[Closed] Am I OK to replace just one front tyre?

purists will tell you tey should always be swopped in pairs, but TBH, I've always swopped them one at a time and I'm not dead yet... you'll be fine too, especially if the other is hardly worn!

it will be fine.

if you want to do things properly, buy five tyres at a time and dont buy the cheap rubbish.

Yeah your fine to replace just the one, no need to swap back to front either. Just stick the tyre on and away you go

Since your front wheels aren't on a fixed axle it should be fine, although if you have tyres of wildly different grip levels it could cause some interesting handling characteristics, particularly in the wet.

if you want to do things properly, buy five tyres at a time and dont buy the cheap rubbish.

I did buy 4 together, why five (car has a space saver spare)?

Cheap rubbish? Nokian WR tyres are very highly rated for my car (XC90) and are not cheap. 😉

I think the rule of changing 2 at a time, is only really significant for AWDS/4wds?

If the other tyres is pretty new then no need to change a pair, unless they are off road tyres and 6mm could be judged to be almost slick :-p

Ask Mr tyres what they think? Seems off that it would be enough to fail an MOT this time but not 12 months ago?

If the rear tyres are in good condition .. stick them on the front when you go to the garage. They don't usually charge you any extra.

Front wheel drive cars often wear out the fronts twice as fast as the rears.

Just get the same make and model of tyre. As you say, a set of decent tyres for an XC90 is a hell of a wallet basher!

I think the rule of changing 2 at a time, is only really significant for AWDS/4wds?

Hmmm....... it is an AWD.

Seems off that it would be enough to fail an MOT this time but not 12 months ago?

I agree, it does seem odd as this must have been present 12 months ago..... I suspect the chap doing the MOT last time didn't look as closely.

Check out the AWD system. Some of the Volvos need all 4 tyres to match in order to avoid cooking the 4WD system. I seem to remember being told this was the case with the XC70 and T5R AWD, which uses a viscous coupling or electronically controlled centre diff if I recall correctly.

The XC90 might use a different system and be more tolerant.

Audi 4WDs have a problem if wheels have different diameters, so requiring all 4 tyres to be changed.

You can always call at your local part-worn place first, to see if he's got anything worn to the same extent. Or he might buy yours off you.

Mate had an Audi A8 Quattro an got a bulge in one side wall. 4 new tyres even though 3 were absolutely fine. He kept the 3 good tyres in his garage hoping they could be reused. Not sure how long they lurked there.

Just checked the owners manual and it says nothing about changing a single part worn tyre - just advises not to fit tyres of different sizes which I presume means not fitting a different rim/profile size tyre.

Mate had an Audi A8 Quattro an got a bulge in one side wall. 4 new tyres even though 3 were absolutely fine.

That's frisghtening!
I would have thought that even if the 4wd system cannot cope with a bit of difference between tyres on each side, the front and rear axles are completely separate and probably have different wear rates so the only time all 4 tyres are exactly the same size is when they are new. So the most you would need to change would be 2 (i.e. a complete axle).

I have an XC90 which has tyres fitted as needed, which is usually in pairs. When I've had a damaged tyre I've replaced just that one.

After 105k miles, nothing's blown up yet.

my old impreza had some very strict rules on uneven tyre wear, i guess to prevent the differntials overheating or wearing out with one wheel rotating slightly faster that the other.