Part Worn Tyres are false economy and unsafe.
With the slow recovery of the UK's economy, more motorists are opting to choose second hand/part-worn tyres as a cheap alternative, however this may be a false economy.
The diagram demonstrates that 'Tyre A' has far more useable tread. To get the equivalent from a part-worn you'd need almost 5 tyres to get the same tread as a new one, costing an additional £71 per tyre. As you can see, it makes sense to fit new tyres straight away.
At 50mph in wet conditions worn tyres add two car lengths to your stopping distance*
As tyre tread wears down, the braking distance increases over time. As you can see from the chart above, optimum grip is achieved with full tread from a brand new tyre. With part-worn tyres, they're often fitted with 3mm depth therefore stopping distances are increased and your overall safety could be put a risk.
- There could be damage you can't see by eye. Tyres damaged by impact can have unstable stress points leading to blowouts(1).
- Worn tyres don't last as long. So in the long run they could turn out more expensive.
- If there's anything wrong with your tyres which leads to an accident, this can invalidate your insurance(2).
- Bumps can appear inside or outside after an impact on a tyre. If these go unnoticed they can cause a potentially dangerous blowout.
- You won't always know its history. Was it from an accident car? A family car? A cast-off from another country? Is it worth it ?
*Tests carried out by the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) involving four different vehicles travelling on wet roads on four different tread depths. At 50mph on 3mm tread depth stopping distance = 31.7 metres. On 1.6mm tread depth stopping distance was increased to 39.5 metres.
Source: 1. NTDA/tyrepress.com 2. www.motoringassist.com/Motoring-Advice/Safe-Driving/Tyres-and-safety