Would you replace these tires?

[TurnAround]

Conti Cross Contact UHP. Had 'em for only 2.5 years. Less actually.. about 18k, because I have snow tires on for 4.5 months each year. Switched off of the winters 7 weeks ago. This was going to be my last summer on this summer set. Winters would go back on in late November '11, then new summers next year.

Had the X in for some brake work last week and my Indi mechanic said the usual, "Inside edges gone. Wear bars showing. Need to replace". My usual reaction is; He's just doing his job. But hey.. its a BMW. If I replaced the tires every time the inside edges wore down to the wear bars, I'd be replacing tires on my three cars every 18 months. Lots of rear negative camber eats tires. Its just a fact.

But this time he also pointed out; "You've got a deep gash in the passenger front". Pics attached. I'm on the fence for this one. Tires get cuts. It happens. The question is, how much of a cut is enough to cause a tire casing failure? The shop obviously thinks this is enough. But I honestly don't know. Tires have, like, 3-4 huge heavy belts in them, and the rubber is literally melted into those belts. I'm not trying to be cheap. I can write the check for $900 worth of new tires if I have to. But I'd rather wait a half season if its not necessary. The problem is, how does one get a truly unbiased engineering opinion about tire risk? If I ask anyone that sells tires, ... guess what they'll say.. every time.

What do you guys think? (Pics may or may not be good enough to form an opinion. Thought I'd give it a shot tho).

Thanks!

[cfmistry]

Because of the gash, not the wear, I would say no. The wear alone would probably be ok through the summer (assuming you drive >10k miles).

-Cyrus

[Milsy]

Replace them. I would have probably replaced them due to wear, but that gash is definitely no good. Especially if you have kids or a wife....

You guys are pretty lucky in the US, you get excellent tyre prices!

[Naz24]

Those tires are shot. I would have replaced them due to wear, Nevermind the gash. I feel like they would have terrible rain traction. But yeah, you really can't put a price on safety.

[brian5]

Tires need replacing. Don't like that gash one bit either. That alone would make me change the tires next week.

[TriX5]

Those are done, you need new tires. Any tow job is gong to set you back the price of one tire...

If they're 18s, I have a set of Pirelli's you can have for free (you'd have to pay shpping E>W coast tho)

Good luck.

[Jordo]

They are unsafe to drive on! With a tire that is that wide, with no where to push the water. That thing is like a water skier..... With out the control

[JCL]

No question, replace them. They are worn out, and the cut is through a belt in your third shot.

[TurnAround]

Thanks guys. Excellent feedback.
I'll go ahead and make arrangements for new tires this week.

Just started a "Which tire, of these three" post as well.

Thanks again.

[cfmistry]

Originally Posted by cfmistry

Because of the gash, not the wear, I would say no. The wear alone would probably be ok through the summer (assuming you drive >10k miles).

-Cyrus

I just re-read this and realized it sounds like "no don't replace them" but what I actually meant was "no don't drive on those".