Modern Tires

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Murray

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OK- I'm an old fart that needs to be educated about modern tires. Went to a tire shop yesterday to get a flat repair. They wouldn't repair it because said that the tire was too old! They are 6 years old. I am hearing this more often- that our tires are old if we see some aging (cracking) and they need to be replaced. Am I to assume that the quality of tires recently has gotten so bad that they need to be replaced because of "old age"? Seems like an excuse just to sell more tires. Am I wrong? Please educate me.
 
Used to be that a 10 year old tire was "too old", now it seems that 5 years is too old, what's next? Who is behind this and is it official ?
 
Morning, I do provincial inspections in British Columbia Canada, 10 years is the code here , now unless the tire shop seen something in side the tire that would comprise its integrity.
 
I have had an old tire come apart on the highway, so I am scared of them now. This is particularly an issue on our toy cars that don’t get driven much.
 
I have had an old tire come apart on the highway, so I am scared of them now. This is particularly an issue on our toy cars that don’t get driven much.

A couple of months ago our club Treasurer had a blowout on his '69 GTX. Ended up wrinkling the passenger front fender and messed up some bracing underneath.
Turns out his tires were 17 years old. They still looked good on the outside and showed lots of tread.
 
5 yes my *** ! I would be worried about 15-20 year old neglected tires but not 5 yrs unless I was planning on high speed 100+ drives .
They are just trying to sell you tires.

Now I did just blow 2 RV tires on my 78 Dodge C~Class and it did some damage but they were 20+ years old and I think I overinflated them.
 
The point is each jurisdiction has a limit whether it’s 10, 5 or something in between and it’s there for safety.

Decades ago it was realized that seat belts were a great idea, for safety, as was the realization that drinking alcohol and driving wasn’t a great idea either.
 
I trust my 45 year old redlines more than the 5 year old reproductions that were on my car when I bought it.

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New specs say 5 years on tires. I think they have changed the rubber compound.

How so? Do you think tires are of lesser quality? I think tire technology gets better as time goes on. I believe the five year thing has come about because of all of the lawsuits that have been filed. Remember the problem Ford had with Firestone many years ago?
 
I remember seeing the inside of some tires had cracked and begun to shred when I worked in the trade in the 90s, we would not repair any tire that was exhibiting those signs. Had a few customers get irate about it, but I don't remember any specific expiry date back then.
 
Like Rusty said, its all about liability. But I do agree that tires are not as good as they used to be. I just aired up tires on two cars that had been sitting for 30 years. First car all 4 aired up and 3 still holding two weeks later. Second car, three aired up but fourth was already off the rim.
The biggest concern with plugging a tire is where the hole is. If its on the sidewall or the edge of the tread forget about it.
 
10 years is the current max life as far as I’m aware, that’s per most of the tire manufacturers. That’s the hard/fast time though, as in most tire shops won’t even touch them at that point. Apparently a lot of automakers are now recommending 6 years, because of the number of incidents with tires over 6 years old (liability, like RRR said). More info here How Old - and Dangerous - Are Your Tires? | Edmunds

And if they show any signs of degradation the tire shop may recommend they be replaced sooner. I know at the 6 year mark I’ve seen signs of checking and cracking on modern tires. Depends on a lot of things- UV exposure, the number of temperature cycles on the tire, general use, maintenance, etc.

As far as old tires lasting longer, maybe. But they also didn’t have anywhere near the grip and performance of more modern tires. Everything’s a trade off. You want tires that will pull .9+ G on the skid pad, work in the rain and maintain good grip over a wide temperature range then maybe they won’t last as long, but that’s far better performance than older tires ever gave. Modern tires absolutely “time out”. But you wouldn’t catch me running 40 year old bias ply’s on the freeway either, I don’t care how good they look.

Bottom line is, what’s it worth to you? That old tire lets loose and takes out your fender or quarter panel it’s gonna set you back a lot more than a set of tires. And that’s if it doesn’t put you into a telephone pole or a K-rail. If you're bent out of shape because your tires are aging out before they wear out maybe it’s time to drive more?
 
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Really appreciate everyones comments. The times (and the tires) are a-changin'. For now I will find someone to plug the leak since the tires are 6 years old with 55K on them and with covid I'm not hardly driving. I will replace them in the months ahead. Live and learn, thanks guys. Murray.
 
OK- I'm an old fart that needs to be educated about modern tires. Went to a tire shop yesterday to get a flat repair. They wouldn't repair it because said that the tire was too old! They are 6 years old. I am hearing this more often- that our tires are old if we see some aging (cracking) and they need to be replaced. Am I to assume that the quality of tires recently has gotten so bad that they need to be replaced because of "old age"? Seems like an excuse just to sell more tires. Am I wrong? Please educate me.

If tubeless I just plug my own-----
 
From about 2000 to 2017, before I moved to Tx from Missouri, I drove 60 mi. a day to work on nothing but used old tires. No flats and never blew a tire. But I was running the MO back roads maybe 60 mph tops in an old Mopar Duster!!!
 
Maybe I’m on the extreme side of this discussion, but I think it’s insane that anyone would risk their car or their life driving on 20+ year old tires. It doesn’t matter what the sidewalls or tread look like on a tire, the chemical compositions and materials used to manufacture tires breaks down over time. I understand the mindset of wanting everything on your car to look vintage or original, but unless your car just sits in the garage and you trailer it to and from shows, the reality is it’s dangerous to drive around on old tires. There’s so many options for tires these days you’d be foolish not to take advantage of them. If you insist on keeping it vintage you can buy tires that look like the originals that are made with modern manufacturing methods. Maybe 5 year old tires are still OK, but don’t be surprised when the kid at the tire store tells you your tires are too old and need to be replaced, they’re in the business of selling tires. But from a liability standpoint, you can’t blame them for wanting you to drive out of their shop with the safest vehicle possible. If you went to a mechanic and he told you one of your suspension pieces was worn out and needed to be replaced for safety reasons, you would replace it to avoid risking your car, yourself, or the motoring public. Tire shops are simply following the same logic.
 
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I too have heard of the 6 year rule and will play by that rule. I've heard of people using out of date tires and tearing up fenders or quarter panels when the tire decides it has had enough.

I put new tires on the Dart GT almost 3 years ago, and will be upgrading the rears (with 15" X 7" Rallyes vs. the current 14" X 5 1/2" Rallyes) in the spring of 2021. This will allow me to rotate my tire purchases every 3 years.

Happy motoring!
 
MY brand of tire is called "may pop"
But it makes a difference if driving thru rural country or mad insane populated traffic areas!
 
From the NHTSA website:
  • As tires age, they are more prone to failure. Some vehicle and tire manufacturers recommend replacing tires that are six to 10 years old, regardless of treadwear. You can determine how old your tire is by looking on the sidewall for your DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN) . The last four digits of the TIN indicate the week and year the tire was made. If the TIN reads 0308 it was made in the third week of 2008. Look on both sides of the tire. The TIN may not be on both sides.
I should add that the four digit DOT date code started somewhere around the year 2000. Older tires may have a three digit code where the third digit is the year. Whatever the case, don't risk damaging a nice fender or quarter panel just because you don't believe the hype. There is a reason a bunch of campers and trailers are always on the side the of the road with a blown tire, and it is not always inflation to blame.
 
MY brand of tire is called "may pop"
But it makes a difference if driving thru rural country or mad insane populated traffic areas!

I mean, not really. Sure, you're probably less likely to get hit by another car sitting on the side of the road, but you're probably also a lot more likely to hit something (tree, ditch, fence, pole, whatever) if your tire blows out unexpectedly because of the smaller shoulders you usually find in rural areas. Yeah having traffic blow by you at 80mph is sketchy, but so is only being half off the roadway around a blind corner because the shoulder is only a couple feet wide. I know there's quite a few rural roads I drive that I wouldn't want to have a blowout on, and sections of freeway I drive that would be easy to get off onto a wide shoulder. Plus, out in the country you're going to have to wait a lot longer if you need a tow. Just depends.
 
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