Steve_Jones
Steve_Jones UltraDork
4/4/24 6:35 p.m.

My Son is moving from MD to WA and has a 2021 Mazda CX-5 with 30k miles. He plans on towing a small U-Haul trailer, so he had the car looked at. Everything came back fine except tire will need to be replaced "soon". Fronts are 5/32, rears are 6/32. I have 2 trains of thought.

1. Get tires now since it's a long trip, no need to invite issues on the way 

2. Let these tires get beat up towing 2800 miles and get new ones in WA. 
 

Thoughts?

If you are guaranteed good weather and dry roads then go with the old ones and burn them off. If you can comfortably expect there is going to be some rain then I would go with new ones for peace of mind. You have to buy them anyway and one short trip won't make a difference to the wallet over the long run.

ShawnG
ShawnG MegaDork
4/4/24 6:52 p.m.

I'd trust your tires more than the ones on the rental trailer.

Datsun240ZGuy
Datsun240ZGuy MegaDork
4/4/24 7:06 p.m.

I'd wait - those original tires are probably good for 60,000 miles.  How do the wear bars look?

Steve_Jones
Steve_Jones UltraDork
4/4/24 7:13 p.m.
Datsun240ZGuy said:

I'd wait - those original tires are probably good for 60,000 miles.  How do the wear bars look?

I haven't looked yet, going off the word of the shop, supposedly starting to cup as well. They've been rotated on a regular basis, so I was surprised there was an issue. 

Dusterbd13-michael
Dusterbd13-michael MegaDork
4/4/24 8:14 p.m.

Look at costs in Washington vs home.  Local taxes and market can make a big difference. Dad saw double the price between getting tires here in albemarle and having to replace one of them on a trip in California 

johndej
johndej UltraDork
4/4/24 8:17 p.m.

Send it

collinskl1
collinskl1 GRM+ Memberand Reader
4/9/24 10:54 a.m.

Send it.

If that trip takes a measureable amount of tread depth away, the vehicle has bigger issues.

glueguy (Forum Supporter)
glueguy (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand Dork
4/9/24 11:23 a.m.

It's a good question to ask, but if it was me I would keep the old ones, pending a visual assessment.

John Welsh
John Welsh Mod Squad
4/14/24 8:33 p.m.

In reply to Steve_Jones :

My cynical view; I know, but...

You took the Mazda to a shop and asked, "what should I spend money on?"  They're not gonna come back with an answer of, "we don't want any of your money."  From there tires and brakes are the typical recommendation.  I think the reason is they can ease their conscience by knowing that both of these are wear items.  Are your tires bad????  Maybe not at 6/32s but with a clear conscience they can answer that new 9/32s are better.  

But, further more, getting tires at home where you are involved my keep Jr from getting taken by a potentially less reputable shop once he's out there alone.  

But, even with that said, I'd likely stay with the 6/32s a long as they visually check out.  Odd that the shop mentioned cupping.  That's a result of suspension.  They didn't recommend suspension work so are they just recommending you cup another set of tires?  Not addressing the real problem...and why...because my suspicion is the cupping isn't happening.  It was a panic statement the salesman said when he thought he needed more amunition to the story.  

Datsun240ZGuy
Datsun240ZGuy MegaDork
4/14/24 8:59 p.m.

My son has a 2 year old, 30,000 mile CRV and the dealer (he goes for oil changes) pulled the same thing but they threw in the reason is that it's early winter in central Illinois and you want good tires for the ice and snow.  He passed.
 

 

Steve_Jones
Steve_Jones UltraDork
4/14/24 9:09 p.m.
Datsun240ZGuy said:

My son has a 2 year old, 30,000 mile CRV and the dealer (he goes for oil changes) pulled the same thing but they threw in the reason is that it's early winter in central Illinois and you want good tires for the ice and snow.  He passed.
 

 

This was a dealer oil change as well, surprise. I haven't looked at them yet, so not sure there is really an issue. If there is though, I'll get them done here by someone I have some faith in vs him picking a random shop in a new place. 

Purple Frog
Purple Frog GRM+ Memberand Dork
4/14/24 9:47 p.m.

The tires when new were probably 10/32 or 11/32, so they are not half worn.  For reference, the wear bars are at 2/32.

Its a personal decision to make when you look at them.  We live in Florida, so on the wife's car I usually toss at 4/32 to avoid hydroplanning issues.    I guess i consider street tires fairly inexpensive since on the race car they cost $1,200 and last 40 minutes or so.

Datsun240ZGuy
Datsun240ZGuy MegaDork
4/14/24 9:50 p.m.

In reply to Steve_Jones :

They also wanted to change out the rear axle housing fluid - I told him we can do it. 

Spearfishin
Spearfishin Reader
4/15/24 4:26 p.m.

We have state safety inspections mandated annually. I appreciate a second set of eyes on things, and being told which wear items are showing some wear. I don't appreciate being sold on replacement of said items when they're not worn out, just "getting close". 

6/32 is "wearing", not "worn" in my mind. 

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