Reading my colleague Paul Compton's article about Tyres in the 1960's reminded me about the dangers of modern high-performance tyres and the rapid degradation that they suffer as the final few millimetres of tread wears down.

My experience is limited to the Pirelli P0, which are, in all normal circumstances a quite fantastic tyre. They give exceptional grip, last a reasonable time and avoid some of the noise and growling problems experienced with other similar class tyres.

The problem I found is that the rate of wear from say, 2.5mm to the legal minimum of 1.6mm and beyond, can be dramatically quick.  I had checked the tyres one week, decided that I would replace them but had to make a journey to Amsterdam before I could do so.  By the end of that journey, I was driving in falling rain and sliding all over the road with little more than slick tyres.

This is not a complaint against what is otherwise a great tyre, but it might be a timely warning not to leave that tyre change too late.