Just wondering what wear levels people are experiencing with tyres and brakes?

Switched over to winter tyres today which is always a good opportunity to check brakes and tyre tread depths.

I rotated the tyres earlier this year when I put them on after winter and the Potenza RE050A's seem to be holding up well with 6mm on the rears and 5mm on the fronts.

They did 5930 miles last year before winter and 10539 miles this year which is as near as makes no difference to 16500 miles. So I'm thinking I should make it to 30k miles at the very least before needing a full set of new tyres and maybe even 35k if I'm really gentle.

As for the brakes there was still plenty of meat on the pads so I wouldn't expect to be replacing pads before I need a new set of summer tyres that's for sure.

One thing I did notice when changing the rear tyres today was that you could see that the rear beam had been hitting the bump stops fairly often so as soon as the warranty is up I'm ordering some decent coilovers and perhaps getting the bumpstops cut down a bit too because the suspension is crapola

So how is everyone else doing for tyre and brake wear? Really can't complain about the 500 being hard on tyres and brakes. Looks like it should be a pretty cheap car to run in the long term

As analy boring as this topic is, I'll contribute anyway.

When i get to 30,000 miles, i would have bought approximately 18 tyres for my 500. Funny we live not that far from each other, but it's like you're driving different roads?

As for the brakes, hard to tell, they keep sticking and squealing, think i need to change them too.

So that's how I'm getting on. Would rather change my tyres once a month than drive like a fart though, wheres the fun in that!

DraigFlag87 said:

As analy boring as this topic is, I'll contribute anyway.

When i get to 30,000 miles, i would have bought approximately 18 tyres for my 500. Funny we live not that far from each other, but it's like you're driving different roads?

As for the brakes, hard to tell, they keep sticking and squealing, think i need to change them too.

So that's how I'm getting on. Would rather change my tyres once a month than drive like a fart though, wheres the fun in that!

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My commute doesn't really give much opportunity for hard cornering. I doubt I'd get to work any quicker driving like you in an abarth

I think you are to be commended for checking your brakes & tyres twice a year & the change to/from winter tyres is an excellent way to remind you & make sure it gets done.

Lifetime of these components is so dependent on usage that individual replies are more likely to be a statement about personal driving style than the inherent characteristics of the car. By way of example, my Ka (predecessor to my 500 & still roadworthy) has done 99K from new & I have replaced 6 tyres in total, with one pad change at about 65K. The discs were about 3/4 worn at that point, and as they were only about £11 each I changed those too. I could probably have doubled that car's lifetime tyre & brake consumption just by taking it to the 'ring for a day!

jrkitching said:

I think you are to be commended for checking your brakes & tyres twice a year & the change to/from winter tyres is an excellent way to remind you & make sure it gets done.

Lifetime of these components is so dependent on usage that individual replies are more likely to be a statement about personal driving style than the inherent characteristics of the car. By way of example, my Ka (predecessor to my 500 & still roadworthy) has done 99K from new & I have replaced 6 tyres in total, with one pad change at about 65K. The discs were about 3/4 worn at that point, and as they were only about £11 each I changed those too. I could probably have doubled that car's lifetime tyre & brake consumption just by taking it to the 'ring for a day!

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Yep. Sometimes bits are so cheap it's better just to replace them while you're at it. When the time comes to change pads I think I may even change to 1.4 or Abarth front discs and rear discs as I don't like the look of drums and they're more difficult to check. That is as long as I can find some calipers cheaply and there's nothing else that needs to be changed to make it work.

You're right about the lifetime of brakes and tyres being down the the individual of course but it's always nice to compare with other people to see which end of the scale you're at.

306maxi said:

Yep. Sometimes bits are so cheap it's better just to replace them while you're at it. When the time comes to change pads I think I may even change to 1.4 or Abarth front discs and rear discs as I don't like the look of drums and they're more difficult to check. That is as long as I can find some calipers cheaply and there's nothing else that needs to be changed to make it work.

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Removing drums that haven't been looked at in awhile can be a real pain. The 500 drums are threaded so you can use bolts to extract them, which helps. But if you check them every 6 months & put a little antiseize in the appropriate places then the drums will usually just slide off & it then takes very little extra time if the wheels have already been removed to swap to/from winter tyres.

One significant advantage of drums over discs is that they're enclosed, which protects the working parts from all the muck that's thrown up inside the rear arches. Rear discs can really suffer in this respect & you might end up spending more time keeping them squeak & rattle free than you would if you stuck with drums.

Agree with you about the appearance, though painting them a dark metallic grey does reduce the visual impact when compared to the standard "natural rust" finish provided by the manufacturer.

The car is coming up to 68,000 miles now and the rear tyres are still the original factory pair with 4mm remaining!

!beepbeepbeep! said:

The car is coming up to 68,000 miles now and the rear tyres are still the original factory pair with 4mm remaining!

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Front tyres?

306maxi said:

Front tyres?

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Yeah been through the factory set and a second set, so I'm on the third set now with 5mm remaining.

As for brakes, front pads are now 90% worn and getting them changed for the first time next week. I don't think the discs have been changed at any point.

Hey guys, im sure this has been covered elsewhere, but i did a search and wasnt able to find a "direct" answer.

Which place/website has the cheapest rotors and pads, and ships internationally cheaply? Or even better, if you can tell me if any Alfa's share the same parts that would help substantially!

Thanks in advanced

!beepbeepbeep! said:

The car is coming up to 68,000 miles now and the rear tyres are still the original factory pair with 4mm remaining!

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That's ****ing insane! Sorry but it just is. Wish we had motorways in Wales

Wait a minute, no i don't!

DraigFlag87 said:

That's ****ing insane! Sorry but it just is. Wish we had motorways in Wales

Wait a minute, no i don't!

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Looking at your videos you're just far too hard on your tyres. You could probably drive at the same speed but not cook your tyres if you were just a bit more sympathetic.

306maxi said:

Looking at your videos you're just far too hard on your tyres. You could probably drive at the same speed but not cook your tyres if you were just a bit more sympathetic.

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I know we've been here before, but for the sake of a few quid over a lifetime, I'd rather just enjoy the car and the roads and not take things too seriously. Was just surprised to hear how many miles you can get from a set of tyres on motorways etc, seems unreal!

DraigFlag87 said:

I know we've been here before, but for the sake of a few quid over a lifetime, I'd rather just enjoy the car and the roads and not take things too seriously. Was just surprised to hear how many miles you can get from a set of tyres on motorways etc, seems unreal!

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it's nothing to do with motorways. You're getting too much wheel slip and wheel slip is what murders tyres. I drive on windy roads and my tyres aren't very worn at all.

At just over 12000 miles the original fronts on mine are showing pretty evenly 6mm of tread remaining. Mixed rural and semi-rural driving, minimal motorways.

I spoke to the tireshop and they told me to rotate the tires at 20,000 km and change all 4 at 40,000 km. To be honest i avoid accelerating much in 1st gear (thats what ruins the tires as on slippery greek roads with the 1.4 engine) the esp light always flashes if i use full throttle in 1st! Anything above half throttle in 1st and you will have to change the tires earlier than what i said above.
I will have a look at the brakes at 30,000 km (the first service for the car)

I got 16K from the first set of 15 inch fronts, decided to change them for new and keep the rears. Got another 16K from the second set of fronts, then put the all seasons on last December.

In March I put the 17s on. They've done about 8K, fronts are just over half worn, rears only a quarter worn. Now in the shed as the all seasons are back on.

Pads at 40K are half worn, shoes and drums fine at the back, just needed a clean out when I changed tyres.

Shame its now in drydock with an injector issue.

Cheers

D

I got 9,000miles from a full set of original tyres after.

My current tyres have been on for 14,000 miles & are only half worn.

Mark Elvin said:

I got 9,000miles from a full set of original tyres after.

My current tyres have been on for 14,000 miles & are only half worn.

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What were your originals and what do you have on now? I'm very impressed with the wear on my Potenza's which is 6mm on the tyres that just came off the rear and 5mm on the fronts. Will rotate them again come spring and should hopefully get another couple of years out of them. Then again I probably don't drive anywhere near as hard as yourself.

ALmost 27,000 miles and 5mm tread all tyres. No idea about brake pads. Plenty on there though.