viprklr

As I've posted recently, I just purchased a 2003 TT with 7,000 miles. I was talking with a fairly knowledgeable car friend today & he recommended putting new rubber on the car before summer. He said that rubber compounds really start to harden after 3-4 years regardless of the mileage. As everyone knows, this is a fairly costly proposition with the Pirella 19" P-Zeros which are currently on the car. I don't want to cheap out in the interest of safety. The only comment I can add is that there is a fair amount of tire/road noise, however I would attribute this more to the lower profile tire than anything else.

ltc

Any signs of sidewall cracking and/or dry rot?
Any measurable (tire pressure) leaks?

If not, then you might as well just run the tires down to the wear indicators under normal driving conditions then replace them.

If you are planning on tracking the car, then I would likely go ahead and replace the tires.

schred

If there is decent tread left and car shows no sign of vibration due to tires, I would probably get a few miles out of them. On the other hand it is always amazing what a new set of skins does to make a car feel new again.
If your driving the car much, you will wear out the rears pretty quick, maybe then spring for a full set of fresh rubber.
I still love that color!!

1AS

I wouldn't throw away a perfectly good set of tires, and yours are only about half way worn. On the other hand, the Pirellis aren't ever a perfectly good set of tires, but merely adequate. If they aren't vibrating, I'd use them until the rears are shot, then switch to the Michelins. I would not buy new rears with the old fronts(the rears will wear out much earlier), as then you will be stuck with Pirellis for another cycle. AS

Dock

+1

John D II

I don't like using tires where I do not know the history. They could be plugged from nail holes, thereby losing their high speed rating. I have purchased used wheels with tires in the past and subsequently sold the tires for whatever I could get and put that towards new rubber. Whether a real or perceived risk, I like the peace of mind from knowing the tires history.

1AS

John,
Not to quibble, but wouldn't the better option then be to dismount the tires, inspect, remount and rebalance? That would probably cost about one third the cost of throwing away a half-used set of tires.
Since the savings is in hundreds of dollars, rather than thousands, discarding isn't of huge consequence, except it can be irksome as a "waste" rather than "expendature". AS

whiteturbo

Mine had cracks in the sidewalls on the rear very bad cracks. Look on the inside as mine looked good outside. If you do decide to run the ones you have i would stay at a safe speed. I changed mine out at 8,000 miles on a 01 and it was the last part of last year. Most tire have a warranty of 3 to 5 years on cracking.

John D II

Alexander,

Yes that would work, too - I guess the point being to make sure you are not running unsafe tires...

SimonK

I had 1mm to thread wear indicators left and I aquaplaned in my 944TS and was lucky to walk away alive. Car was a total write-off. I will never ever ever skimp on tyres again. You have a “race car” not a pick up truck so give your car a new pair of shoes it deserves and be done with it. PS. Your friend is also spot on. ;-).

slant911

And to answer a part of your original question the recomendation I have heard is if the tires are 5 years old or more from the tire manufacture date whether they are to the wear indicators or not you should replace them. The rubber gets old and brittle and fail on you.

SimonK

One more thing; if I don't take car out for 10 days i get steering wheel shimmy as tyres harden - flat spot. It takes 10 miles of driving for the vibration to stop. If you car sits in a garage for long periods of time Pirelli's will flat spot to a degree that will make that vibration permanent. I have been there when I neglected my baby due to a hefty motorbike season. Keep that rubber rolling guys...