Abnormal tyre wear

[sid]

I've noticed that my righthand side tyres (ie nearest the kerb) are wearing very quickly. I took the car to the local garage to ask him to check alignment and bearings etc but he immediately said it was normal here with the state of the secondary roads. He said "Drive in the middle"!! Now, whilst this may explain some of the driving behaviour around here, I'm loathe to drive down the middle of the road. Unfortunately, as many of you have found, you can only buy tyres in pairs, and the other tyre on this axle has loads of tread left. In UK I'd be able to buy just a single replacement. It's really annoying!

Anyway, has anyone else noticed this tyre wear? And has anyone managed to buy a single tyre?

Sid

edit - Yes, I know I could rotate them to even it out!

[Boiling a frog]

You can buy single tyres

try

http://www.123pneus.fr/

The rules in France are that the tyres on the same axle must be exactly the same make model etc.

[Thebiga]

I have noticed tyres out here do not last anywhere near what they did in the uk.

[Kitty]

We live in a huge forested area and everyone drives in the middle of the road.  The roads through the forests are long and straight and you see another car approaching you from a distance.  Then you have to decide at what point, you go to the right (once I accidentally started to go to the left, which shocked the oncoming driver!).

Yes, we seem to certainly get through our tyres quicker here.

 

[AnOther]

Premature wear may be as much to do with the twisty nature of many French country roads as anything else because one tends to spend proportionally more time on these than one would on similar roads in UK. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with driving in the middle of the road either provided you have the visibility to do so safely.

Also, buying single tyres should not be a problem. This 'pair at a time' nonsense they try to bully you into is a misinterpretation of the rules regarding mixing tyres on the same axle which conveniently works in the garage's favour. If all else fails take your wheel on it's own and say it's your spare,

they'll soon sell you a tyre rather than see you walk away.

I'm sure an employee of a French tyre outlet would be a most useful friend to have and never ever buys a new tyre himself [:D]

[sid]

I'm beginning to wonder if I've dreamt this thing about having to have 2 tyres replaced at the same time!! I've done a search and gone back through the various threads and not been able to find the answer. The Norauto place in Angouleme definitely told me that a couple of years ago, but I cynically rejected the deal at the time thinking it was just sales talk. [Www]

The link for 123pneus.fr looks interesting, thanks BaF! A Pirelli P7 to match mine is listed at 87.90€ whereas I paid 128.50€ (plus fitting) at Feu Vert.

I notice too that the details list it as a 'summer' tyre when I thought I'd bought an all-seasons one. Maybe these wear out quickly in the winter!!! [:-))]

Sid

[Clair]

[quote user="sid"]I'm beginning to wonder if I've dreamt this thing about having to have 2 tyres replaced at the same time!![/quote]

Changement d'un seul pneu

Si

vos pneus ont un degré d'usure minimum, c'est-à-dire que la profondeur

des rainures principales est au maximum, mais que vous avez besoin de

changer un pneu endommagé par une crevaison ou un accident, vous devez

impérativement le remplacer par un même pneu. Le nouveau pneu devra

avoir les mêmes spécificités que l'ancien et être de même marque, de

même profil/structure, de mêmes indices de vitesse/poids et bien

entendu de mêmes dimensions.

Ce que précise le code de la route :

«

La différence entre la profondeur des rainures principales de deux

pneumatiques montés sur un même essieu ne doit pas dépasser 5 millimètres

[AnOther]

A babelfish translation admittedly but I do not necessarily read that as saying the same MAKE of tyre though, just the same type and specification. I think the issue is that some garages will try to insist on selling you 2 tyres irrespective of the condition of the one you don't want or need changed.

Regarding the 5mm difference well that is tantamount to the difference between a new tyre and one which is virtually worn out and I would never advise or recommend anyone to mix tyres like that under any circumstances [:-))]

As a matter of principal I personally always strive to have all 4 tyres exactly the same and in a similar state of wear.

[Maricopa]

[quote user="Clair"]et être de même marque, [/quote]

marque = make

[sid]

Thanks Clair! Where did you find that, please? Perhaps I should print it out and take it with me. No, I think I'll order a single tyre from 123pneus and there's a local fitting station on their list which charges 20€ for fitting.

Sid

[Théière]

Try swapping the tyres around occasionally to even out the wear?

 

[Anton Redman]

If you plan on keeping the car for a good mileage buy a second and third spare wheel. You can then buy tyres when the special offers are on. .

Most of the French equivalents of Quick fit will not sell one tyre. If you turn up with a spare wheel they will swop.

 

[sid]

Hmm Anton, the wheels are alloys, so it'd be an expensive set of spares.

Teapot, I've just had this rotation discussion with a friend of mine. I prefer not to buy 4 tyres at a time, the shock of opening my wallet nearly kills me! [:-))]

I will in future change left to right though, to even it out.

Sid

[AnOther]

[quote user="Maricopa"]

[quote user="Clair"]et être de même marque, [/quote]

marque = make

[/quote]If that's what they mean then 'Identical' would be a briefer yet better and 100% unambiguous description don't you think [blink]

[Anton Redman]

[quote user="sid"]

Hmm Anton, the wheels are alloys, so it'd be an expensive set of spares.

Teapot, I've just had this rotation discussion with a friend of mine. I prefer not to buy 4 tyres at a time, the shock of opening my wallet nearly kills me! [:-))]

I will in future change left to right though, to even it out.

Sid

[/quote]

Not if you buy from a scrap yard befoire you need them

[AnOther]

Sid, tyres were never particularly cheap in France, even when the € was 1.45, so considerably worse value for money now [:(]

Last year I bought a couple of tyres from THIS outfit and they delivered them to France for £6 apiece.

My local garage fitted them for me and including removing the tyre from the spare wheel and

putting the best of the old ones back on it, the total cost was a very reasonable €22.20

Just some food for thought [;-)]

[Chancer]

Every local tyre dealer near me refuses point blank, when I ask them to prove their position they wont, when I show them my copy of the legislation they just shrug their shoulders, when I turned up on foot the next day with the wheel they sent me packing.

Their loss as I buy from la casse now at around €25 a pop, still more than my breakers in the UK but better than risking it.

My question is why do 60 million French people, or 100 thousand in my local town accept this cartel like abuse of power?

Dont get me started on why pattern parts: body panels, bumpers, wing mirrors, head and tail lights etc are illegal and cannot be bought anywhere in France, there have been a couple of consumer programs on French TV recently illustrating this scandal.

[Théière]

[quote user="sid"]

Hmm Anton, the wheels are alloys, so it'd be an expensive set of spares.

Teapot, I've just had this rotation discussion with a friend of mine. I prefer not to buy 4 tyres at a time, the shock of opening my wallet nearly kills me! [:-))]

I will in future change left to right though, to even it out.

Sid

[/quote]

Sorry Sid, that's what I meant. Mind you if you do need to buy four it would probably pay you to visit the UK.

Bro inlaw had to replace a tyre on his 5 series BMW, big runflat job 1100 euros for two. found the same in UK via e tyres inc fitting and they come to you so meet em at Dover [:)] £540

[Bugsy]

[quote user="J.Rs gone native"]

Dont get me started on why pattern parts: body panels, bumpers, wing mirrors, head and tail lights etc are illegal and cannot be bought anywhere in France, there have been a couple of consumer programs on French TV recently illustrating this scandal.

[/quote]

Not true when it comes to light units JR,

Valeo replacement light units are manufacturered in france and are available everywhere.

.

[glacier1]

I remember when I used to work in the UK, I used to ware our the front tire on the right side on my Ford Transit van, took it to the garage, everything was ok, no problem with barings or tracking!  The guy told me, the problem might be that I always turn right!  Was he trying to be funny or what?!?

[Beemer1150]

Sid wrote: 'I will in future change left to right though, to even it out.'

I'd thought of that, but mine are 'uni-directional' and marked with the direction of rotation - they would then be rotating the wrong way?

Incidentally I saved more than the fuel and ferry fare by taking the car on a visit to the UK and changing the tyres there! Effectively a free trip...

[hoverfrog]

[quote user="Beemer1150"]Sid wrote: 'I will in future change left to right though, to even it out.'

I'd thought of that, but mine are 'uni-directional' and marked with the direction of rotation - they would then be rotating the wrong way?

Incidentally I saved more than the fuel and ferry fare by taking the car on a visit to the UK and changing the tyres thereirEffectively a free trip...

[/quote]

uni-directional tyres turn one way. You can swap them, but it's not easy if your garage charges.

I bought my (M&S) tyres on ebay - well cheap! Finding a garage that would fit them was something else though :)

Can't say I'm unhappy with the result though - or the price! I'd rather pay fitting on my tyres that i chose and imported than corkage on my wine that I chose and imported - at least I know the garage has done something to earn it's fee!

[mitsi]

Is your car RHD? I ask because that can affect your tyres when you consider the camber of the road will be the opposite here to the UK. I was advised to get the car correct tracking, and parellelism as well as wheels balanced. It meant going to Bordeaux as the local garages didn't have the facilities to do all 4 wheels(!), but did make a difference.

As for driving in the middle of the road, as someone said , with good all round observation for other road users there's no reason why you can't go in the middle, so long as it's safe. It's actually a good way to improve concentration in terms of making you look to see it's safe rather than be on auto pilot. It also reduces the camber effect on tyres.

[AnOther]

[quote user="Beemer1150"]I'd thought of that, but mine are

'uni-directional' and marked with the direction of rotation - they

would then be rotating the wrong way?[/quote]Which further makes

mockery of the 'requirement', it that is what it is, to replace in

pairs. If your spare is a proper tyre as opposed to a space saver then

you face a 50% chance of it being the 'wrong' one come the day you need

to use it (actually s0ds law says it will DEFINITELY be 100% [blink]),

so which is safer now, two identical tyres but one going in the wrong

direction for which it is designed or two similar but non identical

ones going the right way ?

[sid]

I hadn't thought about the unidirectional thing! I'll swap them and drive backwards for the next 10,000kms. [blink]

Tyres are ordered (went for 2 after all, the other one is not as pristine as I thought) and hopefully will be at the fitters by the end of the week. I've recovered from the shock of having to part with some of my money.

Sid