Modern Tires

[Cuda416]

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.

I think of it this way.. The rubber in your tires isn't supposed to crack, it's supposed to flex. If it is cracked, then it's because its drying out, old, torn etc. Time to replace it. Texas is BRUTAL on tires, as is I'm sure places like AZ, NM, etc. Hot as balls down here.

 

[barbee6043]

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.

I drove with may pops because of $$$$>
Wait for tow??? Yea right! ha
Not saying it is safe or good. You gotta do what ya gotta due. $$$$
There were reasons I cut firewod and 100% heated with wood up there in Mo. $$$

 

[72bluNblu]

I drove with may pops because of $$$$>
Wait for tow??? Yea right! ha
Not saying it is safe or good. You gotta do what ya gotta due. $$$$
There were reasons I cut firewod and 100% heated with wood up there in Mo. $$$

So your "may pops" let loose at 60 mph and you take out a mini-van with a family inside, how do you think that's gonna go? If you can't afford new tires you sure as hell can't afford that. Tire failures can and do kill people, and not always just the people in the car with the failure. Maybe it's a small percentage, but it's nothing to be cavalier about. RRR already mentioned the Firestone case/recall. Those tire failures killed people before the recall was issued, the lawsuits and settlements were in the tens of millions.