Tire age

[Darter6]

RR, It may be just me but it seems like tires that "Sit" are the problem ones. Not so much on daily drivers.
I do keep a close watch as they get older.
We have intense heat and asphalt temps can be 180+ at times.Concrete on the same day maybe 20* less.
My daily driver PT tires are 7 years old and scheduled for replacement next month. ( Built in annual budget) Total mileage a little over 45,000.
They look healthy but for me the heat is coming up fast. Don't think I'll chance it.

 

[RustyRatRod]

RR, It may be just me but it seems like tires that "Sit" are the problem ones. Not so much on daily drivers.
I do keep a close watch as they get older.
We have intense heat and asphalt temps can be 180+ at times.Concrete on the same day maybe 20* less.
My daily driver PT tires are 7 years old and scheduled for replacement next month. ( Built in annual budget) Total mileage a little over 45,000.
They look healthy but for me the heat is coming up fast. Don't think I'll chance it.

You may well be right. Gladys does sit more than the other two, but on a dirt driveway. Still though, sitting I don't believe is the best plan.

 

[273]

I don't know how old my tires were, have had the car over 5 years, the tread looks new but luckily mine blew out pulling into the driveway.

 

[413]

Very fitting that the only tire photo of a blown up tire is a BFG = basically friggin garbage!

fill them up to the max pressure for winter storage. 44 and 51 on many newer tires.

usually the heat buildup from freeway driving will make them come apart.

14” tires are plentiful with the online tires places, not so much at your local tire shop, they don't sell any so they don’t stock them.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Just in case there are infidel non believers in the crowd. lol

 

[Cuda Hunter]

My tire guy says that he is informed that the tires dry rot from the inside out. There is air on the inside and that causes the dry rot. Nothing you can do to stop the inside dry rot regardless of being aired up or on blocks or out of the sun.
After 7 years the manufacturer says to replace all tires.
I always figure that's a ploy to get us to buy more stuff.
Regardless, we see tires go bad and they are usually older than the 7 years.

 

[mopowers]

There is air on the inside and that causes the dry rot.

Explain the logic in that. The air on the inside is the same air on the outside.

I've always figured the rubber used in tires naturally deteriorates over time and there factors such as UV light, physical stresses, etc. that speed that process.

 

[Cuda Hunter]

Just what I have been told by my tire guy.
He knows I buy used tires and is not trying to get me to buy tires, necessarily.
I said the same thing, explain that to me. He says that is what he is told by the manufacturer.

 

[Cuda Hunter]

I figure that the tire edge that is on the ground is flexing inside, bulging towards the inside of the tire. Therefore the tire gets stress cracks, dry rot cracks in that inside flex edge.
He showed me a few sets of tires that actually did have dryrot on the inside. I couldn't see it until he flexed the tire and there they were.

 

[RustyRatRod]

I've never in my life seen a tire rotten on the inside and I've changed a BOATLOAD of tires in my life.

 

[ir3333]

yup...kinda' like breaking a leaf spring. A lifelong trucker told me you are more likely to break it with no load on a rough road as it bends quickly back and forth too far. The snow tires on my truck have almost no wear or cracks
but they are 5 years old and now they have become noisy as the rubber is no longer as soft.

 

[Gr8polarbear]

Thanks everyone for letting me know your thoughts. I planned on buying new tires for it anyway but was not in a hurry. Everything i read online says 7-10 years as well. I bought the car last summer and have not drove it a ton but did not know how old the tires were and the date was on the inside of the tire. Apparently coopers only put the date on one side. Last week i climbed under the car and found the date. The tires are from 2009 so yes these tires are going to get replaced very soon. Sucks that they still have like 90% tread still.

 

[Kern Dog]

10 years max, way less if you race or drive hard. Even though the tires still look new, they harden with age becoming unsafe. Try pressing your fingernail into an old tire tread versus new and you will notice a substantial difference especially on more modern tire compounds.

Good point, but......

I had 11 years on a set of Nitto 555 tires on my Charger. I was having some vibration issues and thought that maybe they were out of balance. America's Tire wouldn't rebalance them since they were over 10 years old.
The rears had 40-50% tread, the fronts were 80%+ with regular wear. They still looked great, no age cracks, no chunking or hard feel to them. The balance issue turned out to be a bad transmission mount. Two years later when I replaced them simply based on peer pressure, I got a look inside of them. They were perfect inside as well....13 year old tires and they still looked great.
It might help that it rarely gets below freezing here. The car sits in my shop when I'm not driving it.

 

[72bluNblu]

The amount of tread left on a tire has absolutely no bearing on whether or not it’s any good. An 8 year old tire with 0 miles on it is still garbage. Rubber oxidizes, it deteriorates just sitting around.

Modern tires are a complex blend of polymers. The ingredients that keep the rubber flexible and "sticky" are the ones that tend to dry out and disappear over time. That's why you start seeing fine cracks in the sidewalls, and why you lose traction. Eventually you wind up with something like the 50-year-old spare in my trunk (since replaced) — zero road miles, but it's as hard and shiny as a billiard ball. I think your tires are telling you "it's time".

This. Tires now are not the same as tires from the 70’s. Or the 80’s. Or even the 90’s. Compounds have been greatly improved in terms of performance, and those changes in compounds and composition mean they don’t age like they did 30 years ago. Better performance, shorter lifespan.

OK fellas, I posted up there ^^^^ about buying new tires for Gladys in 2015. I had a blowout today. Tires still have a little over half tread left. I didn't run over anything. Just a blowout. So watch your tires.Yeah and it slap blows, pun intended. Now I gotta 80 buck tow bill PLUS gotta find another tire. Dammit all.

You're right. But I tell you what. I ain't replacing these tires on the Escape. They still have over 3/4 tread left. That's crazy.

Again, the amount of tread has no bearing on condition.

If you treated all your tires the same and there was no “event” that caused the blowout, the only rational conclusion you can make is that the other 3 tires are in exactly the same condition as the one that came apart. Meaning, they’re all garbage just waiting to fail.

Remember the Firestone recall that’s now decades back? Tire date stamping was improved after that to better track tire age, because it was literally killing people. In explorers no less.

The 7 year tire life expectancy is a money related deal, absolutely, but not like most people think as a gimmick to sell more tires. After that, the lawsuits and payouts to family members exceed what the tire companies and car manufacturers want to pay. It’s a liability issue, not a sales tactic. That’s also why some car manufacturers will tell you 6 years, a few of the car manufacturers are even going shorter than the tire manufacturers are. It’s lawsuits, not tire sales.

And if your tire shop will sell you a single tire, they’re sketchy as hell. No reputable tire shop should sell you less than a pair. And if they get that car in and see the age of the tires, they shouldn’t sell you less than 4, or let you leave without buying tires or signing a waiver. Sending your customers out on outdated tires, one of which has already failed, isn’t good service.

 

[RustyRatRod]

The amount of tread left on a tire has absolutely no bearing on whether or not it’s any good. An 8 year old tire with 0 miles on it is still garbage. Rubber oxidizes, it deteriorates just sitting around.



This. Tires now are not the same as tires from the 70’s. Or the 80’s. Or even the 90’s. Compounds have been greatly improved in terms of performance, and those changes in compounds and composition mean they don’t age like they did 30 years ago. Better performance, shorter lifespan.





Again, the amount of tread has no bearing on condition.

If you treated all your tires the same and there was no “event” that caused the blowout, the only rational conclusion you can make is that the other 3 tires are in exactly the same condition as the one that came apart. Meaning, they’re all garbage just waiting to fail.

Remember the Firestone recall that’s now decades back? Tire date stamping was improved after that to better track tire age, because it was literally killing people. In explorers no less.

The 7 year tire life expectancy is a money related deal, absolutely, but not like most people think as a gimmick to sell more tires. After that, the lawsuits and payouts to family members exceed what the tire companies and car manufacturers want to pay. It’s a liability issue, not a sales tactic. That’s also why some car manufacturers will tell you 6 years, a few of the car manufacturers are even going shorter than the tire manufacturers are. It’s lawsuits, not tire sales.

And if your tire shop will sell you a single tire, they’re sketchy as hell. No reputable tire shop should sell you less than a pair. And if they get that car in and see the age of the tires, they shouldn’t sell you less than 4, or let you leave without buying tires or signing a waiver. Sending your customers out on outdated tires, one of which has already failed, isn’t good service.

Which is why I have a new PAIR on the way from discount tire direct. I ain't got no money, but I have good credit. lol

 

[RustyRatRod]

But I digress........I remember when I was a kid, this wasn't a huge issue. There were people that routinely had tires that were ten plus years old and did fine. Of course, lots of factors have changed, too including car speeds with the advent of everything having an over drive transmission, so that's one thing. It could be too that since the whole world wasn't "as connected" you just didn't hear about the many tire failures as much too. I wonder though, about tire rubber composition. Has it somehow changed for the worse? I'd sure like to think it's improved, "supposedly" like everything else.

 

[12many]

If you don’t know how to read (inspect) and care for tires especially on low use vehicles than yes you better just rely on the tire shop and born on date of the tires. Tires mounted on a car that sits outside baking in the sun, exposed to the elements sitting in one spot for extended periods with possible pressure loss is not the same as ones either covered, rotated occasionally (varying contact patch) stored indoors, at correct air pressure etc.
Stop with the Theory fear mongering

 

[RustyRatRod]

If you don’t know how to read (inspect) and care for tires especially on low use vehicles than yes you better just rely on the tire shop and born on date of the tires. Tires mounted on a car that sits outside baking in the sun, exposed to the elements sitting in one spot for extended periods with possible pressure loss is not the same as ones either covered, rotated occasionally (varying contact patch) stored indoors, at correct air pressure etc.
Stop with the Theory fear mongering

Nobody's fear mongering, man. I'm just wondering for the sake of conversation and telling how I remember things. Next time something like this happens, I'll keep it to my ******* self and not contribute. I showed what happened in the hopes it'd help someone else maybe check their tires too. Just fuckin forget it.

 

[12many]

Nobody's fear mongering, man. I'm just wondering for the sake of conversation and telling how I remember things. Next time something like this happens, I'll keep it to my ******* self and not contribute. I showed what happened in the hopes it'd help someone else maybe check their tires too. Just fuckin forget it.

Damn!

 

[12many]

So at what age does everyone get new tires for good traction and safety?

Depends entirely on thorough visual inspection and knowing how the tires have been cared for IMO.

A current example: we have a 2013 Camaro now with 18,000 miles sporting the original Hankook 20” tires. Now 10 year old tires. We are the second owners. The original owner kept it in the garage as we do. The tires have born on dates of early 2013. The tire wear is even and the same between all four. No stress cracks, no hardening, no signs of color changing etc. Still soft and pliable no chunking or anything.
Like I said IMO, it depends. By all means if one is concerned about age then get a new set, absolutely nothing wrong with that at all. Just maybe sell off the others yourself vs. letting a tire shop steal them from you, and the shop manager possibly then selling them to his buddy with a rink dink garage that sells used tires for $10 and up.
I speak from my experiences, so as we all say: IMO.

 

[ir3333]

72blu is correct. Just picked up a couple of like new used Michelins for my daughters Toyota and was told anything after 2020 they call "rubber butter" It's getting worse, now they are softer and age faster so watch it and watch out!

 

[RustyRatRod]

72blu is correct. Just picked up a couple of like new used Michelins for my daughters Toyota and was told anything after 2020 they call "rubber butter" It's getting worse, now they are softer and age faster so watch it and watch out!

That's kinda what I was getting at. I don't have any evidence of it other than my memory. I guess even stating that is "fear mongering". My bad. Do you have any evidence of it? I have my suspicions, but I don't know for sure.

 

[ir3333]

Nope..no first hand knowledge. My guy has hundreds of used and new tires and new old stock. Didn't
push me in any direction just gave me info and options. But like in my previous post, my newer snow tires are
not worn at all and have become hard and noisy in 5 short years.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Nope..no first hand knowledge. My guy has hundreds of used and new tires and new old stock. Didn't
push me in any direction just gave me info and options. But like in my previous post, my newer snow tires are
not worn at all and have become hard and noisy in 5 short years.

Right. There's no denying the rubber compounds have changed over the years, I just don't know how and my nose and experience tells me not in a good way......but again, I have no evidence other than my own experience which really means nothing. So don't take that as fear mongering. lol

 

[12many]

I guess even stating that is "fear mongering"

Good lord, did I specifically single you out as fear mongering? Did I quote you? Did I call into question any of your opinions? Nope. I know your not the sort to get all butt hurt....settle down

When I see here and elsewhere posts by some regarding any number of topics with responses (that I infer as) akin to “the sky will fall” I call it fear mongering. That’s my opinion, simple. Like the debates I’m well educated on regarding “Helmet” age, especially in the motorcycle world. How about seat belt certification every two years? More bullshit. All depends on thorough visual inspection, IMO: Nobody likes it? Big hairy *** deal.
If your tires are too old then go buy some new ones.