I was driving my normal route to work this morning and hit a patch of what I think may of been mud on the road-right on a 90 degree bend. I totally lost control of the FL2 and ended up in a sideways slide heading towards a road sign. Fortunately the wheels found some grip and I managed to steer out of it. I am a touch shaken by the experience. I have had three FL2's and have driven in some atrocious conditions-this is my first experience of losing control of one. I have had it about three weeks and it is 7 years old and is still on it's original tyres with 4mm of tread on each (it is very low mileage). Do tyres degrade and harden over that sort of timescale or is it just one of those things and down to me not reading the road conditions correctly?

I believe that it is not advisable to use tyres older than 5 years old due to the rubber compound degrading. It is also worth noting that in those Alpine countries that allow the use of All Season tyres (ie those with M&S but no snowflake) they specify a minimum tread depth of 4mm.
From personal experience in the last snow on tyres with just under 4mm tread the Freelander skidded briefly. At the same junction 24 hours later in worse conditions but with brand new tyres of the same make the car stopped perfectly.
I'd be seriously looking at changing to some new tyres if it was me.

My local dealer will not sell used cars with a tread depth of less than 4mm. I have also seen a chart (I think in the same dealer) suggesting that tyre performance deteriorates rapidly below this tread level. There does not seem to be any consensus regarding age, other than to suggest looking out for cracks and general visible deterioration. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.

Hankook recommend 4mm as a minimum tread depth in winter: http://www.hankooktire-eu.com/service/tyre...depth.html Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.

I have also heard the 5 year cut off for replacing tyres, recently bought 4 Grabber GTs in Derby at a very good price.
My old ones were down to about 4mm so should be ready for whatever winter brings.
Think the current legal limit of 1.6mm should be looked at again. FL2 SD4 Metropolis Auto Santorini Black / ivory completely stock.

It's true that light travels faster than sound, some people look quite intelligent until you hear them speak.


Stop global winging.

Many thanks for the advice-I will start shopping around for replacements. My gut feeling was 4mm is borderline for the winter but after your feedback I'm convinced it's not worth the risk.

Have a look at Asda - certainly competitive pricing for all the main brands and fitted locally.
Also Blackcircles, ETyres etc

Just checked the tyres on our Astra. Three are original so 10 years old (has done less mileage than my MY13 FR2)! Plenty of tread and no visible deterioration but will consider replacing them fairly soon. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.

The wife's Meriva is ten years old, 22k miles and its third set of tyres, the worst ones we had were Continental, very visible cracks around the circumference.
I have been toying with part worn winters as the contis are crap but thought better of it, realised I paid double for my camera than what 4 new tyres would cost it's all that sits between you, your 30k car and a tree.

My wranglers were down to 3mm when we had some snow a couple of years ago. The FL2 didn't perform very well at braking or going around corners where the roads were covered in snow. I soon got 4 new General Grabber AT tyres and the difference was very noticeable. Black MY2013 SD4 GS Auto, Wood Company Armrest, Freel2 sticker.
Gone MY2010 Freelander 2 Manual TD4.e S, Alaska White.

The age thing is very important for caravans or other low-mileage vehicles. Age-related deterioration isn't always visible, it's more to do with the lack of resilience in old rubber I think. Whatever, it's just not worth the risk. Get 'em replaced! Ours - 2008 Stornoway Grey HSE Auto
Tricia's - 2006 Royal Blue Beetle Cabriolet Auto
Mine - 2014 Vespa GTS 300 Super Sport Matt Black
Ours - 2007 White Bailey Pageant Champagne

Lab pm me if you need any info on the deal I got. FL2 SD4 Metropolis Auto Santorini Black / ivory completely stock.

It's true that light travels faster than sound, some people look quite intelligent until you hear them speak.


Stop global winging.

I had this a couple of years back on some ice, slide sideways heading towards a lamp post and was saved by the curb, just some bent suspension but better than some bent bones. Glad all was well.

don't matter wot rubber you got on ,went sideways a few years ago in a rr classic black ice , its down to luck or bad luck you hit mud ,was it expected where you driving to the conditions ,don't blame the car or the tyres there are so many factors when driving

Not true Bear. Tread depth makes a big difference, particularly on wet roads, and winter tyres even more so at low temps - have a look at the many videos on u-tube. There will always be occasions you can't predict, but the better your equipment the more chance you have of dealing with the situation. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.