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

[tahoe healey]

Many who have trailers for their Healeys should check the trailer tire as well.

 

[Cutlass]

If some moron runs a stop light and nails you, your tires have nothing to do with it, no matter how hot the attorney's shot is. Not apropos to the thread, but misconceptions about the law irk me. 30+ years of trial practice and judging.

 

[wheelguy]

I would not be worried with a 4 to 6 years in age for tires. For saftey.. after 8 years... it is time. It depends on the tire maker. If you want to learn how to read date codes on your tires go to.... www.hendrixwirewheel.com
Click on tech tips and click on.. How to read tire date codes. This will help you to know the age of your tires. Allen

 

[nevets]

I'm not convinced that tires that spend most of the time in a garage need to be discarded as frequently as ones that are in the outdoor environment.

What about new tires? What do distributors/garages do with tires that have been sitting on a shelf for a couple of years? Is it like buying milk, where you need to check the date stamp before buying?

 

[wheelguy]

If you are armed with the knowledge of how to read tire date codes, you will be able to tell the age of the tire before someone puts them on your car. That is the safest way to know how old they are

 

[vette]

Just my two cents, I'll go with 8 to ten years if you are planning on driving the car on regular jaunts. If intending to run at VERY high speed I would be somewhat concerned after the 8th year. I believe rubber compounds can dry out and cause some risk but at typical use and observation i believe you will get some warning, visual or performance.
My '70 Vette i have owned for 26 years, it has the second set of tires on it now since my ownership. Sometimes I cool it after I have neared 100mph because of this issue.

Dave C.

 

[anthony7777]

ausmhly, in 1974 still while in collage full time i purchased 2 "used" tires for my 1965 vw bug, from an external inspection they looked to be in very good condition, about 4 days after mounting them a on the vw, i was driving on the b.q.e. expressway in the right lane when the left rear tire exploded, it did not slowly loose air, or give any indication at all of an impending problem, it was a sudden catistrophic failure, the tire seperated from the rim and large parts of it actually went past my drivers window, a lesser driver or an unlucky one would most likely have been killed, any other preowned auto that ive owned since never again had "used" tires put on them, one of the first things i did when i brought home my bj7 was buy 5 ss/chrome wire wheels all fitted with the obligitory "vwhittershteens".

 

[Deleted member 8987]

If some moron runs a stop light and nails you, your tires have nothing to do with it, no matter how hot the attorney's shot is. Not apropos to the thread, but misconceptions about the law irk me. 30+ years of trial practice and judging.

Not appropos?
What state are you in?
Areound these parts, "Contributory or Comparative Negligence" can be determined for your "fair share" of an incident, you can get nailed.
I've known folks (personally) it has happened to.

"Comparative negligence statutes will determine who will receive compensation for their losses and how much they are eligible to receive. If the victim was partly to blame for causing the accident, they may still be able to recover damages. However, their financial recovery may be greatly reduced or possibly prohibited, depending upon how the plaintiff’s actions caused or contributed to the accident."

Tell me how I had a misconception?

 

[Andy65]

I drive with tires over 10 yrs old and sometimes at speed for short distances. The tires look good, are not driven much, and garaged, they have tubes which I think are less prone to catastrophic failure. I may get a flat but I don't think the tires are going fall off. (maybe I shouldn't say that)

 

[fordtrucks4ever]

I bought tires for my Healey new 15 years ago. Mostly garage kept with no more than 2000 miles on them. My `57 F-600 boom truck still rolls on original tires. Checked dry rotted and tread wanting to seperate, but still hold air. But until they come apart I will keep on driving down the road.

 

[Cutlass]

TOC: Your misconception is in the concept of causation. In order for negligence of the plaintiff to be used to diminish recovery, in a comparative negligence state (like mine) that negligence must be a contributing cause of the collision. In your hypothetical, the negligent party was the moron running the red light. If you want to change the hypothetical to include other facts, that might lay blame for the collision on the party with old tires, then fine. But simply having old tires on your car, with nothing indicating that their age contributed to the collision, is an irrelevant fact. What if your emissions sticker were out of date? Causation is an essential element of tort, whether asserted by the plaintiff or defendant.

By the way, in your hypothetical, the "hot-shot lawyer" would probably be the attorney hired by the insurance company to defend the moron.

 

[Deleted member 8987]

TOC:
By the way, in your hypothetical, the "hot-shot lawyer" would probably be the attorney hired by the insurance company to defend the moron.

Agreed.

However, in my state, if there is a fatality, BOTH vehicles are impounded and gone over somewhat carefully, looking for cause.

If they think your old tyres (hardened rubber, perhaps?) was a contributing cause to you inability to stop in a timely manner, (based solely on the age of said tyre, by the DOT code?).....

My local tyre stores will....not....work on any tyre over six years old, quoting Federal Law, yet, research seems to indicate the Feds have not yet come up with such a law, even though they have been "working" on it since 2003 or 2005.

I recall in my younger, poorer days, all we bought for all cars were junkyard tyres, and I never, ever had a problem with them.