Question about replacing one tire

[windhand]

I have a 2020 CX-5. I only drive about 5000 miles per year and since the new year I haven't been driving very much at all, sometimes I won't turn the car on for a week. About a month ago I got the warning about tire pressure. When I've gotten this before all the tires were equally low (due to me leaving the car at elevation, like 10,000 feet while I was backpacking/camping) but this time only the rear left side tire was low, at 25lb. I filled it up with my compressor and forgot about it. About 2 weeks later I got the warning again, checked and my tire was at 25lbs again. This time I did a very long look at the tire to see if there was a nail or puncture but couldn't find anything. I did not remove the tire from the car to check though. I filled it up again and after a week I didn't wait for the warning but I proactively checked and sure enough I was very slowly losing air, about 1lb a day. So today I finally took it into the closest Americia's Tire and they said there was a nail puncturing the inner sidewall. I asked to see it and after some time they brought the tire to me with a nail that was not fully impacted but instead was sticking about 2 inches out on the inner top wall of the tire. I drove about 75 mostly freeway miles on it yesterday so I was pretty amazed this thing didn't fly out. Though to be fair I don't know if they sorta pulled it out before showing me or not. It did seem a little suspect at the time but obviously I had some sort of leak and maybe I was just biased cause I went in there thinking I was going to have a pinhole leak or something. In hindsight I probably should have tried spraying soapy water on the tires but when I considered that I figured it was pointless since if I did find a leak I'd still have to take it in the get fixed regardless.

I'm going on a trip to the mountains next weekend, and of course they wouldn't patch the tire due to the puncture being close to the sidewall so I sorta was stuck getting a new tire. I have the original Toyo tires still on with only 18k miles. I have rotated these myself twice. The only tires they had in stock were the Falken Pro G5 CSV, the Yokohama YK-CTX, and they had ONE single Pirelli Scorpion AS plus 3. 2 of my Toyos were at 6/32 and one at 7/32 so I didn't really want to buy an entire set of tires so I bought the single Pirelli since it was only $30 more than the cheapest of those three which was the Falken.

My question is am I going to have any major issues with this single tire being new? The tech didn't seem to be that concerned and he did not really pressure me into replacing more than just the 1.

Also, when the 3 Toyos finally are worn out, do I just replace those 3 (with a full set of Pirelli?) One option I was considering was if I could get another 3 years / 12-15k out of the Toyos then I would just replace all 4 at that point and keep the old Pirelli as a full size spare in case I have another similar puncture. He was saying the Pirelli is rated for 70,000 miles which seems.. excessive?

Thanks for any advice. I don't buy tires that often so I'm not well versed in their repair/replacement.

 

[sloniupl]

I never replaced one tire. From what I know its best to replace 2 tires at least (same tire and ware on same axle). Not sure about cars with AWD as I'm new to CX-5 but I would stick to that - replace 2 or 4.

 

[wlong01]

Agree with sloniupl, should of replaced the opposing one too, to be safe.
I'd plan on getting rid of the Toyo's sooner rather than later.

The Pirelli's would probably last 70k but I'm sure the tread would be a 2/32's and you wouldn't like the ride. I have about 20k on my Pirelli Scorpions and it looks I can get another 30K out of them before the ride goes to crap, plus you don't want to keep the tires forever due to dry rot.

 

[ColtX-5]

I would have had them install the spare and drove it 3 days until the matching tire came in, where ever I could get it..

When the OEM tires wear out, make them all the same with a tire you like. That Pirelli is probably a good tire.

A full size spare will not fit under the rear cargo floor.

 

[HyFlyer]

I don't have much of an opinion on the 4-5 / 32nd's difference hurting your drivetrain. I suppose it's possible to have that new tire shaved to match the other tread thickness.

But with the limited driving you do (5k mi/year) you could just buy the other three (maybe the tire place can work a deal for you buying 4?) And enjoy the new tires for the next 12 years! (Or whenever you feel the rubber is too weathered)

Sounds like you plan on keeping the car longer than the OEM toyo's will last but end of life for the replacements would be like 14 years out from now so just get the new tires now and enjoy the better ride.

I know you've already bought the one and it's done but for others reading, don't feel pressure to buy just whatever the tire company has in stock. As ColtX-5 said, have the tire company mount the spare (or put the tire with the nail back on ... It's lasted for weeks with a slow leak ) and order up what YOU want from them or somewhere else. Don't feel a time pressure. It'll only be a day or few before what you want is in.

I've had good success with the string type tire plug kits. I've never had one come out, even for those situations where a nail is "too close to the edge" for a tire company to repair. As another option.

 

[jadmt]

i would just bite the bullet and go in and buy 3 more Pirelli's. no way I would run them like you are now. we are wired differently and after 65 years on this orb that circles the sun I just could not do that.

 

[onerpm]

I also have a 2020 Sig., and had an unrepairable sidewall nail in one of the Toyos at 22,300 miles. Stopped at a tire shop, they pushed to sell me all 4! Another said get 2. My other 3 OEM tires had 9/32" at the time. I then went to a Mazda dealer, they said I was fine buying just one, so I did. As it turned out, I decided to replace all 4 with Pirelli Scorpions 10 months later, at 31,700. (I like them. by the way.) Windhand, if you are near south Florida, I still have the replacement Toyo in my closet, with <9400 miles on it! 8/32. You could replace your Pirelli with it until all the tires are gone, then just buy 3 more Pirellis... I am driving from S Florida to SE Kentucky in late April, then after a few days on to Minneapolis, so if you are close to that route, I could meet you somewhere... Rob

 

[HyFlyer]

... Windhand, if you are near south Florida, I still have the replacement Toyo in my closet, with <9400 miles on it! 8/32. You could replace your Pirelli with it until all the tires are gone, then just buy 3 more Pirellis. ...

Wow, what a great offer for you @windhand ! That's about a perfect match to your other three. Even if you paid shipping it couldn't be much more than $25-30 I would guess.

onerpm

 

[Conrad 16.5]

I would have had them install the spare and drove it 3 days until the matching tire came in, where ever I could get it..

When the OEM tires wear out, make them all the same with a tire you like. That Pirelli is probably a good tire.

A full size spare will not fit under the rear cargo floor.

Drive on the doughnut spare for three days rather than the new Pirelli while waiting for the replacement to come in?

 

[Jmaz]

I had a low tire warning on my left rear tire (it had ~20 psi when checked-- don't have TPMS sensors) and no leak. The valve core inside of the valve stem was loose and it lost air even with the cap on. Tightened it and aired it up to match the others. Checked the other ones and snugged up 1 or 2 valve cores in those.

 

[dunhillmc]

I also have a 2020 Sig., and had an unrepairable sidewall nail in one of the Toyos at 22,300 miles. Stopped at a tire shop, they pushed to sell me all 4! Another said get 2. My other 3 OEM tires had 9/32" at the time. I then went to a Mazda dealer, they said I was fine buying just one, so I did. As it turned out, I decided to replace all 4 with Pirelli Scorpions 10 months later, at 31,700. (I like them. by the way.) Windhand, if you are near south Florida, I still have the replacement Toyo in my closet, with <9400 miles on it! 8/32. You could replace your Pirelli with it until all the tires are gone, then just buy 3 more Pirellis... I am driving from S Florida to SE Kentucky in late April, then after a few days on to Minneapolis, so if you are close to that route, I could meet you somewhere... Rob

the OEM tires only had 1/32" of wear in 22,300 miles? that's hard to believe. those are usually at the wear bars at 30-36k miles

 

[onerpm]

the OEM tires only had 1/32" of wear in 22,300 miles? that's hard to believe. those are usually at the wear bars at 30-36k miles

I agree, found it weird myself. The OEMs were at 9/32 after 22k of driving, and the replacement is at 8/32 after less than 10k of driving. The new Pirellis started at 11/32.

 

[Snorting2.5]

no, you won't have any issues. just change the one tire and forget about it.

changing both sides of that one axle to match wouldn't hurt, but unless you are consistently pushing those tires to the limits of adhesion, you don't need to be so particular about matching grip and tread wear levels from side to side.

 

[windhand]

I also have a 2020 Sig., and had an unrepairable sidewall nail in one of the Toyos at 22,300 miles. Stopped at a tire shop, they pushed to sell me all 4! Another said get 2. My other 3 OEM tires had 9/32" at the time. I then went to a Mazda dealer, they said I was fine buying just one, so I did. As it turned out, I decided to replace all 4 with Pirelli Scorpions 10 months later, at 31,700. (I like them. by the way.) Windhand, if you are near south Florida, I still have the replacement Toyo in my closet, with <9400 miles on it! 8/32. You could replace your Pirelli with it until all the tires are gone, then just buy 3 more Pirellis... I am driving from S Florida to SE Kentucky in late April, then after a few days on to Minneapolis, so if you are close to that route, I could meet you somewhere... Rob

Haha this is an amazing offer but unfortunately I live in Southern California so nowhere on this route.

Did you notice any negatives related to having one new tire on there? Based on that mileage you drive quite a bit more than I do, that 9400 miles would take me 2 years at this rate.

 

[onerpm]

No, none at all. I had it put on the rear. I kept it in hopes of not having to buy a new tire next time I get a sidewall nail. But I don't have as sensitive a butt as many posters here...I can't reallly tell the difference between tires much, and always thought the OEM Toyos were just fine, on my 2014 and now my 2020. The Pirellis do seem quieter, but that's likely because my Toyos were getting cupped.