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Thread: Rotated the tires on both Mirages today.....for the first time. Yikes

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by DonkeyPal View Post
    Also, it is much more dangerous to have tire puncture on a front tire, so it's not a good idea to have thin tread up there.
    Although I don't follow this advise myself, most will recommend putting your best tires (deepest threads) on the rear of your car. The following quote is typical -

    "When tires are replaced in pairs...the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the partially worn tires moved to the front." ... New tires on the rear axle help the driver more easily maintain control on wet roads since deeper treaded tires are better at resisting hydroplaning.

    I can't say that I do this myself, but it is the recommended practice.



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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    Although I don't follow this advise myself, most will recommend putting your best tires (deepest threads) on the rear of your car. The following quote is typical -

    "When tires are replaced in pairs...the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the partially worn tires moved to the front." ... New tires on the rear axle help the driver more easily maintain control on wet roads since deeper treaded tires are better at resisting hydroplaning.

    I can't say that I do this myself, but it is the recommended practice.
    There's common sense, then there's actual logic.

    Yes, having the rear more planted helps the village idiot keep his car in better control, but for those of us who don't often find ourselves drifting sideways in the rain accidentally like bafoons, the tires with more tread should be rotated to the fastest wearing positions.

    My Micra currently has 4/32 on the rear and 7/32 on the front (because I missed a rotation and the factory tires are crap. If I was to do it "properly", I would have the thin tires be legally bald in another 8000km. Or, I can (did) rotate them, so in another 16000km they will all go bare at the same time. That's, a lot cheaper way to do it.

    (Fronts wore 65% while rear wore 35%. By my math, I rotated them at exactly their half life. Now In another 16,000km, Both fronts and rear will hit 0% within the same month.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2018 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 43.5 mpg (US) ... 18.5 km/L ... 5.4 L/100 km ... 52.2 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by nickels View Post
    There's common sense, then there's actual logic.

    Yes, having the rear more planted helps the village idiot keep his car in better control, but for those of us who don't often find ourselves drifting sideways in the rain accidentally like bafoons, the tires with more tread should be rotated to the fastest wearing positions.

    My Micra currently has 4/32 on the rear and 7/32 on the front (because I missed a rotation and the factory tires are crap. If I was to do it "properly", I would have the thin tires be legally bald in another 8000km. Or, I can (did) rotate them, so in another 16000km they will all go bare at the same time. That's, a lot cheaper way to do it.

    (Fronts wore 65% while rear wore 35%. By my math, I rotated them at exactly their half life. Now In another 16,000km, Both fronts and rear will hit 0% within the same month.

    That makes total sense!

    I find myself using 3 pairs of tires on all of my FWD vehicles. I can probably trace that back to my 1990 Ford Festiva days. That car had 12" tires, & 12" snow tires weren't common. Yet, I still needed to climb snow covered ridge roads even back then to get home.

    If I have three pairs of tires (1 being the newest and 3 being the oldest), my tire rotations look like this -
    Winter months - #1 tires are on front & #2 tires are on the rear axle.
    During the summer months, #2 tires are moved up front & #3 tires are added to the rear. Eventually, the #3 tires will be worn down at the end of a summer, and they get replaced with a new pair of tires (becoming my new #1 tires) for the upcoming winter. I just keep rotating tires through.

    It may sound complicated, but it's not. It allows me to keep new treads up front during the winter months & use up older tires during the summer months. I also take care of my tire rotations at the same time. Having a extra pair of tires makes tire rotations easier when using a single jack, too.

    If I lose a tire (flat/damaged), I don't have to be frantic about finding a replacement right way either. For an odd size tire like the Mirage, that's somewhat valuable. When I lost a Dunlop tire to a sidewall blow out last summer, I used my snow tires for a few days while a replacement pair of tires were shipped to my home. I had time to shop around for best prices and wasn't in a hurry.

    I don't mind cheap steel rims with hubcaps, because I move tires around. I bought my Mirage in October of 2017. By December of 2017, I had bought 2 new steel rims for $50 each & a pair of Nokian snow tires for up front. The factory hubcabs slap right on the new steel rims. Having alloy wheels would have complicated this process for me. Most people would buy 4 steel rims for a set of snow tires & use their alloy rims during the summer months. That's surely the best alternative.

    The bottom line is I don't get past my driveway a 100 yards without decent tires upfront on some winter days. Some days, I climb the first small hill to my neighbor's house, turn around, go home & park the Mirage, and I back the Subaru out of the garage with its 4 snow tires. Thus, everyone's situation is different.

    This is how my Mirage tire rotations have gone since losing a Dunlop tire last summer & replacing it with a pair of Federal SS-657 tires -

    This past winter - Nokian snow tires were up front & relatively new Federal tires were on back.
    Currently this summer - Federal tires are up front & original Dunlop tires are on back.

    If I feel the Dunlop tires have another summer left in them -
    The Nokian/Federal combination will get me through another winter.
    The Federal/Dunlop combination will get me through the next summer.

    If I feel my Dunlop tires don't have another summer left in them this fall, I may give the Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires a try.
    Upcoming winter would become a Nokian/Vredestein tire combination.
    Next summer would be a Vredestein/Federal tire combination.

    I am still experimenting with Mirage tires. The lack of 165/65-14 tire options will shorten the experiment! I can use up my tires this way, & save some wear/tear on my snow tires at the same time. I am not claiming this is best practice for everyone. Having to climb ridge roads drives all this all for me.

    You should never do this with AWD vehicles, however. All 4 tires need to match or it could mess up your drivetrain. Thus, my Subaru has two full sets of tires. Likewise for my past CRV or other AWD/4WD vehicles.

    I probably shared to much here, but it's how I have dealt with bad roads with small cars for decades.
    Last edited by Mark; 07-19-2019 at 04:53 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tytotheler92 View Post
    I've noticed these things chew up front tires too.

    It's gotta be because of how tiny the tires are. I can easily get them to spin/squeak and, well, it's surprising because it's a Mirage. LOL.
    My own 2014 Mirage is very touchy with the gas, and the potential for me anyway to spin and squeal the tires from 0-50. Probably contributes to wear. So my Dunlops lasted around 60,000 kms and I have Bridgestone Potenzas now and around 50,000 kms on them but they have mild cracks by now, yet better thread life than the Dunlops.

    I rotated my Dunlops more than my Bridgestones and the Dunlops had even wear. The Bridgestones have been rotated a few times and seem to be wearing equally.

    My Dunlops sure were bald by the end and the dealer said they were not really road worthy ya right. They want to sell tires.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.2 mpg (US) ... 17.9 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.7 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by dspace9 View Post
    My own 2014 Mirage is very touchy with the gas, and the potential for me anyway to spin and squeal the tires from 0-50. Probably contributes to wear. So my Dunlops lasted around 60,000 kms and I have Bridgestone Potenzas now and around 50,000 kms on them but they have mild cracks by now, yet better thread life than the Dunlops.

    I rotated my Dunlops more than my Bridgestones and the Dunlops had even wear. The Bridgestones have been rotated a few times and seem to be wearing equally.

    My Dunlops sure were bald by the end and the dealer said they were not really road worthy ya right. They want to sell tires.
    It's hard to unleash all that horsepower without laying rubber on the road!!!!

    Even though they are FWD cars, they are relatively light up front. The motor on a Mirage is not all that heavy. If you took the engine out, you could probably walk off with it. I'm not sure that could happen with many other car engines, unless you're built like an NFL lineman.

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    If you own a Mirage that "easily spins tires", you either need new tires, or will soon need a new clutch.

    Even in the rain these cars don't exactly break loose or anything. Hell I AutoX mine and even then it's not like I'm breaking tires at full throttle all that often.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2018 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 43.5 mpg (US) ... 18.5 km/L ... 5.4 L/100 km ... 52.2 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by dspace9 View Post
    My own 2014 Mirage is very touchy with the gas, and the potential for me anyway to spin and squeal the tires from 0-50. Probably contributes to wear. So my Dunlops lasted around 60,000 kms and I have Bridgestone Potenzas now and around 50,000 kms on them but they have mild cracks by now, yet better thread life than the Dunlops.

    I rotated my Dunlops more than my Bridgestones and the Dunlops had even wear. The Bridgestones have been rotated a few times and seem to be wearing equally.

    My Dunlops sure were bald by the end and the dealer said they were not really road worthy ya right. They want to sell tires.
    My 1990 Ford Festiva had smaller tires (145SR12), & I don't remember 12" tires lasting very long. If you got 30,000-40,000 miles out of a pair of tires that was good. Then again, I don't remember ever buying quality brand name tires. They were $25-35 tires back then, & I didn't expect them to last that long.

    When I had the Dunlop tires up front, it didn't take much to make them spin out. The Federal tires I have up front now seem more planted the road. Now that I think about it, I don't remember spinning out with them at all.

    Steve getting 75,000-80,000 miles out of his Falken tires is pretty amazing. That required going to different tire size (175/65-14), however. I don't blame Mirage owners for doing that.

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    Still has about 1250lb over the front end without a driver.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    It's hard to unleash all that horsepower without laying rubber on the road!!!!

    Even though they are FWD cars, they are relatively light up front. The motor on a Mirage is not all that heavy. If you took the engine out, you could probably walk off with it. I'm not sure that could happen with many other car engines, unless you're built like an NFL lineman.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2018 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 43.5 mpg (US) ... 18.5 km/L ... 5.4 L/100 km ... 52.2 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by nickels View Post
    If you own a Mirage that "easily spins tires", you either need new tires, or will soon need a new clutch.

    Even in the rain these cars don't exactly break loose or anything. Hell I AutoX mine and even then it's not like I'm breaking tires at full throttle all that often.
    I found the Dunlop tires to spin out quite easily, especially on wet roads. They are some of least inspiring tires I have ever driven on. I am in my mid-50's. I have never had a clutch replaced on a car, & all my vehicles have been manuals. I drive pretty normal. The Dunlop tires don't offer great traction even when new.
    Last edited by Mark; 07-20-2019 at 12:11 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    When I had the Dunlop tires up front, it didn't take much to make them spin out. The Federal tires I have up front now seem more planted the road. Now that I think about it, I don't remember spinning out with them at all.

    Steve getting 75,000-80,000 miles out of his Falken tires is pretty amazing. That required going to different tire size (175/65-14), however. I don't blame Mirage owners for doing that.
    I have a set of spare Dunlops actually. Like them or not, sometimes you can find used tires and the price is just right. The Dunlops, the Bridgetones, both kinda expensive new, but an "adequate" tire. Like nothing ever gonna be special about a 14" tire on an economy car I suppose.

    Now I'm looking into 14" Nokian brand winter tires, I think this might make my Mirage a better winter commuter car.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.2 mpg (US) ... 17.9 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.7 mpg (Imp)


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