Keep current or former tires on my new truck?

[Jackpine]

How old are the tires on your "new" truck? You can check the age of the tires by looking for the last four digits of the DOT ID on the sidewall (next to the rim). If your tires were manufactured last year, you might see something like 4409, meaning the tires were made in the 44th week of 2009. You MAY have to look on the inside sidewall of the tire to find this number - it is not always printed on both sidewalls.

Beyond age - your question is really too complex to answer. What was the original tread depth of each tire brand compared to its current depth? That might give you some idea of how fast each is wearing.

Good guidelines for tire replacement are at 4/32" tread remaining, so you have 5/32" to go on the new tires. (Note: the replacement point used to be at 2/32" but that point gives you almost no wet traction).

My "gut" reaction would be to stay with the tires you have on the truck now. But, I'd compare the age, tread depth and rate of wear on both to make a final judgment.

I THINK your old Gryphon can be updated to work with the 2005 truck, but you'll have to talk to Bill about the costs to do so. Besides a new cable, it will require new firmware and, of course new custom programs. Maybe this is a good excuse to get a CS or CTS?

- Jack

[ticopowell]

Thanks for the advise, I looked up the tires and they both start with about 14/32's tread, but i couldn't find anything that said how many miles they were supposed to have. I will check the dates and if they are the same or fairly close ill keep the same ones, i dont think its worth the $$ to change them.
and firstly i am surprised how much better the stock engine is on my new truck than my old one! but yeah if it costs too much money ill just upgrade to a ct or cts those are pretty nice! and ill stick with regular tunes for now since i havent done anything yet, what do you all recommend for upgrades? im planning on the gotts mod or equivalent, and then i dont know what. I am wondering if doing the exhaust, or pulleys, or electric fans(if needed, haha i really dont know the truck yet). thanks again!

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by ticopowell

Thanks for the advise, I looked up the tires and they both start with about 14/32's tread, but i couldn't find anything that said how many miles they were supposed to have. I will check the dates and if they are the same or fairly close ill keep the same ones, i dont think its worth the $$ to change them.
and firstly i am surprised how much better the stock engine is on my new truck than my old one! but yeah if it costs too much money ill just upgrade to a ct or cts those are pretty nice! and ill stick with regular tunes for now since i havent done anything yet, what do you all recommend for upgrades? im planning on the gotts mod or equivalent, and then i dont know what. I am wondering if doing the exhaust, or pulleys, or electric fans(if needed, haha i really dont know the truck yet). thanks again!

Probably, your tires are not "treadwear rated". Too bad you can't figure out (or maybe you can if there's a receipt for the tires) how much tread has been lost on each set vs miles driven. If you knew the mileage on each truck when the last tire change occurred, that's all you need.

My personal opinion is that exhaust mods are mostly for "sound". If you get long tube headers, "X" pipe or "H" pipe configurations, you get some power increases, but that's about it. The Gotts style mod is a good one, in my book. E-fans and Underdrive pulleys are also a way to get more power delivered to the wheels.

- Jack

[ticopowell]

Yeah i know how many miles my tires have on them because i still have the receipt, the others have a warranty pamphlet in the glove box but it doesn't say anything about when they were put on ... the seem to be in pretty good shape, and i think i will go to the place where i bought my tires and see what they think about the new ones since they sold me the old ones and know about them.

[Jackpine]

Sounds like a good idea. I'm sure they have an opinion on the relative merits of the two brands, and they have nothing to gain or lose by telling you that information. When I bought new tires for my trailer, there were several brands I was considering and I remember the tire people telling me to stay away from one particular brand.

- Jack

[ticopowell]

Yeah so the guys had never heard of the brand of my new trucks tires, so i went to go look at the old truck tires again, and i noticed that one of them looked like it had been overinflated and the tread was way low in the center, so i decided to keep the ones i had, the treadwear was about the same for all 4 tires(for now lol) and now i know that i need to be a better driver haha! I am fairly sure that that tire's low tread wasnt just too much air, but a little of me spinning it by trying to go too fast around corners etc... oh well, lesson learned!