Buying tyres in Hua Hin

[Big Boy]

Well, 9,000 Km further on, and 2 skids in the last 5 days, I thought I'd better change my tyres (to my Mk 1 eyeball, they still have plenty of tread, but 2 skids tell me otherwise). I have 2 longish trips in the next 5 days, so decided upon caution.

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Anyway, I did the tour of many tyre places this morning and was amazed at the differences in price for the same products. So many varieties on offer, but in the end decided to replace like with like - even then, there was a 2,400 Baht price range.

Went back to the cheapest place offering what I wanted - not available until Friday. FFS, why didn't they say this when I went in earlier? She tried to say my tyres would wait until she got some in..................... then the penny dropped. She asks, "What day is it today?" Then says, oh, come back later, we will have what you want.

What's worse, I'm going to trust these people to fit my tyres.

[PeteC]

Check the air in your spare while there. Many forget about them, including me, and when have to put it on after a flat it has about 25lbs in it and down almost to the wheel.

[buksida]

You know you can buy them on Lazada, cheaper than in Hua Hin, get them delivered within a couple of days, and take them anywhere to get fitted!

[Nereus]

Well, 9,000 Km further on, and 2 skids in the last 5 days, I thought I'd better change my tyres (to my Mk 1 eyeball, they still have plenty of tread, but 2 skids tell me otherwise). I have 2 longish trips in the next 5 days, so decided upon caution.

Normal use private ownership tyres invariably either rot away, or go hard because of heat, long before the tread wears out because of high mileage.

[HHTel]

or go hard because of heat

I think probably more common than most reasons. It was pointed out that I needed new tyres on my Pajero. Big chunky tyres with lots of thread left. "Ah! A common mistake. Your tyres have hardened to the point that they don't grip any more". I would never have thought of this on my own. But when being shown the old tyres after changing them, it was easily demonstrated.

We all live and learn!

[Big Boy]

I'm not disagreeing, else I wouldn't have had them changed. I was told 50,000 Km was the life - I squeezed 52K out of them, but started skidding. I was not stupid enough to undertake 2 further long journeys with tyres that were skidding. I've replaced like with like (different tyre supplier), and they have told me 4 x 10,000 Km services, and on the 5th, change tyres.

[Nereus]

I'm not disagreeing, else I wouldn't have had them changed. I was told 50,000 Km was the life - I squeezed 52K out of them, but started skidding. I was not stupid enough to undertake 2 further long journeys with tyres that were skidding. I've replaced like with like (different tyre supplier), and they have told me 4 x 10,000 Km services, and on the 5th, change tyres.

I think that you are missing the point. Mileage is not the deciding factor. There are many modern everyday types of tyres that will run for well over 100k Kms. A bit like how far will a piece of string reach. They started skidding because they have gone hard. How many years old are they?

[Big Boy]

3 1/2 years, I think. I haven't missed the point, but we've established many times that I'm a all things mechanical ignoramus. I need a yardstick to judge when the useful life has expired, rather than find myself skidding in all directions across the road. As with HHTel, I can't look at my tyre and say with any authority that the rubber has gone hard.

I don't know if it's peculiar to the 2 suppliers I've used to date, but a free check-up is offered every 10K Kms. I accept the offer religiously. I would hope that if my tyres have gone hard early, they will tell me.

On this occasion, I was only local, low speed running, so I exceeded to 10K limit. I always intended re-newing before another long journey.

[PeteC]

All my years driving a pick-up here I always used to skid in the back, especially when wet. No weight back there when the bed is empty.

[Nereus]

On this occasion, I was only local, low speed running, so I exceeded to 10K limit. I always intended re-newing before another long journey.

And therein lies some of the problem with putting an arbitrary mileage on a car tyre. A tyre is made up of an assortment of different compounds, which can and do vary depending on the intended use. For example, a tyre rated M&S(mud and snow)will not last very long in the desert. Heat is the killer as previously posted, and the cycle of heating up and cooling down, such as in short running, as compared with running 200 / 300 Kms non stop, has a big effect.

But for most passenger cars it is the sunlight, or more correctly the UV light that destroys tyres. A car kept under cover will have tyres last a lot longer than a car left parked regularly out in the sun, regardless of how many Kms they are run. The next killer is incorrect pressure for the type of use and load carried.

At 3.5 years I doubt very much that the Kms run is the cause of any skidding, as indicated by your photo showing a still useable depth of tread. In this climate, tyres looked after a bit and with the correct pressure, should last at least 5 years.

Do you check the pressure regularly? Or just leave it to Somchai that pumps it up until it "looks right"?
The "right" pressure is another matter all together as there are again many variables.

[Big Boy]

Regarding pressures, yes I do check myself. However, trying to find out what the pressure should be according to load is easier said than done, and varies from source to source. When reading about it, I came up with so many variable factors, it's almost impossible to be sure. Ignoramus that I am, I put the variables together, came up with a sort of average, and that is what i usually stick to. Rarely is the truck under heavy load. Wear across all tyre seems fairly even, so I guess my formula was about right.

I would say most days my car is under cover for an average of 20 hours, but in sunlight 4 hours.

As I've said, 50,000 Km is the recommended yardstick, and I'm pretty happy to work with that. I check every 10,000 Km, so a new set of tyres every 3 to 4 years is not really any hardship.