One Tire or Two

[Uncle-A]

The other day I returned from a trip to NC to visit family, we used my wife's car. I found the right front tire on my truck was just about flat, after refilling it with air I heard that dreadful sound of hissing from the tire. Since I have moved to a new house and am now over 50 miles from my old neighborhood I had to find a new tire dealer to see if it could be fixed. I went to a chain auto store to get it fixed, it turns out the hole was outside the edge tread of the tire and could not be fixed. So I had to replace the tire and the question came up do I only purchase one tire or buy a pair? Traditionally I always get a pair so they ride and wear evenly. But what does the PUGSKI community do? Please share your thoughts.

 

[slowrider]

Go with 2. Handling could be otherwise compromised.

 

[Uncle-A]

Go with 2. Handling could be otherwise compromised.

Yes, that is what I did the other day, that is what I do traditionally. Just wondering what the community does.

 

[scott43]

Depends. How worn they are.. AWD or no drive.

 

[François Pugh]

I would draw the line at 20% difference in tread depth, unless there is a sophisticated AWD or traction control drive system, in which case I would change in pairs or even all 4 for the AWD.

 

[Josh Matta]

really depends on tread wear and what kind of drive the car is.

 

[Uncle-A]

Depends. How worn they are.. AWD or no drive.

The tire had used about 17K of a 50K warranty tire. My truck is GMC with two and four wheel drive when I flip a switch.

 

[Uncle-A]

FWIW I purchased two Cooper H/T M&S tires. They are mounted and high speed balanced and are still on the front of the truck. I did keep the one good tire that came off the other side, it still has a fair amount of tread left.

 

[François Pugh]

The tire had used about 17K of a 50K warranty tire. My truck is GMC with two and four wheel drive when I flip a switch.

Calls for two new tires, with the new tires on the back, and the non-flat from the same axle as the flat becoming a spare.

 

[Uncle-A]

Calls for two new tires, with the new tires on the back, and the non-flat from the same axle as the flat becoming a spare.

I seem to like the new tires on the front for better steering control. What is your reason for recommending the rear?

 

[scott43]

I seem to like the new tires on the front for better steering control. What is your reason for recommending the rear?

Usually driven wheels wear faster..rotation schedule.

 

[François Pugh]

I seem to like the new tires on the front for better steering control. What is your reason for recommending the rear?

Usually driven wheels wear faster..rotation schedule.

Mostly that, once the wear evens out a bit you can rotate to a schedule. Also it is safer to have the better grip on the rear; there is nothing more embarrassing than losing a race with your rear end (unless you have the room to do a 360). Some tire shops up here won't even install new tires on the front only.

 

[graham418]

Get 2 new tires. Install them on the rear axle. Check the rear tires as well. It may be prudent to change them at the same time, especially if you can get a deal on 4 tires (sometimes you can get 4 tires for the price of 3 kind of sale) You should always put your best tires on the back, because you have no control over those wheels. The front wheels you have steering input to help control in the event of tire failure.

 

[Uncle-A]

Mostly that, once the wear evens out a bit you can rotate to a schedule. Also it is safer to have the better grip on the rear; there is nothing more embarrassing than losing a race with your rear end (unless you have the room to do a 360). Some tire shops up here won't even install new tires on the front only.

I don't think I will be running any races with my truck, and the tire dealers down here recommend the opposite, they say the front is better. At this point they will stay on the front till it is time for a rotation, maybe 5K from now.
Thanks to all who replied.

 

[crgildart]

I'd rather go one tire then four next time instead of getting in to the two tires every other two years cycle. I'll just eat the loss of replacing one of the 4 that might still have some miles left on it next time. One as a temporary solution until most of the others are done then replace all 4 again is how I roll when that happens..

 

[Uncle-A]

I'd rather go one tire then four next time instead of getting in to the two tires every other two years cycle. I'll just eat the loss of replacing one of the 4 that might still have some miles left on it next time. One as a temporary solution until most of the others are done then replace all 4 again is how I roll when that happens..

I probably will not get into the replace two every couple of years because I don't plan on keeping the truck for that long of a time.

 

[crgildart]

I bet if everyone here went out right now and very carefully examined every square inch of every tire, at least 10% of us would find a nail or screw we had no idea was there. Ignorance is bliss in this regard.,, Knowledge is unsettling but those fears may not be as rational as suspected. When I drove work trucks for a living on construction sites where we all had pockets full of nails and screws we'd empty at the truck. dropping some more often than not when putting them back in the bins. So, with us and most other work trucks doing that, work trucks and the poor home owners who parked there regularly picked up a nails and screws in the tires more often than average.

If it's not losing air and not a road trip vehicle, knowing there is a nail or screw isn't a 100% must repair immediately call for me these days. We just had a new roof installed by a crew of people dropping nails all over for two days. They cleaned up best they could, and I checked behind them. But, our driveway is gravel and weeds so there is no way of finding ALL of the nails they dropped here and there. Unless I have a tire definitely losing air, I'm going to hold off on any tire shop trips for a couple months and just get them all at once. No doubt we will pick up a few nails in the aftermath of this. If you have any type of construction crew activity places where you drive and park routinely, your chances of picking up nails and screws in the tire get higher. I literally go out of my way to avoid roads where I see work trucks parked. I worked in that world and anyone else who has can testify at how many nails and screws we drop around parked work trucks every single day. Nobody crawls under the truck to retrieve a screw or nail they dropped when trying to get in the truck and back to the shop or home after a long day on the job. The more you know, the scarier place this world is.. like knowing that nail is in your tire rather than driving for years and not losing any air with no idea it was there.

 

[Uncle-A]

I bet if everyone here went out right now and very carefully examined every square inch of every tire, at least 10% of us would find a nail or screw we had no idea was there. Ignorance is bliss in this regard.,, Knowledge is unsettling but those fears may not be as rational as suspected. When I drove work trucks for a living on construction sites where we all had pockets full of nails and screws we'd empty at the truck. dropping some more often than not when putting them back in the bins. So, with us and most other work trucks doing that, work trucks and the poor home owners who parked there regularly picked up a nails and screws in the tires more often than average.

If it's not losing air and not a road trip vehicle, knowing there is a nail or screw isn't a 100% must repair immediately call for me these days. We just had a new roof installed by a crew of people dropping nails all over for two days. They cleaned up best they could, and I checked behind them. But, our driveway is gravel and weeds so there is no way of finding ALL of the nails they dropped here and there. Unless I have a tire definitely losing air, I'm going to hold off on any tire shop trips for a couple months and just get them all at once. No doubt we will pick up a few nails in the aftermath of this. If you have any type of construction crew activity places where you drive and park routinely, your chances of picking up nails and screws in the tire get higher. I literally go out of my way to avoid roads where I see work trucks parked. I worked in that world and anyone else who has can testify at how many nails and screws we drop around parked work trucks every single day. Nobody crawls under the truck to retrieve a screw or nail they dropped when trying to get in the truck and back to the shop or home after a long day on the job. The more you know, the scarier place this world is.. like knowing that nail is in your tire rather than driving for years and not losing any air with no idea it was there.

It seems that your issue is if the tire is holding air it is ok, but mine was not holding air it would need air every other day and no nail or screw was found just a hole letting out air. It is replaced with a new pair in the front and that is it. The fact that workers drop nails and screws is good to keep in mind because I need to get a new roof on my shore house and it is going to be a rip off of an existing roof and replacement with new. Lots of nails going to be around for that job.

 

[crgildart]

It seems that your issue is if the tire is holding air it is ok, but mine was not holding air it would need air every other day and no nail or screw was found just a hole letting out air. It is replaced with a new pair in the front and that is it. The fact that workers drop nails and screws is good to keep in mind because I need to get a new roof on my shore house and it is going to be a rip off of an existing roof and replacement with new. Lots of nails going to be around for that job.

Ya, if it's not functioning, not holding air, no way to avoid or put off the repair. If it's just the un nerving knowledge that you've seen a nail then fixing it depends on your feel of urgency. I avoid looking too closely at my tires unless I have documented one is actually losing air. I'd rather not know there is a nail or screw as long as it's still holding air as well as the others are..