Tire safety question - worn shoulders?

[SoulRaven]

I'm in the process of making my own a van has two tires with very worn shoulders. The most recent tire center I took it to told me the shoulders were "bald" and that if any part of the tire is bald, the entire tire is considered bald and therefore illegal. This is the third opinion I've had on them.

Everyone I've spoken to has indicated they'd still be fine for summer driving, with about 5/32nds tread left on the rest of the worn tires. However I'm in Seattle with steep streets, lots of rain and winter brings a fair number of icy mornings as well as a couple snowstorms a year. With the latest opinion I'm told that if I wanted to save these tires for summer use I'd have difficulty finding anyone to put them back on for me, due to the two being illegal.

I'm on a tight budget and can't really afford tires right now, but safety is important to me and I have credit options to use if necessary.

The main reason I'm asking you guys to share your thoughts is because my dad vehemently insists that my tires are perfectly safe for winter diving, and that the tire shops are just salesmen trying to convince me to buy something I don't really need. Normally I'd dismiss his opinion after the many hours of research I've done, but he's now taken this subject to accusations of financial irresponsibility and overworrying. He says he can't imagine them being illegal, that if a cop pulls me over for it he'll buy me new ones, he's never heard of anyone getting into an accident in winter with worn tires considered a contributing factor and that if I ask any middle-aged person who has a lot of experience with tires everyone would laugh and say I'm fine.

So...I'm asking you all. Do these look alright to you?

 

[MikeRuth]

I'm not a tire expert by any means but the bottom photo looks like a race car tire that has gotten very hot. I'd be willing to bet that these tires are being run at to low of a pressure for the vehicle.
Now with that said, whats the date code? How old are they>? If less than say 5 years I'd say your good to go if they are properly inflated for the vehicle.

BTW are these photos of the front or back?

Mike

 

[66788]

Abnormal wear is indicative of further problems in the front end, such as camber/caster, worn shocks, ball joints, tie rod ends etc. Replacing the tires without correcting the problem(s) will result in excessive wear and ending up where you started.

Most places will examine your vehicle for problems and advise you of what needs to be done. Be careful though, as many places are sales oriented and will try to sell you things you may not need. This is where a trusted mechanic comes in handy.

Personally I would drive on those tires for a while more.

 

[SoulRaven]

Thanks for the replies. Re: uneven wear, a place that looked at it says it's from under inflation. Another place said its due to top heaviness. The vehicle is a Toyota Sienna, I'm on a large Sienna forum where the universal experience seems to be that due to this being a heavier minivan tires tend to require inflating a bit higher than usual to prevent this issue. The person I'm getting the van from only recently bought it from a used car dealership, who in turn got it at an auction, so little is known of its history.

Photos were of the back tires, which were the front tires up until last week when one place I inquired at rotated them back for me. The tires are nearing 4 years old.

 

[highdesertranger]

not much tread left.  to tell if they are illegal look for the wear bars if the tread is equal/level to the wear bars that's it,  get new tires.  for winter driving more tread is always better then less tread.  here's a good pic of wear bars.

hope that helps.  btw even if you have good tread on part of the tire but the wear bars are showing on another part the tire is worn out.  I agree with whoever said those tires look like they were run under inflated and way to fast on the cornering.  highdesertranger

 

[MikeRuth]

I would like to know what the max tire pressure is on the side wall and what the recommended pressure is from the tire inflation card inside the drivers side door frame.

As long as were not exceeding the tire manufactures pressure then we you can easily run them a few pounds over what the placard says.

As an example lets say the manufactures has 40 PSI as max and the placard says 32 PSI then running them at 35 surely won't be a problem and you can then keep a close watch on the tires and see if maybe a couple more pounds is needed.

 

[GotSmart]

I worked in a tire shop  long enough to be able to tell this.  

Those were under inflated, run at extreme speed, and the front end needs adjusting. 

I would try to replace them before it snows, because they will be the weak link in an emergency situation.  I have seen many accidents from bad tires.  The slicker the road, the more you need good tires. 

I am 58  Am I middle aged?

 

[SoulRaven]

Under inflation or front end problems are both possible.

There is a Les Schwabs on Aurora at Northgate, which used to give free inspections. I had good luck with them.

 

[ramblingvanman]

They were definitely run under inflated for a long time. If I was still a state inspector, I would reluctantly pass them, but I would not run them on my cars. IMO, I would replace them soonish especially if you get snow or ice. I would need to see and feel them to tell if you really had front end issues or not. The wear does not look smooth enough to show camber wear imo, neither do they look sharp or feathered enough to show toe wear imo. The smoothish outer wear we see, if on both sides of the tire is indicative of severe under inflation.

 

[GotSmart]

 He says he can't imagine them being illegal, that if a cop pulls me over for it he'll buy me new ones, he's never heard of anyone getting into an accident in winter with worn tires considered a contributing factor and that if I ask any middle-aged person who has a lot of experience with tires everyone would laugh and say I'm fine.

So...I'm asking you all. Do these look alright to you?

Find a cop and ask him.  You have more to gain than you have to lose.  Free tires!  

 

[SoulRaven]

Find a cop and ask him.  You have more to gain than you have to lose.  Free tires!  

Bwahahahaha nice one.

Thanks for your input, everyone. I ended up getting 'new' tires but keeping the old ones for summer driving--or might end up selling on Craigslist if I can't find anyone who'll switch the sets for less than $80. I was hoping the used tire shop would take the old ones back but the rotated ones already had uneven wear, presumably from the 2 weeks of driving I've done with that rotation, they said definitely need an alignment. I'm still not certain I do, but am now in a different shop getting it looked at.

The 'new' ones are Yohohoma Geolander for $329 out the door, 95% tread left on them and a year old, I'm hoping I did enough research that I wasn't ripped off. The place i got them from repairs tires for $15 so although they aren't warrantied it seemed the better choice for my budget.

Unfortunately now I'm being told that choppy wear on one of the old tires means a strut is going out. Dammit!

 

[Canine]

Yokohamos are great tires.You got a good deal.Good luck with the strut.