MattSantos Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Steering wheel a bit shakey so took the car into QuickFit. They can do an alignment, probably out of synch due to all the sodding pot holes, but they also say i need new front tyres. A bit of a difficult question to answer, but do i need the new tyres? They're about 18 month old (as is the car) and they seem alright to me*. I'd rather pay £50 than £400 so thought i'd try and do some research. If i do get the new tyres, can i keep the old ones and sell them? How does that work as they're surely worth somet? *I am absolutely useless at all things car. Running the Rob Burrow marathon to raise money for the My Name'5 Doddie foundation: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ben-dyas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyXIII Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 (edited) 42 minutes ago, MattSantos said: Steering wheel a bit shakey so took the car into QuickFit. They can do an alignment, probably out of synch due to all the sodding pot holes, but they also say i need new front tyres. A bit of a difficult question to answer, but do i need the new tyres? They're about 18 month old (as is the car) and they seem alright to me*. I'd rather pay £50 than £400 so thought i'd try and do some research. If i do get the new tyres, can i keep the old ones and sell them? How does that work as they're surely worth somet? *I am absolutely useless at all things car. I don't have much knowledge of the mechanics of cars, but I did get a wheel alignment done here in Greece about 12 years ago. From what the guy who did the alignment said, you should try to look at the pattern of wear on the treads. If your wheels are out of alignment, you might see a line of wear in the tread. Properly aligned wheels should spread the wear evenly across the width of the tread and not leave a wear line along the length of the tread. If your tyres show this wear pattern, you should get them replaced. If they don't, the garage should be able to correct the alignment on the existing tyres. If you are in doubt, think about this. Your tyres provide the only contact between your car (containing you and your loved ones) and the road. It's a small price to pay for your safety. Ask any of the many bike riders on here and they will tell you not to take a chance on your tyres. HTH. Edited February 1 by tonyXIII Rethymno Rugby League Appreciation Society Founder (and, so far, only) member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyXIII Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 To add, I've just googled "patterns of tyre tread wear". Some images, explanations and advice on there. Good luck. Rethymno Rugby League Appreciation Society Founder (and, so far, only) member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolford6 Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 (edited) Check the tread. Legally, you can drive on them until they reach a minimum depth of the tread of 1.6 mm, across 75% of the tyre's width and all around its circumference. If you've got that on all wheels, ask the tyre firm to swap the back wheels onto the front. Ask them to balance the replacement front wheels to prevent steering-wheel shudder. Edited February 1 by Wolford6 Under Scrutiny by the Right-On Thought Police Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelic Upstart Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Do you have another service centre you could go to? For a second opinion type of thing. There are quite a few centres that will do a free alignment check, and just ask them about the tyres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattSantos Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 2 hours ago, Angelic Upstart said: Do you have another service centre you could go to? For a second opinion type of thing. There are quite a few centres that will do a free alignment check, and just ask them about the tyres. Its only place wi any availability and we need car at weekend. They're all booked up for weeks. I don't mid paying the cash, i just feel as though i'm being ripped off. This is going to make me want to look at new cars now... Running the Rob Burrow marathon to raise money for the My Name'5 Doddie foundation: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ben-dyas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graveyard johnny Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 4 minutes ago, MattSantos said: I don't mid paying the cash, i just feel as though i'm being ripped off. kwik fit would sell and fit a choke on a brand new electric car if they thought they could get away with it - would never use one of these places - whats your location MS? see you later undertaker - in a while necrophile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattSantos Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 9 minutes ago, graveyard johnny said: kwik fit would sell and fit a choke on a brand new electric car if they thought they could get away with it - would never use one of these places - whats your location MS? Helensburgh, Scotland Running the Rob Burrow marathon to raise money for the My Name'5 Doddie foundation: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ben-dyas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graveyard johnny Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 3 minutes ago, MattSantos said: Helensburgh, Scotland bit far for my garage man mate - but do try someone else would be my advice 1 see you later undertaker - in a while necrophile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelic Upstart Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 If the vibrating is when you are going quite fast 50-60-70mph it could be a simple thing as wheel balancing. But if you're in a hurry to get it sorted you may be back to the same problem of when you can get it booked in. I'd ring round again and see if anyone can just check the balancing, explain you're going away but try not to sound too desperate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattSantos Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 I'm just getting it done. I can't be bothered with the faff. Thanks all. Running the Rob Burrow marathon to raise money for the My Name'5 Doddie foundation: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ben-dyas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derwent Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 If it is a tread pattern issue caused by misalignment and the current front tyres are still legal tread depth then just ask them to swap the front and rear tyres around as the rear ones shouldn’t have been that affected (assuming it’s a front wheel drive car and it’s just the front wheels misaligned). 1 I’m not prejudiced, I hate everybody equally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbruce Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 17 hours ago, Wolford6 said: Check the tread. Legally, you can drive on them until they reach a minimum depth of the tread of 1.6 mm, across 75% of the tyre's width and all around its circumference. If you've got that on all wheels, ask the tyre firm to swap the back wheels onto the front. Ask them to balance the replacement front wheels to prevent steering-wheel shudder. Most tyres have a little marker in the tread which shows whether the tread is too low or not. If unsure you can also use the edging on a 20p to help measure the tread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattSantos Posted February 2 Author Share Posted February 2 Thanks everyone. Car is in and i'm at a Mcdonalds 'working' while i wait. Running the Rob Burrow marathon to raise money for the My Name'5 Doddie foundation: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ben-dyas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Frightful Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 On 01/02/2023 at 17:07, MattSantos said: Its only place wi any availability and we need car at weekend. They're all booked up for weeks. I don't mid paying the cash, i just feel as though i'm being ripped off. This is going to make me want to look at new cars now... As it's the only place with availability, that should tell you something. I know it's too late but, had it been me, I would have considered hiring a car and sorting your car when another garage could fit it in. Wheel alignment isn't so expensive and I doubt you need new tyres when the existing ones are only 18 months old. The money you'd have saved by avoiding Kwikfit more than likely would have easily paid for car hire if you only needed it for the weekend. "When I saw the Pistols and The Clash I realised it didn't seem that difficult, they didn't seem like they could play very well either, so the thing was to form a band then work it out. We didn't even know who was going to play what - we passed around all the instruments until we found what we were comfortable with. I wasn't comfortable with any of them so I became the singer." Terry Hall on forming The Specials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza77 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 On 01/02/2023 at 13:16, MattSantos said: Steering wheel a bit shakey so took the car into QuickFit. They can do an alignment, probably out of synch due to all the sodding pot holes, but they also say i need new front tyres. A bit of a difficult question to answer, but do i need the new tyres? They're about 18 month old (as is the car) and they seem alright to me*. I'd rather pay £50 than £400 so thought i'd try and do some research. If i do get the new tyres, can i keep the old ones and sell them? How does that work as they're surely worth somet? *I am absolutely useless at all things car. Buy a tread wear guage, and check tyres across the width of the tread. They cost peanuts, and its a couple of minute job to check all four. A bit late now, but if they're wearing unevenly, particularly on inside or outside edges then it's likely the alignment is out. Excess wear on both edges indicates they've been running under inflated and excess wear in the centre indicates over inflated. Please view my photos. http://www.hughesphoto.co.uk/ Little Nook Farm - Caravan Club Certificated Location in the heart of the Pennines overlooking Hebden Bridge and the Calder Valley. http://www.facebook.com/LittleNookFarm Little Nook Cottage - 2-bed self-catering cottage in the heart of the Pennines overlooking Hebden Bridge and the Calder Valley. Book now via airbnb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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