Do new tyres really make a difference?

For most of us, getting new tyres is a chore, and an expensive exercise to boot, with a full set starting from around $500 depending on the brand and size.

It’s easy to think that because your tyres aren’t worn beyond the legal limit, they are 'okay' and don’t need changing, which is understandable given the current high cost of living. 

But could a set of new tyres make a big difference to how your car drives, bring down your weekly fuel bill or be cheaper in the long run?

We’ve swapped out an ageing set of Continental EcoContact 6 tyres for some brand-new Michelin Primacy 5s on my 2020 Suzuki Vitara to investigate.

On average, tyres should last around five years or 50,000km, but they should be changed once they reach 10 years old, because like other rubber products, they degrade over time.

That said, depending on how they are used, tyres can need changing anywhere between 10,000km and 50,000km. If you’ve not managed to get more than 10,000km out of them, there might be something else going on that you should get investigated.

Luckily, there is an easy way to tell how old your tyres are, and that’s a date stamp imprinted onto the tyre itself showing the week and year they were made.

For example, on the old Continental EcoContact 6 tyres that were on the Suzuki Vitara, the date stamp says 0220, meaning they were made in the second week of 2020. This makes sense as the vehicle itself was first registered in August of the same year.

The new Michelin Primacy 5 tyres are dated 0625, so the sixth week of this year, and fitted in May 2025.

There are several ways to tell if your tyres need replacing, and if you’re in a state with an annual roadworthy check, then you will be told whether or not they have enough tread on them.

Aside from age, an easy way to tell if your tyres are on the way out is by the tread, which are the grooved bits that come into contact with the road. These get worn down over time with constant use.

It’s advised that once the tread gets below 3mm it’s a good idea to get some new tyres because, according to Tyrepower, the chance of aquaplaning drastically increases, but the legal minimum is 1.5mm. If your tread is below this limit, you can be stopped by police and given a defect notice.

Tyres now have tread wear indicators to show if they’ve worn down to the limit, but you can also use a 20 cent coin. If the bill of the platypus on it is visible, then it’s time to replace.

Other ways to tell if you need new tyres include damage to the sidewalls, such as cracks, cuts or bulges, uneven wear – which could be a sign of a wheel alignment or other issue – or even punctures. While a small puncture can sometimes be repaired, larger ones can be irreparable.

Your driving style and conditions can affect how long your tyres last too. For example, driving aggressively or on harsher terrain can cause them to wear faster.

My car was serviced in January this year, and although still well within the legal limit, the tread wear was down to between 2–3mm, so it was time for an upgrade. The car had almost 65,000km on the clock at time of testing.

As mentioned, the Suzuki Vitara was previously wearing Continental EcoContact 6 215/55 R17s.

Over the last six months or so, there has been a notable decline in driving performance. While the Vitara’s steering has always been light, the decreased tread has caused significant understeer in some situations, resulting in the back end going wider than you’d like through loss of traction.

Similarly, the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) in the Vitara has never been great, but with worn tyres was substantially worse. 

The 1.6-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine is not loud in itself, other than under pressure from hard acceleration, but both wind and road noise easily penetrate the cabin at the best of times.

With worn tyres, the road noise was very loud and the ride uncomfortable over even the slightest of road imperfections. Hitting a pothole would cause me to seriously wince.

Before getting the new tyres fitted, I took the Vitara out to test its braking performance, as well as how noisy the cabin was.

The test was carried out on a straight road where the speed limit was 100km/h, and on both days the conditions were good and the surface dry. The tyre pressures, which should be 33psi cold according to the placard, were 38psi all round warm.

Accelerating from 0–100km/h, the best time I could achieve was 11.34 seconds. This was with two adults on board, and as you can see, the Vitara is fitted with roof racks, but at the time it was carrying no additional load. 

There is no claimed time for the 2020 Suzuki Vitara’s naturally aspirated 1.6-litre engine, but for context, for the 1.4-litre turbo, Suzuki claims a sprint time of 9.5 seconds.

Moving on to the 100–0km/h brake test, the shortest stopping distance I managed was 40.69m. 

Using a decibel meter, the average recorded noise level was around 75dB.

Before switching over the tyres, my regular fuel economy for everyday driving, mostly low kilometres around town, but also regular long runs up the freeway to work, was sitting at around 6.6 litres per 100 kilometres.

For the naturally aspirated 1.6-litre engine, Suzuki claims a figure of 6.2L/100km. 

However, in previous years when the tyres were in better condition, I was easily getting a much better fuel economy of around 5.5L/100km.

With tests on the old tyres wrapped up, it was time to get the new rubber fitted.

In this instance, we had Michelin Primacy 5 tyres fitted through Tyreplus in South Melbourne.

Michelin introduced the Primacy 5 earlier this year as the successor to its Primacy 4. 

The Primacy 5 is designed for passenger cars and crossover SUVs, and has been particularly optimised for hybrid and electric vehicles, and constructed to handle the increased horsepower and weight.

It is not a performance tyre, already offered by Michelin in the form of the Pilot Sport series, but rather is designed for comfort and longevity, offering more kilometres for your money than the Primacy 4 and better grip in the wet.

According to Michelin, the tyre’s environmental footprint is down 6 per cent, too, and the new tread pattern helps reduce vibration and noise.

Accelerating from 0–100km/h with the Michelins on, the best time I could reach was 11.27 seconds in the same circumstances. So 0.07 of a second quicker.

Switching to the 100–0km/h brake test, and this time around the shortest stopping distance I achieved was 38.25m – 2.44m less than with the Continentals on.

Testing the noise again with the decibel meter, the average recorded level was around 70dB – 5dB quieter than before.

It’s still pretty early days with testing the fuel economy, but already I’ve seen the figure drop from 6.6L/100km to 5.8L/100km, and am confident that in the long term I can decrease that number further.

The Vitara now has more grip on the road, in corners especially, and braking feels more assured. As well as being a bit quieter, although my kids are still noisy and there’s not much new tyres will do about that, the ride is more pleasant, with a noticeable improvement in comfort on uneven surfaces.

Over one particular crack in the road around a corner on our way to school, the Vitara previously would skip over it and understeer, but travelling around the same bend, there is no problem now on the Michelins.

While the test results don’t exactly make a night-and-day difference, the new tyres, bearing in mind they haven’t yet truly been run-in, make acceleration and braking quicker, the cabin quieter, and save money on fuel. All good things. 

And even though on paper a 2.44m decrease in stopping distance doesn’t sound large, it is actually quite significant and could mean the difference between hitting a car, cyclist or pedestrian or not.

Yes, new tyres are a big expense, and you always seem to need them just when you can least afford it, but if you shop around to find some that have a longer shelf life, it could save you money in the long run, and you’ll be safer for it.

These Michelin Primacy 5 tyres currently cost $235 each, with fitment varying but generally in the range of $30–$50 per wheel.

A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.

Read more about Kathryn Fisk