Should i replace or roll the dice

[moparedtn]

Those are BF Goodrich.

 

[Krooser]

When I was buying/ selling/flipping hot rods 20 years ago I put a few sets of tires together so I could use my tow dolly to drag this stuff home . Various bolt pattern wheels.

Today a pair of those 700-15 tires are were doing daily service on one of my utility trailers and doing fine until I put them on the rear of my Coronet. 1950's Ford wheels, vintage tubes and 6 ply US Royal tires as I recall.

That six year replacement scare is about the same as the nitrogen grift.

 

[Krooser]

View attachment 1659132
Don't drive on a flat for 200 miles like this guy.

I had a GF with the same lumps...

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Black, round, and hold air, it's a good tire.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

What brand?

T/A's. six years old and less than 5,000 miles..

 

[1 Wild R/T]

That six year replacement scare is about the same as the nitrogen grift.

Kinda depends on how much you value your car & the people who ride in it.... In the case of the Challenger in the video posted above we slowed from 75 to 55 and drove about another 8-10 miles hoping to nurse the car home... It was getting worse.... It rode home on a tow truck.... And now has new tires... Mickey Thompsons this time....

This isn't the first time I've seen a separation, back in the 70's & 80's Firestone was well known for them... But something in tires has changed & they are failing a lot more than they did twenty years ago

 

[Purepony]

Replace ! Friend had his tire separate and mess up his lower quarter panel

 

[Black_Sheep]

If you blow a tire and ruin a fender or quarter panel, that’s one thing. If you end up on your roof in the ditch, you’ll wish that you’d put tires on it sooner…

 

[Krooser]

During the 5.5 million/52 years miles I have driven big trucks I have experienced many tire failures. Nearly everyone can be attributed to low air pressure or overloading...with a couple exceptions.

During the late 70's I was hauling swinging meat for an outfit out of Milwaukee. Great company, good fast trucks and a good fleet manager.

But during the Carter administrations hyper inflation era he got a little cheap with the tires on our regional operating trucks.

I was driving a year old White and pulled into our yard one day and got corralled by the shop foreman..." We have ten new tires to install on your truck"... Ok.

Seems the mgr. got a deal on some ancient, obsolete General rib trailer tires and he had enough to re-tire three trucks.

During the next couple months I blew 7 tires...two steers in one day! THAT experiment got cancelled early. The other trucks lost at least five each.

During the 20+ years I owned my own equipment I found the cheapest tire to own was the most expensive to buy....Michelin. I was always easy on the throttle from a start and got an unbelievable 800,000 miles on one set of drives on my last Pete.

But I screwed up, too. My last two outfits saw me hauling potatoes out of Wisconsin and also following the tater harvest starting in Florida in January then into Georgia, Missouri by May then back home in August.

I got paid by the ton...I ran heavy on every load. Wisconsin allowed us 90K on five axles for the harvest but I'd be 100k loaded with seed potatoes headed south in March .

I made good $$$ until the dispatcher got axed and his replacement never kept me loaded both ways. So my income dropped 40%.

Tires were the first casualty of my impending brush with poverty.

I always had great luck with retreads done by Michelin...even in sketchy Goodyear casings I got 500,000 miles on drive tires.

But not on my stock of 8-10 year old Joke-a-hamas, BF Goodblimp and other lesser brands that I had stored in my shop.

Some of those seed tater trips saw me blow two trailer tires in a 1700 mile round trip. I was forced to buy replacements on the road from the truck stops that sell crappy, off brand retreads or overpriced new tires.

No issues with those old tires if I was running light but heavy loads killed them.

My daily has six year old Uni-Royals in the back...new in January ones in front.
My Coronet is getting the front takeoffs from the Buick. .

Regarding cracks in the rubber...the DOT allows some cracking on truck tires within reason.

Buy a GOOD tire from a major label, keep them inflated near the max. recommended pressure and don't overload them and they will last many years.

If you can afford Michelin buy them.

If you are poor like me stay away from Won Hung Lo mfd. tires ... China has great food but crappy tires .

May the beatings begin.

Kinda depends on how much you value your car & the people who ride in it.... In the case of the Challenger in the video posted above we slowed from 75 to 55 and drove about another 8-10 miles hoping to nurse the car home... It was getting worse.... It rode home on a tow truck.... And now has new tires... Mickey Thompsons this time....

This isn't the first time I've seen a separation, back in the 70's & 80's Firestone was well known for them... But something in tires has changed & they are failing a lot more than they did twenty years ago

What happened was China, Yugoslavia, Vietnam made tires.

 

[Darter6]

^^^^^^^^Worked for a trucking company late 70 and thru the 80's.
12 tractors,24 trailers.Other than steering tires they only ran re-caps.A practice for years.
Still using bias 10/20 split rims tube type tires.
On the average we had as much as 10 flats weekly along with other failures.We did lumber yard deliveries.
Only took 1 blowout that the owner had with his "re-caps"on his truck,16.5 split rims on his 1 ton,pulling his 40' 5th wheel that almost took his life and his family's.After that we set up a national account with Goodyear and only ran new tires on the fleet.11/22.5 tubeless radials.
Flats were non existent. Cost per tire were (back then)less that $200 each and Goodyear bought back the worn casings for $90 each.Just a FYI.The importance of "good" tires and safety.
I know this has nothing to do with the original poster's question. Sorry guys. Rant over.

 

[MarPar]

During the late 70's I was hauling swinging meat for an outfit out of Milwaukee. Great company, good fast trucks and a good fleet manager.

Peck Packing?

 

[68BabyBlue]

^^^^^^^^Worked for a trucking company late 70 and thru the 80's.
12 tractors,24 trailers.Other than steering tires they only ran re-caps.A practice for years.
Still using bias 10/20 split rims tube type tires.
On the average we had as much as 10 flats weekly along with other failures.We did lumber yard deliveries.
Only took 1 blowout that the owner had with his "re-caps"on his truck,16.5 split rims on his 1 ton,pulling his 40' 5th wheel that almost took his life and his family's.After that we set up a national account with Goodyear and only ran new tires on the fleet.11/22.5 tubeless radials.
Flats were non existent. Cost per tire were (back then)less that $200 each and Goodyear bought back the worn casings for $90 each.Just a FYI.The importance of "good" tires and safety.
I know this has nothing to do with the original poster's question. Sorry guys. Rant over.

In 17 years as an owner operator pulling heavy loads with a dry bulk tanker, I never ran caps, but bought medium priced tires, got decent casing credits when I was done. I don't think it was a coincidence I made more than the guys who ran caps. I was able to provide more dependable service, and keep a monopoly on the best accounts. Same thing with my cars. I've never tried to save money on tires. An OEM quarter panel will buy a few sets, if you can even find it.

 

[Krooser]

Peck Packing?

You got it...May 1975 until January 1979

 

[Krooser]

In 17 years as an owner operator pulling heavy loads with a dry bulk tanker, I never ran caps, but bought medium priced tires, got decent casing credits when I was done. I don't think it was a coincidence I made more than the guys who ran caps. I was able to provide more dependable service, and keep a monopoly on the best accounts. Same thing with my cars. I've never tried to save money on tires. An OEM quarter panel will buy a few sets, if you can even find it.

Michelin retreads are the best...they reject more casings than any other retreader. I never lost one of their retreads in 10+ years in a million miles of hard running coast to coast.

But I always used my casings...and most were Michelin. An XRD cap cost $155 last time I bought...I could get three retreads out of a casing... tall 24.5's. If I had a virgin casing they would buy them for $100+ since that size is not as popular as the lo-pros.

Now my son will never use a retread...he does heavy haul.

 

[Quintin]

I hate these questions. After checking date codes I have 2 sets 8 yrs old, 2 sets that are 10 yrs old, 1 set 13 yrs old and the winner, GTX with a date code of 2301 23 yrs old. All look good with plenty of tread. The GTX tires have to go.

 

[33 IMP]

I hate these questions. After checking date codes I have 2 sets 8 yrs old, 2 sets that are 10 yrs old, 1 set 13 yrs old and the winner, GTX with a date code of 2301 23 yrs old. All look good with plenty of tread. The GTX tires have to go.

That's probably a wise decision (lol). I haven't got the guts to check most of mine.

 

[hunt2elk]

Black, round, and hold air, it's a good tire.

Lol. Sounds like a buddy of mine. He waits till the cords are sticking out before getting another tire from the salvage yard. Been doing that since we got our licenses 40 years ago. Cheap bastard, he doesn't drive around in hot rods like we do however.

 

[High School Car]

I have a set of tires currently on my car. Cooper Cobras. 3000 miles on them 10 years old. They still look like new, only issue is. When I was checking the tire pressure I noticed hairline cracks in the tread. Sidewalls are fine. Only small cracks on the tread. Ive read that the tread could separate. True? I barley use car anymore and when I do 50mph is the fastest I go and I usually limit my driving to shows within an hour ride. Is this something to be concerned about or am i just worrying for no reason? Not a big deal to replace them but why spend money needlessly. Got a feeling you all are going to say replace. Thanks in advance for responses.

Hi Mountain,
Personal opinion here...I'd replace them and then drive faster than 50!

Old tires do not hold together the same as they are starting to dry rot. That is why you are seeing those cracks. What you can't see is what you should be concerned about.

 

[Moparmann]

I've got a Challenger that hasn't been driven on the road for at least the last ten years; the tires are probably 10-15+ years old and look to be in PERFECT condition. I went into my shop the other day, to discover that a tire had gone flat. Upon examining it, I discovered that the belts had separated and torn apart! So, apparently tires WILL go bad even when not used much and protected from direct UV light!

 

[Quintin]

Lol. Sounds like a buddy of mine. He waits till the cords are sticking out before getting another tire from the salvage yard. Been doing that since we got our licenses 40 years ago. Cheap bastard, he doesn't drive around in hot rods like we do however.

Probably always driving a junk yard reject.