Poll...who drives on tires older than 6 yrs

[AUSMHLY]

Forgive me guys, for it's not my intention to start an unhealthy debate. I hope it does not go that way. I am curious as to what percentage is larger.

Some say don't drive on tires older than, 6 or is it 4 years old. Regardless of how they look physically.

Some say, if physically they look good, are driven (no flat spots) kept in a garage or carport (out of the sun), no signs of cracking on the sidewalls, then they should be fine for longer than what the other camp of 4-6 years say.

I was talking to my friend just yesterday about this. He has only 3,000 miles on his sons 67 Mustang. The tires are 6 years old. He feels he has to replace the tires, because of what he has hear about the time limit of tires drying out...the 4-6 year issue. He said he would never forgive himself if something happened because of the tires. He of course does not want to replace them, simply because they have only 3000 miles on them. We can all understand that.

A lot of people are not aware of the topic, replace your tires because they were made on such and such a year and are now (supposedly) not safe to drive on. And some people buy new tires, to find they were sitting on some shelf for the last 3 years. Add that number to how long you should keep the tires on your car.

That's sort of the back story.

I'm on the fence about this replace. What if the tires don't have cracks, parked in the garage, driven on most every day, correct air pressure and monitor their appearance. (I know about those who say, it's the inside of the tire, the belts separating, the entire tire is drying out since the day it was made, etc.) I also tend to believe that if tires that don't have cracks showing, that look ok, will give some indication that something is wrong...when you're driving. Car will shake or something to let you know something is up and you'll have some time to pull over. I'm not so sure every situation with tires older than the 4-6 year will result in a blow out, and you'll lose complete control of the car.

Well, guys, I'm not so sure if this post is a good idea or not. I am curious how many of us feel replace regardless after 4-6 years, or how many say, it's marketing and there's not enough statistics to back up the your life is at serious risk. We are at risk every time we get behind the wheel of any car.

I doubt that the replies will be, I'm on the replace the tires side. I'm on the keep the tires side. Then add up the replies and see what the consensus is.

Maybe I should have the subject read, are you riding on borrowed time?

Cheers,
Ralph Nader, unsafe at any speed.

 

[Deleted member 8987]

Re: Poll...who drive on tires older than 6 yrs

Okay, here goes.
When I bought my Jag two years ago, it had "new" tyres that were so badly weather checked you could see the air inside.
Chinese or Korean, can't recall, but the tread was new.
That said, I have a set of bias-ply Dunlops (15" wide white) in the attic I would use today.
I had a flat (probably the only one I can ever think of) on one of these, and put a VERY OLD (like 40 years?) Firestone extra-wide-white on the left front, drove at 85 and 90 to catch the ferry, and no issues.

We never had problems with tyres in the old days, if I remember.
Tubes and blowouts, recaps losing tread, but geez, steel-ply separation,
rubber weather checking, now the Feds have put out a rule on this...the tyre shops can't even balance a tyre over the age limit. (at least that's what the tyre shop told me last year).

You ever had a catastrophic tyre failure?
Know anybody who has?

 

[GregW]

So where's the poll?

it's marketing and there's not enough statistics to back up the your life is at serious risk.

I'm dubious it is marketing, I think the tires companies deny the age issue. At least they did. It seems to come from people who have had loved ones killed in a tire related accident.

 

[AUSMHLY]

Greg, so where's the poll?
You're like a magician aren't you. Watch this hand, while my other hand does the trick. So...your poll reply was what? :cooler:

Greg, I agree that this topic may have started with tire related deaths.

What percentage of those tires had how much tread, cracked, under inflated, etc. Just throwing out things that should be part of the equation. No doubt that some of the tires looked perfect. What percent of the accidents were on brand new tires (months old), perfect looking tires of what age?

Well, maybe this will not be a poll, if people don't want say how old their tires are. That's ok I guess. It'll be a poll of one...me

 

[GregW]

I meant something like this. That way you don't have to manually add anything. Plus I <span style="font-style: italic">think</span> the voting is anonymous, if that matters to people. <span style="text-decoration: line-through">You should be able to edit your first post to add a poll if you want. This one is too far down the page. In the edit post window, you should see "poll manager" under post options.</span> I take that back, you can't go into edit and add a poll.

 

[Deleted member 8987]

I remember, in our early Ford V-8 club, oh, 13-14 years ago, some guy I know drove his 1937 Ford HotRod (NOT a street rod) to a banquet...that he had restored in 1957 as such....and it still had the wide white bias ply tyres on it he put on in 1957.
40 years old at that point.

Now, to broaden on what has been said by others....is it lack of maintenance? Care? Observation?

If the tyres are kept clean, inflated, inspected, does that give you substantially better life than 6 years?

 

[Robert560]

If you do Google searches on the subject, you'll find an lengthy supply of hits to articles like this one...

https://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2004-11-08-tire-date_x.htm

To me, it's really simple... for the $500 or so it would cost me to replace my tires, it's well worth my life, my car's life, and especially my wife's life. I can't imagine why anyone would want to risk something like this, unless you never go over 30 MPH or something. Anything faster, and a catastrophic tire failure can easily and very likely result in a serious loss of control... and that leads to people getting hurt, or dying.

I drive I-35E here in Dallas pretty much every day, and every day it scares the heck out of me seeing all the pieces of tires laying along the side of the road... as well as all the "skid marks" that run UP the sides of the concrete dividers. I don't ever want that to be me. I don't care that I've never personally seen that happen to someone. It only takes one... and I'll do what I can to make sure it's not me. I mean heck... my Healey is insured for $70k. What's a few hundred bucks on tires every 5 years or so? Plus, it gives me the opportunity to try something new... get a different width or brand. I'm always up for playing around with those kinds of things.

Not trying to preach here... just giving my $0.02.

~Robert

 

[big6]

My TR6 still wears tires and wheels I purchased in 1994. The car is always garage kept with tires inflated and always used sidewall products. The car is driven once a month at least. The tires have no sign of cracking. However I noticed last year that on a route I drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway at higher than posted speed on curves that where the tires would grip before now pushes and slides. I plan to replace the tires this year not due to tire tread separation but from very hard slick rubber. The way I drive my TR6 for fun at speed my life is a little more important to me than the price of new tires. My tires performed very well for 14 years. This may be considered excessive to some but after 6 years the tires still performed as new and replacment was not even a consideration. The tires are Bridgestone Turanza and I will probably purchase another set of the same brand. The good news is the TR6 original tire size is still available. The choice of Healey tire sizes and brands is very limited as everyone is very aware. If you want to see some really hard rubber tires you should see the five original Michelin red lines mounted on the original wheels that came new on my TR6…

 

[TimK]

My reading of the article Robert560 referenced is that non-use is a major contributor to aged tire failure. I have used my 20 year-old Michelin X tires for about 7 months each year, but driven them only about 300 miles / year. They look and perform like new, but I only drive around my neighborhood at speeds averaging about 30 mph, but up to 70.

 

[BabaKahawa]

My tires on the healey were 16 years old.
I did not want to end up on an isolated road with a tire problem
having to wait for help.
My bigger concern would be to have a blow out at speed.
It was worth the $400. for the piece of mine.

 

[Marvin Gruber]

I have several cars. Some have tires that are 10 + years. I know there are at least 4 sets of redlines (even a set of goodyear G800's) on some of the cars. I do drive them some but not at any great speed. For the ones I do drive alot I have a new set of tires on chrome wire wheels, that I swap around. The redwalls I have noticed don't ride or handle the way they used to.

Marv

 

[tahoe healey]

I think 8 years from mag date is max. I'm approaching that. When I was stupider, I had 30 years old tires on my 57 XK140(because all I could find to fit were truck tires - 6ply) but I never had a problem.

 

[AUSMHLY]

If you do Google searches on the subject, you'll find an lengthy supply of hits to articles like this one...

https://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2004-11-08-tire-date_x.htm

Good reading Robert, thanks for that link.

Here's what some companies are forward enough to put into print. Good to see them taking a stand! Copied from that link:

The British Rubber Manufacturers Association in 2001 issued a recommendation that "unused tyres should not be put into service if they are over 6 years old and that all tyres should be replaced after 10 years from the date of their manufacture."

Volkswagen, BMW, Toyota Motor and Mercedes-Benz warn U.S. consumers about aging tires.

In its owner's manuals, Volkswagen warns motorists that old tires can fail in use, causing loss of vehicle control and personal injury. They are advised to replace tires after six years, regardless of wear.

 

[nevets]

My tires are more than 10 years old. Rubber looks good. Car spends most of its time in a garage so minimal exposure to sunlight/UV rays. I'll get new tires eventually, but biggest issue is not the cost but finding a resource for mounting tires without causing damage to the wire wheels.

 

[Deleted member 8987]

If you were to stop and pick up some of those "chunks" of tyre tread on that interstate, you would probably see they were retread caps off 18-wheelers.

VERY common, and sort of outside of the purview of this LBC tyre poll.

 

[Robert560]

If you were to stop and pick up some of those "chunks" of tyre tread on that interstate, you would probably see they were retread caps off 18-wheelers.

VERY common, and sort of outside of the purview of this LBC tyre poll.

Yup, probably... the vast majority of them. But not all I'm sure... and it sure doesn't scare me any less trying to convince myself it's a problem unrelated to me. I've certainly seen my share of passenger cars on the side of the road with tires that sure looked shredded. Was it just the speed? Or something they hit? Or maybe just neglect? Could have been any of those, and nothing to do with tire age. And sure, I can have a blowout someday too for various reasons... but I know one thing for sure... any blowout that happens to me sure won't be because the tires are too old.

Maybe I'm just overly paranoid... I work all day with various seating materials and elastomers that are often very difficult to see problems with the naked eye... but overly paranoid or not, this is one instance where I'm happy to follow what the industry leaders recommend.

~Robert

 

[Robert560]

...I'll get new tires eventually, but biggest issue is not the cost but finding a resource for mounting tires without causing damage to the wire wheels.

I just sent mine off to Hendrix Wire Wheel... was really easy to ship via UPS, and turnaround was timely. Even with shipping, and doing my spare as well, I still didn't spend anymore on my Healey than it cost me to get new performance tires mounted on the 18" rims on my Volvo C30 at Discount Tire right down the street.

And the side benefit is that you're getting new tubes in addition to tires, someone's looking at everything to make sure your wheels and spokes are all in good order, and I now have a car that does 70 MPH as smooth as silk. Very happy with the amount of money spent, considering what I got from it... and it only took a couple weeks of Healey downtime. I'll happily do that every 5 years.

~Robert

 

[Deleted member 8987]

If you were to stop and pick up some of those "chunks" of tyre tread on that interstate, you would probably see they were retread caps off 18-wheelers.

VERY common, and sort of outside of the purview of this LBC tyre poll.

Yup, probably... the vast majority of them. But not all I'm sure... and it sure doesn't scare me any less trying to convince myself it's a problem unrelated to me. I've certainly seen my share of passenger cars on the side of the road with tires that sure looked shredded. Was it just the speed? Or something they hit? Or maybe just neglect? Could have been any of those, and nothing to do with tire age. And sure, I can have a blowout someday too for various reasons... but I know one thing for sure... any blowout that happens to me sure won't be because the tires are too old.

Maybe I'm just overly paranoid... I work all day with various seating materials and elastomers that are often very difficult to see problems with the naked eye... but overly paranoid or not, this is one instance where I'm happy to follow what the industry leaders recommend.

~Robert

Generally (having been in the auto biz for a LONG time) what you see sitting at tghe side of the road is a result of a totally worn out tyre (no inspection), running extrememly low pressures (maintenance) or hitting something on the road, big chunk of metal, pothole, bouncing off a curb (watch some of the COPS shows and see how often bouncing off a curb pops a tyre....and see what the tyre LOOKS like when they finally get stopped).

If industry leaders have gotten together and roped in the Feds to say 6 years and they're toast, what better way to A) sell more and more new tyres, and B) make tyres that only last 6 years and 6 months?

Makes you wonder.

Big Brother Tyre Company

 

[Richard Dickinson]

I"ve had tread separate on an RV tire that was about 5 years old and looked good. Also I have had the tread on a tire that was mounted as a spare on the back of a Jeep separate, although it was a lot older than 6 years. ABC News did a story on tires and age that is on You- Tube somewhere. The jist of their story was that even if you buy a new tire you can't always tell how old it is because it may sit in a warehouse for years. There is a code on tires that can show when it was manufactured. If you're going to trailer a car to shows, then let them rot off, but if you are doing any drivig at highway speeds, $500 or $600 every five or six years seems like a prudent investment.

 

[Deleted member 8987]

There was a BIG problem (and recall) on trailer and light truck tires that separated.
If I recall, the manufacturer decided to leave out some bonding layer, and the inporter got stuck with the entire recall (and bankruptcy).

Usually, on radials, INSPECTION shows an issue before it happens.
Cord separation will cause dimples, bulges and "squirm" at low speeds that will be a good tip-off.

So, let's look at this a bit:

Feds decide to have a six-year CODED limit on tyre life.

You have a set of vintage, what, wide whites or red lines, and you only drive your car to shows locally.

Some moron runs a stop sign and nails you.
Hot shot attorney has your car inspected, finds perfect tyres, but 12 years old.

WHO gets faulted for the accident?

Think about it.