gainful employment you will one day be able to affort the luxury of new tyres.

Dare to dream!

UKKid35

Photo showing bulge in the tread

Brett928S2

Hi Paul

Thats not a bulge...thats what called "tread lift" or "tread separation"

Its when the rubber tread separates from the steel cords......like when you see remoulded truck tyres or rather parts of them on the side of the motorway ...

Very dangerous at high speed...you were VERY lucky.....

In the UK you would have paid around £150 for a PAIR of Falkens in that size...

I think you need to decide how much is your life worth......

As a famous American Racer said about the cost of helmets....if you have a $10 head , buy a $10 helmet....lol

I think you see my point though...high performance cars and second hand tyres dont mix.....

All the best Brett

UKKid35

No, the sidewall stretched, it isn't clear from the photo, I should have taken some when the tyre was removed from the rim.

Alan

Still I think the sentiment holds... without good tires (or tyres) you are seriously compromising the capability of the car. Safer to have poor tires on a low performance car...

I know lots of people run cheap or used tires - but in the end you are sacrificing cornering & stopping performance (as well as a good deal of uncertainty with used). With modern high performance tires (especially low profile summer performance tires on bigger wheesl) its possible to make these cars handle better than they ever did new - by a good margin on older models.

Even on the GTS there has been a huge improvement over the Continental Contisports.

Alan

ew928

I foolishly tried used tyres/tires once.
Bought me nothing but heartache.

Did get to try Conti ContiSportContact II for cheap.
Pretty good tires. Used ones didn't last long.


There's only about 1 square foot of contact patch controlling what 3400 lbs plus of
stael/glass/aluminum/rubber will do.
I'm saving up to buy some nice tires when the back tires are worn out.

pcar928fan

I have had good luck w/ used tires, but I don't drive so many miles on my 928's...well about 10,000/year, but spread that across 5 street cars and a race and there you go...

I use used racing slicks on my Race car and LOVE THEM...especially at $60 to $75 per tire! You just can't beat that!

I have bought a few used tires for some of the street cars when it was a situation where I had a pair that were done for and then the other two were still good... I figure this way they both wear out together and then get a full set of 4 new (but not expensive) tires...

It has worked for me, but YMMV!

UKKid35

Before this happened, the last pair of new tyres I bought were Hankook Ventus Plus 245/45ZR16. They were far and away the worst tyre I have every bought, new or used. The 20 year old Dunlops were in a completely different league to the Hankook, which were hopeless in the dry and leathal in the wet. Not only did they have absolutely no grip whatsoever, but they seemed to weigh twice as much as anything else I've ever used.

I would never have deliberately used the 20 year old Dunlops, but if I had a choice of them or brand new Hankook Ventus Plus, I wouldn't touch the Hankook - they would definitely have killed me on this trip.

Bill Ball

No used tires, but I do not spend a lot on new ones either. I'm stunned at the price quotes your got for 2 tires, and more than stunned by the amount that one shop wanted to charge you for 8 year-old tires that should have been tossed out. Weird.