Oluedo

I blew out my front right tire yesterday on really rought terrain and had to go to work with the full size spare. I currently have continental procontacts on all four. Does anyone with experience on tires know if I must change all four? I will rather just buy one (cost about $108). Or, can I just change the two front ones?

Having to change all four might require switching to cheaper Pirelli P4s. Any experience with those?

SlvrC230SS

in my opinion, no. Are the other three tires bad as well? If so, yes. Why change all four when only one blew out?

Oluedo

I thought I read somewhere on the manual that the four tires need to be changed at the same time?

JLD2k3

Definately not. If the other three are in good shape, just replace the one. If you are close to a rotation, maybe get two new ones and put them on the front and in six months get 2 for the rear.

Buellwinkle

If there others are near the end of life I would change all 4. If they are closer to new I would just get the one bad tire replaced as long as it's the same model tire. If the fronts showed more wear anyway than the rears I would do just the fronts and then you can switch brands or model tires.

kickR

if you would tell us if you have a staggered set of wheels and how much life is remaining on the other tires we could give you an even better idea what to do.

ChrisBrown

I agree. Unless they are all well worn, get two, that way you can have a better balance of traction.

Oluedo

I changed the one front right for $161 total at MB of Anaheim (Continental TouringContacts). Will Change the other three at service time. They are worn and need to be change soon.

Thanks for all the advice.

acr2001

You went to the STEALER for a new TIRE?!?!
Maybe you're rich?

grossmeisterb

Haha, lol, well, at least over here, the d(st)ealers sometimes have good offers on tires, but I think 161$ isn't that big price for a new tire - and he drives a Mercedes, he MUST be rich...

Mu9enx

161$ seems expensive to me, especially for stock tires. but i don't know much anyways, lulz

plusONErandy

you do not necessarily have to change all four. it is always recommended to change at least the ones accross the same axle. but you should definately keep them within 2/32nds of each other.. meaning if the other one is still close to new leave it alone..if its almost halfway then chuck it and get a new one... that insures there are no traction issues or radial and alignment pulls. make sure u always get matching tires (at least accross the same axle)...
but unless the vehicle is AWD u do not need to change all 4

Oluedo

You kind of have it right there. There is a very slight alignment pull to the right. I adjusted the psi (30 on right and 28 on left)

casper_c230

If the tires are you good shape, you can get away with replacing just one.
If the tires are pretty warn out, you want to change 2 at a time. Front two or rear two.....in your case, the front two. The reason is b/c you want your tires to wear evenly....for performance, safety and future purchases.

Good luck.

LAZARU5

This past Winter I hit a pothole on I-476 and ruined one tire. I had 31K miles on the tires and they were evenly warn since I rotated them every 5K miles. I replaced two and will replace the other two before this coming Winter.

I thought I would mention that Tirerack WON'T sell you just two tires online. You need to order via phone and they verify that the tires you are ordering are compatible with the two remaining tires on the car. In my case I ordered the same tires that I had previously ordered from Tirerack and I was able to reference the earlier invoice number. I thought this was a nice touch by Tirerack even if it was a PITA.

Kar don

A lot of people recommended to put the new tires on the front axle, this is BAD ADVICE.

If only replacing two tires, ALWAYS put them on the rear axle. No matter if front or rear drive. This will ensure vehicle stability in all conditions, especially rain and snow.

If you put the new tires on the front and put worn ones on the rear, the front two tires will grip like champs in the rain going around that corner... but when the rear tires try to follow they won't have the same grip capabilities as the front and will slide out causing you to oversteer.

Defiant

You guys missed out on the fun back in the seventies when radial tires first got here. A set of bias-ply on one end and radials on the other..... whoawhoawhoa!

Arn560

I'm still stuck on him buying a tire from thr Stealership - What's up with that?

Cintoman

+1 to what Kar don said

Cintoman