Why nobody wants to "flip" a set of tires for me?

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
Originally Posted By: jjjxlr8
Originally Posted By: Texan4Life
Not to mention when flipping tires like you are describing which would have them rotating the opposite direction. This has been known to cause the the tread to separate from the the carcass.


This is a myth.


+1 Half my tires turn backwards every time I rotate them.
Not a myth-the original radials would do that when you reversed direction of rotation-I had a '65 Impala many years ago that I bought from a guy who put almost no miles on-it had Firestones (721s or 500s?) on it, I rotated the tires myself the day after I bought it-tore belts on ALL FOUR tires within 2 days! Modern radials don't do it these days, though. Why not just buy 2 new tires & put them on the front & put the 2 best ones on the rear? FWD front tires wear 3 times as fast as the rears anyway.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Not a myth-the original radials would do that when you reversed direction of rotation-I had a '65 Impala many years ago that I bought from a guy who put almost no miles on-it had Firestones (721s or 500s?) on it, I rotated the tires myself the day after I bought it-tore belts on ALL FOUR tires within 2 days! Modern radials don't do it these days, though. Why not just buy 2 new tires & put them on the front & put the 2 best ones on the rear? FWD front tires wear 3 times as fast as the rears anyway.


My car's owner manual came with a recommended rotation pattern that include reverse direction, so I trust they know what they are doing when they put that in the manual.

The problem with buying 2 new and putting in the rear, is that it won't even out the wear among the 4 tires due to different alignment settings, so the tire has to be replaced sooner due to uneven wear.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Originally Posted By: GMBoy
You are not saving the environment by waiting because they're going to the dump anyhow...and tires get recycled anyhow.


I agree with the rest of your statement, but how does "tires get recycled anyhow"? I don't think they can be recycled more than shred and dumped. Which is why I want to extend my use to reduce.



http://www.greencar.com/articles/happens-scrap-tires.php

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
I'm not even talking about tire shop chains like Big O or Firestone. I'm talking about gas stations. I have 2 types of tires on my FWD car, the rear 2 are almost bald and I'm leaving it at that till the front is also almost bald so I can replace all 4 as a set.

The front 2, Bridgestone HP50 from Sears, are at around 5/32 on the outer edge and 2-3/32 on the inner of one, and 3-4/32 on the inner of the other. The tire guys measured 2/32 on the center of both tires, but what they didn't realize by looking at the design, is that the entire center is raised to the same level as 2/32 wear bar in the groves that separate between the outer, center and inner blocks. It is the way the tires are designed, so that they can claims to be 11/32" total trend depth but the center region is 2/32" less (tricky). I would like to flip these 2 so I can wear this set to the dump evenly and let it last another 6-12 months.

Tire shops told me to just ignore it and get new tires in a few months instead, because it cost like $30-40 to flip them. I understand that I may not get the most bang for the buck flipping them, but I really do not want to throw good rubber into the dump as it really isn't good for the environment. To be honest I'd rather the money be made by the guys installing them so the money is staying in the US, than off shored to factories and farmland elsewhere.


Panda Bear - I mean this in the nicest way - you are NOT saving money doing this. You are risking a crash due to loss of control caused by worn out tires! That risk is an expensive proposition...a crash costs you money, raises your insurance, and god forbid, could cost you (or the person you hit) a serious injury or worse.

I know you live in sunny CA, where it never rains, ever, but you need 6/32 for decent snow performance, 4/32 for decent rain performance and 2/32 is minimum legal depth. More details at http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=157&

Here is the testing that proves the guidelines for rain: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=85

You are already at 2/32...they are worn out...would you run an oil that was below 1.0 TBN just to get ALL the miles out of it? Of course not, you might damage the engine with sludege build up...

So it is with tires, just because you see some tread (5/32 in parts, 2/32 in others) doesn't mean there is any useful life left in them...even if you flipped them, the 2/32 part would continue to wear below that...

Further, tires with the best tread should be mounted on the REAR of the car, not the front.

This prevents an oversteer loss of control...instead the car will understeer when it begins to lose grip. Ref: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=52

Think of it this way, if running them down to 2/32" is OK, why not down to the cord itself? Your rain performance is already gone...you could squeeze out a few more miles by going all the way to the cord...right?

Nobody wants to touch your tires because they are worn out right now and those shops don't want the liability for the wreck if you keep driving on them.

Know how good it feels to fill up the crankcase with fresh oil? Feels even better having new rubber on the rims...pitch these things before you experience a loss of traction in the rain that causes a crash...and then fix whatever is causing them to wear unevenly...

 

[AdRock]

I agree with the above. Just put 4 new tires on. There's quite a difference between being frugal and being dangerous to yourself and others on the road. I'm not surprised at all that no one wanted to touch those tires.

 

[oldmaninsc]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Originally Posted By: GMBoy
You are not saving the environment by waiting because they're going to the dump anyhow...and tires get recycled anyhow.


I agree with the rest of your statement, but how does "tires get recycled anyhow"? I don't think they can be recycled more than shred and dumped. Which is why I want to extend my use to reduce.


At our local high school, the football/track field is made up of recycled tires. I forget the exact number, but several thousands of tires were recycled for just this one field. One of my daughters was in marching band for 4 years. I had little pieces of rubber in my car every time I picked her up!

Like most others here I think it's not worth it - the risk vs. the benefit of putting off buying tires for a year or so.

 

[38sho]

in america you wear the rf tire more then anything if you have a good alignment, that tire takes the abuse on LH turns through intersections and when you are making u turns especially.....

rotating them side to side is a great practice, if your tires start to feather or chop it can help reduce some noise and not make the tire worse.... I also do it a lot when doing alignments and I get pull complaints, i just switch the LF to the RF if its non directional and the specs don't coincide with a right pull scenario.......... you'd be surprised just how many pulling problems are tires......

Also, FYI, if your so environmentally worried(BTW i'm not entirely, its just a good argument) you would be better off throwing them away so they are recycled as mentioned. If you wear the tires down by driving them, where do you think all that rubber happens to rest now? did it just disappear? no..... now your rubber is all on the road, in the air, on buildings, drinking water retention ponds, anything around a road. Ever live close to an interstate? ever notice how quickly concrete patios/sidewalks become covered in a black soot/powder substance? And thats on a highway where the least amount of tire wear occurs, but its heavily traveled.

 

[FusilliJerry82]

I wanted to do this once with the same exact circumstances, Firestone, Sears, Pep Boys and one Walmart wouldn't. I had to go to a Walmart in Bumblefrick, PA. Once it was done, everything worked out, got another 6 months out of the tires where I would have had to replace them almost immediately otherwise.

 

[CapriRacer]

Just so we are clear on this:

Swapping front tires left to right is a good test to see if the pull is caused by the tires - or the alignment.

If the pull basically reverses direction, the the problem is 100% the tires.

If the pull doesn't change, then the problem is 100% alignment.

But if the pull disappears, or is substantially changed (other than a complete reversal), then it is both tires and the alignment.

 

[goodoleboy]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Originally Posted By: GMBoy
You are not saving the environment by waiting because they're going to the dump anyhow...and tires get recycled anyhow.


I agree with the rest of your statement, but how does "tires get recycled anyhow"? I don't think they can be recycled more than shred and dumped. Which is why I want to extend my use to reduce.



Where does the rubber go if you drive on it for another few months? Does it evaporate or end up on the side of the road in fine particles for everyone to breathe? Because its not visible as a ugly old tire in a landfill does not mean its better choice for the tire.


Recycling is a myth i feel to a point..What is here on this earth now, is just moved around or created into something different.It does not go away..

Maybe that is what some call recycling though?


All that being said, if you want to find a tire shop that will install a Fred Flintsone vintage Rock wheel or flip old tires, go to the poor part of town..
Prices are cheaper, and they wont question your wishes.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: goodoleboy
Recycling is a myth i feel to a point..What is here on this earth now, is just moved around or created into something different.It does not go away..

Maybe that is what some call recycling though?


Want to try reworking that ?

In logic ?

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: goodoleboy
Where does the rubber go if you drive on it for another few months? Does it evaporate or end up on the side of the road in fine particles for everyone to breathe? Because its not visible as a ugly old tire in a landfill does not mean its better choice for the tire.


Recycling is a myth i feel to a point..What is here on this earth now, is just moved around or created into something different.It does not go away..


Points taken but disagree with you. Tire powder on the road isn't much of a problem but the carcass in landfill is not something I like. I used to work near a tire landfill and the occasional fire isn't something I enjoy. Burning it in a cement plant I can accept (cleaner with higher temperature), shredding it to pave road and playground I can accept (but we already have too much of that for all the necessary input), pyrolysis doesn't seems to be cost effective, and most importantly I cannot control what they will do with my old tires when I dump them, so the only thing I can do is to make sure they last longer and do my part (my own business).

If you worked near a landfill and see how much can be reduced with proper recycling then it is not a myth, but if you don't care about what goes around where you don't see, then your point make sense. What I can reduce before it is even recycled or trashed would be more important to me.

I'll ride on bald for a few months till the rain season start, so the next set will last longer.

 

[ahoier]

Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
At our local high school, the football/track field is made up of recycled tires.
yep, it's my understanding they do this to help with the knees/joints, etc....running on the "rubber" isn't as bad on the joints/knees as say, running on cement....gives you a bit of a "spring" reflex too as you run