I like to think these recently appeared....but most likely I got distracted with the blazer, and a few days of Rover neglect led me to miss these:


Close up 1:


Close up 2:


Now I know this is rather dangerous, and I won't be driving on them (I mean, you can see the inner sidewall... [:@]), so my important question becomes,

What's the safe tread stagger on Range Rovers? This current set of Michelin MXV4s are worn down, but there is still a whole lot of life left in them...but they're not quite as new as my spare is:


Would I be fine just throwing the spare on and going? Or do I need to match the wear on the front tires at least, meaning buy a matching tire to the spare?

 

How old are the tires?

 

They were on the truck when we bought it, and we've only put 8k miles on it since then. The spare would seem to indicate the tires have been replaced at least once, so hopefully they are all well under the 6 yr life!

I get the actual manufacture date tomorrow

 

If they are that new, I would go back to the shop that installed them and see why they are failing.
Yes, don't drive on them.

 

I would love to go back to the shop, but the receipts for the tires were not included with the vehicle when we purchased it, so I have no idea where they came from [&o]. Do you think any Michelin dealer would be able to help me out?

And what do you think about the tread difference between the 3 good tires, and the spare/replacement tire that I buy?

 

That's OK cause as long as you go to a tire store that handles the tires, the tire company would be the one covering the problem under warranty.

 

So in an interesting twist further complicating things...the spare is 255/65/16 as opposed to the 255/55/18s that are on all 4 corners.

Rather than drive on the blown sidewall...I put the spare on, despite non-matching rims [:@] and deeper tread . It seems to drive fine...it actually pulls to the right a tiny bit, which I'm assuming is just the rolling resistance of the A/T tread over the all season tread on the other tires. No clicking/whining or other issues.

And I went to 2 Michelin dealers, each had some lengthy excuse as to why another shop would be better, "they just do more warranty work usually" or why they couldn't do it "uh...wow...I just can't find the forms we need'. I did get 4 Wheel Parts (a Michelin dealer surprisingly enough) to verify that the failure is rot and not road hazard, so Michelin is covering part of the replacement cost. I won't know how much until I can find a shop that will touch the tire. I don't imagine replacing one tire under warranty is that much of a hassle for the shop....

 

Minor update: Went to a 3rd dealer...this one said it was road hazard damage. Although he said it immediately after I said I had sidewall bulges. Apparently tires don't ever fail...it's all road hazard to NTB..

This guy was an idiot though...immediately tried to sell me a replacement tire..after seeing the tire and the vehicle, said that since it's AWD, I would need to replace all 4. Even showed me some literature 'from corporate' about how 1/8' difference = 4 revolutions/mile difference, which can lead to driveline failure in as little as 100 miles.

But I did get to thinking...even if Michelin partially reimburses me for the tread...at $180/tire for a matching tire...I'd be better off getting brand at $100/tire.

Although I do have 2 more questions. 1st: My driver's side front tire is showing minor banding across the tire like the failed tire has, but there is definitely no bulge, and it holds pressure fine. The NTB guy said it was 'superficial damage, and no risk at all' which I almost believe since he didn't try and sell me more tires after seeing this. Question is, is the banding ok since it is superficial? Or is there no such thing as just superficial damage.

2nd: I want to double check that I'm not seriously risking my drivetrain by putting the partially worn spare tire on with the much more worn tire. It was my only option at the time to drive it at all...but now I have some options so I want to check.

ok 3 questions...3rd: If I buy a replacement tire, the new tread will match the spare's (which is now on the truck, front pass. side) tread depth...so is this better for the truck? Or with the center differential, am I now risking the rear end with minimally larger tires up front than in back?


Thanks for the help as always, and never go to NTB