Hi

I have a 2019 MK8 fiesta I'm wondering when I should think about replacing the tyres, I have 18" alloys with Michellin tyres fitted and they still have plenty of tread, my car has only done 13500m, but I notice the wall of the tyres (more on the edge of tread) are showing them hairline cracks, very minor, I believe this is caused by the age of the tyre and the sun heat on them over time?.

Would I be best getting them replaced soon, when I change them I will likely get all 4 replaced.

 

Thanks 

 

 

Minor surface cracking is fine. If your worried many garages will check them for free.

Keep an eye on them regularly, of course, but I would think the rears should last for 30 thousand miles as a minimum. No need to replace all four at the same time if there's plenty of tread left on the rears.

9 hours ago, mitch84 said:

Hi

I have a 2019 MK8 fiesta I'm wondering when I should think about replacing the tyres, I have 18" alloys with Michellin tyres fitted and they still have plenty of tread, my car has only done 13500m, but I notice the wall of the tyres (more on the edge of tread) are showing them hairline cracks, very minor, I believe this is caused by the age of the tyre and the sun heat on them over time?.

Would I be best getting them replaced soon, when I change them I will likely get all 4 replaced.

 

Thanks 

 

 

I have a 2018 Fiesta at the 1st MOT it had an advisory that the tyres were cracking on the sidewall (due to lack of use during the lockdown) I had all 4 replaced with MICHELIN CrossClimate.

My focus also has 18” wheels , factory tyres were Michelin pilot sport. Front 2 didn’t last long…had to change them at first service , 17,500 miles. Rear two I got 36k miles out of ..tho illegal tread on them when changed! 
Front two were replaced with cheaper Michelins at first service. Now needing replaced at 36k miles. 
My conclusion is in my experience Michelin tyres aren’t as durable as other brands 

2 hours ago, alanfp said:

Keep an eye on them regularly, of course, but I would think the rears should last for 30 thousand miles as a minimum. No need to replace all four at the same time if there's plenty of tread left on the rears.

I was just thinking get them all changed save having to go get the other 2 changed at a later date, and also swapping them around.

I always used to put the new tyres on the rear on my focus.

A lot of people will frown but Crossclimate 2s are perfect for the UK. 

CC2 is an excellent tyre for the UK only concern is tread life may be shorter than a quality summer tyre but time will tell. If you are replacing before legal limit due to age then this unlikely to be an issue for you.

3 hours ago, cjay1 said:

CC2 is an excellent tyre for the UK only concern is tread life may be shorter than a quality summer tyre but time will tell. If you are replacing before legal limit due to age then this unlikely to be an issue for you.

I've been using CrossClimates for about 4-5 years now. I'm afraid I haven't kept good records but I am pretty sure that they have lasted very well - better than other tyres I've used over the years I would say.

I put crossclimate 2s on my fiesta, they come with 7mm tread new, so far after  about 8000-9000 miles and 1 rotation at 5000 miles, they’re at roughly 6.0-6.2mm thereabouts.

Brilliant in the cold and snow this winter, however because they have no continuous tread like a summer tyre, they don’t have as good handling and they can feel a bit wish washy with on centre feel when on the motorway.

The upside to that, is they don’t tramline like some summer tyres do on poor roads with awkward cambers etc. 

So that's about 40 - 45k miles per tyre (if you change them at 2mm tread) some of which (either 5k or 3-4k) has been on the front, which sounds good to me. 

30 minutes ago, alanfp said:

So that's about 40 - 45k miles per tyre (if you change them at 2mm tread) some of which (either 5k or 3-4k) has been on the front, which sounds good to me. 

Yeah! Not too bad, however I’m expecting a bit less. This will be the first summer they go through, so expecting a bit more wear over summer compared to over the autumn/winter we just had.

On 4/24/2022 at 2:38 PM, cjay1 said:

Minor surface cracking is fine. If your worried many garages will check them for free.

Back on topic - good advice.

 

But - you should always rotate your tyres.... especially with front wheel drive, nose-heavy/rear-light cars like the Fiesta.

You get better overall wear, and therefore the tyres will be at their best for longer (rather than having to replace ones that have been rounded off at the front if you don't keep on top of tracking)

You don't want to be in the situation where the rears are five years old and hardly worn, and the fronts are new - no matter how the tyre/car has been treated, the rears will be harder/have less grip than the fronts... unless you've bought cheap fronts.

Rotating means the tyres will all be similar ages when you replace them - a car is much better balanced, especially in an emergency situation, if you have the same exact tyre with the same age on all four corners.

You might think replacing all four at the same time costs more, but over time, wearing all four out properly will actually save you money.

Unless you are happy with keeping old tyres on the rear, for years, and just keep replacing the fronts.  Most people will get away with this of course, therefore what's the problem? 

I rotated the tyres on my Mk2 Focus once...never again!!

They had worn on the outer edges, and been slightly shaped by the camber as well.  Moving them to the rear caused horrendous noise, and didn't balance out the wear, but just caused extra wear in alternate places.  In a perfect world tyres would wear evenly through rotation, but we don't live in a perfect world.

The best compromise is fitting new ones to the rear, and moving rears forward each time imo.

1 hour ago, orangecurry said:

Back on topic - good advice.

 

But - you should always rotate your tyres.... especially with front wheel drive, nose-heavy/rear-light cars like the Fiesta.

You get better overall wear, and therefore the tyres will be at their best for longer (rather than having to replace ones that have been rounded off at the front if you don't keep on top of tracking)

You don't want to be in the situation where the rears are five years old and hardly worn, and the fronts are new - no matter how the tyre/car has been treated, the rears will be harder/have less grip than the fronts... unless you've bought cheap fronts.

Rotating means the tyres will all be similar ages when you replace them - a car is much better balanced, especially in an emergency situation, if you have the same exact tyre with the same age on all four corners.

You might think replacing all four at the same time costs more, but over time, wearing all four out properly will actually save you money.

Unless you are happy with keeping old tyres on the rear, for years, and just keep replacing the fronts.  Most people will get away with this of course, therefore what's the problem? 

Yeah, I will get all 4 replaced, I've never rotated tyres apart from when I got 2 new tyres with my old focus. I think if I get 4 new ones sometime this year, that will last me until new car.

Should I bother with tracking/alignment, when I get all 4 changed?

 

If they have worn completely evenly across the tread face measured with a tyre depth guage then I wouldn't. If there is any sign of uneven ware however slight then its a worthwhile expense to maximize new tyre life. 

2 hours ago, orangecurry said:

But - you should always rotate your tyres....

In over 40 years, I have never rotated my tires, not only am I far too lazy, but with many wheels now having built in TPMS sensors, who can be bothered with all that reprogramming!

The idea of rotating tyres is outdated, I seem to remember the AA/RAC even changed their stance on it saying something like it was not appropriate for cars with ABS (shows how long ago that must have been). Also don't forget that some tyre treads have a 'Direction of Rotation' so you can't swap wheels from nearside to offside and vice versa.

2 hours ago, mitch84 said:

Should I bother with tracking/alignment, when I get all 4 changed?

 

1 hour ago, cjay1 said:

If they have worn completely evenly across the tread face measured with a tyre depth gauge then I wouldn't. If there is any sign of uneven ware however slight then its a worthwhile expense to maximize new tyre life. 

Agreed.  Also worth noting the Fiesta doesn't have rear toe adjustment, so you only need fronts done which reduces the cost.

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I rotated the tyres on my Mk2 Focus once...never again!!

They had worn on the outer edges, and been slightly shaped by the camber as well.  Moving them to the rear caused horrendous noise, and didn't balance out the wear, but just caused extra wear in alternate places.  In a perfect world tyres would wear evenly through rotation, but we don't live in a perfect world.

The best compromise is fitting new ones to the rear, and moving rears forward each time imo.

But your issue was caused by not keeping your tracking 'correct', which obviously reduces tyre lifespan and increases mpg... never mind the actual poor steering you would be suffering.  Nothing to do with rotation.

1 minute ago, orangecurry said:

But your issue was caused by not keeping your tracking 'correct', which obviously reduces tyre lifespan and increases mpg... never mind the actual poor steering you would be suffering.  Nothing to do with rotation.

The tracking was in spec, done with a decent Hunter aligner.  The camber is normal for these (different cars have different amounts), and the edgewear was caused by most of my driving being town or backroads, so lot's or steering compared to a car sat on the motorway everyday.  As I say...it's not a perfect world...

The idea that rotating is 'outdated' is bizarre.

If you want the best grip on your car from your tyres in all weathers and all conditions, as designed by the manufacturer, you need the most 'similar' grip you can on all four corners.  It's not difficult to see that.

If you don't want the hassle of rotating, then no worries I'm sure you're not really that bothered and never get near the limits, but it's just simple science we are talking about.  Best compromise as Tom said was move the rears to the front when you get a new pair, but it's a compromise and everyone is different.

Best practice is to rotate.

3 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

The tracking was in spec, done with a decent Hunter aligner.  The camber is normal for these (different cars have different amounts), and the edgewear was caused by most of my driving being town or backroads, so lot's or steering compared to a car sat on the motorway everyday.  As I say...it's not a perfect world...

That shouldn't happen.  Town or backroads should make no difference.  I live rural so my cars have a hard tyre-life, yet I get even wear across the tyre.  I'm talking about all of my cars, not just the Fiesta.   But we'll have to agree to disagree.

3 minutes ago, orangecurry said:

...never get near the limits...

 

Near the limits?? LOL What age are you, you still at the boy racer stage where every journey is an opportunity to prove your high speed driving skills 🤣

1 minute ago, StephenFord said:

Near the limits?? LOL What age are you, you still at the boy racer stage where every journey is an opportunity to prove your high speed driving skills 🤣

Clearly.

If you prefer we could say 'drive in the wet round a bend at x mph and there's an obstacle in front of you.'  I'd rather have 4 very similar tyres on the car, not grippy new ones on the front and 5+ year old ones on the back.

But it'll never happen to you.  You'll be fine.