when Should I change my OEM Potenza tires?

[hero]

Hi All,

I have put on my Yarii OEM Potenza tires about 15,000 Km, within 2 years (nice usage!), one of friends recommends I have to change the tires as it should be changed on 40,000 Km or 2 years as a safety matter, which is first...Is this correct!!?

Thanks for you all.

[RETRO]

change based on tread depth.I replace when the tread depth is around 20%

[SilverBack]

It also depends on your driving style. For example, I take corners kind of fast so mine were quite bald by 48,000 Km, even with rotations.

[ctrj]

Run them down to the wear bars and then replace them.

[WeeYari]

I don't know what it is like living in Egypts' environmental conditions. I would suspect that if you are not wearing the tires down within a reasonable timeframe, then one would have to monitor age of tire as well. Rubber compounds harden over time, hence becoming unsafe even if there is plenty of tread life left.

[yarswiss]

I changed my Potenzas after only 30,000 miles as they had become very slippery and quite dangerous when wet. This was even with 20,000 miles of babying the car and rotation every 5000 miles. I found getting new tires to be the best thing I could have done as it was a drastic change in both handling and ride quality. The Potenzas are also quite expensive for what you get. You could easliy find much better tyres for 2/3 the price.

[MUSKOKA800]

I don't know what it is like living in Egypts' environmental conditions. I would suspect that if you are not wearing the tires down within a reasonable timeframe, then one would have to monitor age of tire as well. Rubber compounds harden over time, hence becoming unsafe even if there is plenty of tread life left.

5 years is the general guideline for replacing tires whether worn-out or not. As WeeYari has stated the rubber degrades over time and performance and reliability is compromised.
That said, I can't imagine the cheesy OEM tires on my Yaris being roadworthy in five years. These Goodyear LS's offer scant dry traction now at only 2 years of age even with >50% tread depth remaining. Oddly they work okay in the wet while at the same time are terrifying on the slightest bit of snow. All season NOT. Monsoon season maybe. :iono:
I'll be shopping for some sticky sneakers this year once the winter boots get packed away.

[tk-421]

Welcome to the forums!

It might be helpful if you took some pics of the tires to see how the treads are doing...

Have you rotated the tires yet? If not, you should.

[TLyttle]

I only got 30,000kms out of my Potenzas, and my Hankooks are showing wear after 10,000. I blame the front end geometry, it is unlike anything I've ever driven before; it as if Ackermann was some kind of wierdo, not to be followed by Toyota engineers. That setup EATS tires, unless all one does is drive freeways. I'm very disappointed, as all the money I save in fuel is going into tires!

[aca72]

I changed mine around 26K miles (41600 Km). I still have enough tread to go beyond 30K miles but the Costco sale and Michelin rebate enticed me to change them. Now, I have Michelin Harmony. It's much better than the Potenza.

[SilverBack]

If you don't mind just a little road noise for daily driving, you could go for a set of Falken Ziex ZE-502 tires in 195/50/15 size. They're not expensive and take a long time to wear down. Also, you're gas mileage shouldn't be noticeably affected as long as you take it easy.

I'm currently running 205/50/15 size for the added benefit of tighter cornering in Auto-X (even though the gas mileage is isn't as great as it was on the narrower OEM Potenza's because 205's have a wider contact patch and added material weight). After 16,000 Km of hard driving they're barely showing a few superficial scuffs here and there. I just can't shred these tires no matter how hard I try, so they're worth it :thumbsup:

[bobselectric]

As soon as you get the car-- the RE92's that come with the car here in the US stink

[nemelek]

Being cheap by nature I will try to get the most miles possible out of my tires. They will have to get to the ware bars before I change them. Currently have 20k and plan to drive them to 45 - 50k.

[RETRO]

Being cheap by nature I will try to get the most miles possible out of my tires. They will have to get to the ware bars before I change them. Currently have 20k and plan to drive them to 45 - 50k.

Good Luck:thumbsup:

[Loren]

I'm going to side with your friend, sort of. Tires do harden and deteriorate with age, regardless of mileage and remaining tread depth. After 2 years in the elements, they will be noticeably less soft and less grippy than they were when new. That said, it's not uncommon for people to run a set of tires for 5 years or more... so it's really up to you how long you're willing to leave a set of tires on your car.

Personally, my tires never last 2 years. I do a lot of autocrossing and occasional track driving in my car, and I think my record is about 11 months.

But, on my wife's car, I regularly insist that she replace her tires about every 3 years... usually at about half tread depth.