Got me a leaker that can't be patched!

Crap! Saw that my left rear wasn't holding pressure. (I have the OEM staggered setup of the '03 330i sport.) Brought it in to the local tire shop and they went to patch it for me. $4 well spent, even if the speed rating was technically effected. BUT... they said the patch wouldn't hold, and the tire is done in.

Now, my other 3 tires are wearing well, and I could get at least enough life out of them to last me until next Summer. (17K miles on the car.) At the moment, I have the spare wheel and tire on the left rear, which is the narrower front wheel size.

I could leave the spare on until I burn out the other 3 tires and replace the whole set at once. However, this means I have no spare in the meantime, and I'm running one wheel/tire wider than the other 3.

I could purchase a new Conti to replace the bad tire and be done with it. Then I just have one tire with more tread than the other 3.

I could just cave in now and buy myself a whole set of tires now. This would mean throwing away 3 tires with perfectly good meat on them though.

Or, I could just say to hell with it and buy myself that new set of wheels and tires I've wanted. (But in reality... )

Argh! I don't know what to do! What are the pros and cons of my options? And are there options I'm not thinking of?

Originally Posted by OBS3SSION

I could purchase a new Conti to replace the bad tire and be done with it. Then I just have one tire with more tread than the other 3.

Or you can buy a new tire and get it shaved so that the tread depth matches the other rear tire.

Originally Posted by DougDogs

Don't they still make radial tubes??? as long as you aren't tracking with these tires, a radial tube should be ok, No??

No, tubeless tires are not meant to be run with tubes. There will be friction, excess heat buildup, and likely failure.

I'm with Clyde. Best to have a new one shaved to the correct depth to keep them matched.

Who shaves tires to match? I've never heard of anyplace around here doing that. (It also hurts to think of buying a new tire and shaving off 2/3 of it's life...)

You didn't mention the option of buying TWO new rear tires. That way the tread depth would match. Since you wear the rears faster than the fronts, there's a possibility the fronts would last until the new rears were worn out...

We will shave new street tires purchased from us before they're shipped to any given depth for $25 each. Just be sure to call in the order, rather than doing so online.

It may hurt to 'give up' that much depth, but should be much less than paying for two new rears.

Originally Posted by Gary@Tirerack

We will shave new street tires purchased from us before they're shipped to any given depth for $25 each. Just be sure to call in the order, rather than doing so online.

It may hurt to 'give up' that much depth, but should be much less than paying for two new rears.

Hmmm, let's see: (1) ContiSport Contact, 245/40-17 is $137 plus $25 to be shaved, and another $11.91 shipping is $173.91 out the door from Tire Rack. Then I gotta get it mounted and ballanced locally... figure another $10-15, and I'm at ~$185 complete.

This would seem to be the most practical (and cheapest) solution available to me. But... is there anything really wrong with running a new tire and one that is at 1/2 - 2/3 on the rear? In the end, I'd just have 3 tires worn out, and one with a bit of life to it.

I'm not sure, I'm runnig a newer rear Pilot Sport with about 8000 miles less than the other one and I have not noticed anything wrong so far. On the other hand, what are you going to do with a single non-worn tire when you replace the others? I guess it will still have to go away unless you keep it as a spare.