AlanW

My rear tyres are crap and down to 2mm.

Do tyre go off, they were never this bad.

They are OEM tyres RE010's have got SO2's on front.

JUst recently my car is mega tail happy especialli the wet but also in the dry but not as bad. Makes for entertainment and once a major pants filler as I lost it at 80 on a B road.

Don't tell me that the tyres are too bald I am not convinced. they seem to have gone 'OFF'

ALan

SiCotty

When mine got down to 2mm the wet weather performance got increasingly worse, got all four changed to SO2PPs. Now a lot more happy.
When they changed the backs the sides had 3mm but the middle had 2mm. Remember how bad the front was when the RE010 got to 2mm.

Si

DavidRB

The tyres are too bald and you have better tyres on the front than the rear. Both of these give you a car prone to oversteer.

My guess is the car was always tail-happy (in comparison to others), but as you've worn the rears down, you have less grip at the back and the oversteer has got worse and worse.

Think how thin a 2mm layer of water is in comparison to the amount of water on the road when it rains. Next, try imagine forcing it through a tread pattern at 80mph, remembering that water is incompressible.

I suppose you could check the surface of the rears to see if the rubber is blistered or very rough, but I doubt they've gone off (unless they're about fifty years old!).

I would suggest that you do what the rest of us do and fit the same tyres on all four wheels at the same time.

Deputy Dog

I think tyres can go off for two reasons,
1) Overheating, ie Tyre is obviously blistered, never heard of a road car doing this under normal conditions, except for the XJ220
2) The rubber has aged, are the tyres more than 4 years, if not your left with number three

3) They're too bald and youve got mixed front to back, the SO2 is probably the best tyre you can get hold of, the re010 is average.

Solution get a full set of SO2's

Paul M

Chris L

Seem to remember a post on this a while back. 35% tyre wear = 50% reduction in grip!! So yes, I reckon tyres do go off. I think I'm also right in saying that SO2s have a dual compound, so that as they wear, they compensate for the reduction in grip with a softer compound.

Chris

Gilly

My Re010's have recently been changed to nice S02's as they had most definately 'gone off'. No grip in the cold or wet. They too had a good amount of tread depth left. I'm used to Kart tyres going off as the oils disappear over time and the Re010's had the same effect. They had been on the car for 30,000 miles and 2 and a half years so I don't feel I can really complain.
The S02's are MUCH MUCH better.
Cheers