WARNING: DRIVING ON OLD TIRES

[joemish]

only a Darwin Nominee drives at high speeds on old tires.

 

[Crizila]

here in Phoenix, when you buy tires, I INSIST on seeing the DATE on them before they are installed. Otherwise, they dig stuff out of their warehouse that has been in there two years. You drive for 3 years, and then they won't service your tires because they are "five years old"
Be advised.

Smart move. I live out near phoenix also. A lot of info out there on tire date codes, so I won't get in to that, but I won't buy tires that are date coded over 1 year old. Change them after 10 years if your car spends most of it's time in a garage. 6 years if it spends most of it's time outside. Had 10 year old "Z" rated tires on my X fire that were like brand new. Not cheap tires!! I trashed them for new rubber recently. Hit some really bad pot holes? Better look for ply separation's ASAP. You will usually get a "thump" notice and failure shortly there after. I live in Payson, Az. One main (twisty ) highway between here and Phoenix. Half the bad accidents that occur on this road are tire related.

 

[bluefury]

HUmmmmmmm. So junior was driving a borrowed vintage car, 80 MPH in heavy traffic......? I'm glad he's OK and that he didn't hurt anyone else. Do you think he understands that it wasen't just a tire failure.......?

 

[tommyg29]

Date code is when they are manufactured, not when went into service. If a tire is stored in a climate controlled building, and out of UV rays, I can't see where people want to discard 5 or 6 year old tires. A lot of times I've seen new tires that are date coded 2-3 years old before going into service, I wouldn't have an issues running tires with a date code of 10 years or less, but that's just my opinion

If you know your tires have been kept in a climate controlled garage, I can see going 8-10 years, but the rubber degrades and the compounds holding all the plies together etc deteriorate just with time.

 

[79300]

If you know your tires have been kept in a climate controlled garage, I can see going 8-10 years, but the rubber degrades and the compounds holding all the plies together etc deteriorate just with time.

When you buy new tires, how old is acceptable? If the manufacture date is within a year is that good?

 

[tommyg29]

When you buy new tires, how old is acceptable? If the manufacture date is within a year is that good?

I would say within a year is OK.
Many tires sit in warehouses for months before being sold, especially if its not a very popular brand.

 

[GetX'd]

Something we seldom think of. But I’m glad you brought the issue up. We have these cars in varied condition and conditions. On the daily drivers you normally don’t have to worry too much about it because they get the wheels driven off them - different story with the muscle car that sits the majority of the time. As soon as I get up I’m going out to the garage and check the date code on my Goodyear’s. Honestly I never even thought of that when I bought them online a couple of years ago. I’m truly happy your sons okay and you brought this up.

 

[drobertson]

I don't want to sound like a dick, but I thought it was common sense not to drive on old tires... I toss tires on any vehicle after 5 years, even if they're not worn out.

 

[Hikin Mike]

Last year I got my Firebird running after being parked in the garage for 11 years. The tread was good, but all flat, so I aired them up and drove them. One day on my way home from taking my daughter to the movies I heard a "bang" and the car felt odd. Thankfully I was in town and doing 25 mph. I pulled into a parking lot and saw my right front tire was flat. No damage to the car, lesson learned. I bought 4 new tires. Will do the same to my Coronet when I finally register it.

 

[themechanic]

I bought 4 new BF Goodrich TA Radial tires in July of 2013. They have about 25 miles on them and I keep them properly inflated. The car has been in the garage between 40-85 degrees F. The tires will definitely be 5 years old by now going by the date code. Should I replace them? What would you do?

 

[roadrunnerh]

This is precisely why I made an issue with Summit Racing over this past Summer regarding buying new tires that were over a year old. I returned the tires that were late December 2015 date coded and demanded newer tires. They sent tires that were 6 months old to make it right.
Some thought I was making a big deal about nothing.

 

[Dibbons]

Here in Mexico it is common to keep running tires that don't have any tread left. I guess it is alright just driving around town like back and forth to the supermarket.

 

[Dennis H]

only a Darwin Nominee drives at high speeds on old tires.

How about 9 year old tires on a (New) Challenger. 12k. Breaks my heart to throw them away. One more trip to Pasadena. These are the original Pilots. Gonna put Coopers on when I have to. This dry rot is COSMETIC right?

 

[Billccm]

How about 9 year old tires on a (New) Challenger. 12k. Breaks my heart to throw them away. One more trip to Pasadena. These are the original Pilots. Gonna put Coopers on when I have to. This dry rot is COSMETIC right?

The Michelin tires on my 2012 Mustang (built June 2011) look just like yours pictured, and I have almost 30K miles on the tires. I've been a loyal Firestone customer for 20 years, and the tire shop says it's time to replace. I'm waiting on the next Firestone coupon in the mail to buy replacements.

 

[PeteBell68]

Just want to share a recent experience. My son was driving my 75 Cordoba with 15 year tires to his wedding for photo session. Tires are 245 60 15 TA tires. Driving 80 miles per hour the complete tire treed came off causing the vehicle to turn toward a wall, after recovering from a near miss on a Denver I-25 in heavy traffic he was able to continue to the nearest exit. Left front fender lower sections are bent, rocker panel trim piece was rippled off. My point is I was planning to purchase new tires, but with winter coming a normally pace the b-body in storage. Take warning "Do Not Trust your ride to old tires". Note photo of tread on right side was the same on the left side.

View attachment 513954 View attachment 513956 View attachment 513957

Glad to hear he is safe .
I just witnessed last week a beautiful black Pontiac convertible blow a tire on the freeway last week .
Ripped the fender skirt off and rear quarter almost completely off when I stopped to offer help all the tires looked old and cracked and the rest of the car was mint .
Ties are cheap insurance or safety .

 

[themechanic]

BF Goodrich Technical Bulletin


February 9, 2006

Service Life for Passenger Car and Light Truck Tires

including Spare Tires



The following recommendation applies to passenger car and light truck tires. Tires are composed of various types of material and rubber compounds, having performance properties essential to the proper functioning of the tire itself. These component properties evolve over time. For each tire, this evolution depends upon many factors such as weather, storage conditions, and conditions of use (load, speed, inflation pressure, maintenance etc.) to which the tire is subjected throughout its life. This service-related evolution varies widely so that accurately predicting the serviceable life of any specific tire in advance is not possible.

That it is why, in addition to regular inspections and inflation pressure maintenance by consumers, it is recommended to have passenger car and light truck tires, including spare tires, inspected regularly by a qualified tire specialist, such as a tire dealer, who will assess the tire's suitability for continued service. Tires which have been in use for 5 years or more should continue to be inspected by a specialist at least annually.

Consumers are strongly encouraged to be aware not only of their tires' visual condition and inflation pressure but also of any change in dynamic performance such as increased air loss, noise or vibration, which could be an indication that the tires need to be removed from service to prevent tire failure.

It is impossible to predict when tires should be replaced based on their calendar age alone . However the older a tire the greater the chance that it will need to be replaced due to the service-related evolution or other conditions found upon inspection or detected during use.

While most tires will need replacement before they achieve 10 years, it is recommended that any tires in service 10 years or more from the date of manufacture, including spare tires, be replaced with new tires as a simple precaution even if such tires appear serviceable and even if they have not reached the legal wear limit.

For tires that were on an original equipment vehicle (i.e., acquired by the consumer on a new vehicle), follow the vehicle manufacturer’s tire replacement recommendations, when specified (but not to exceed 10 years).

The date when a tire was manufactured is located on the sidewall of each tire. Consumers should locate the Department of Transportation or DOT code on the tire which begins with DOT and ends with the week and year of manufacture. For example, a DOT code ending with “2204” indicates a tire made in the 22nd week (May) of 2004. PM-06-02

Michelin North America, Inc. • One Parkway South, P. O. Box 19001 • Greenville, South Carolina 29602-9001

 

[747mopar]

I learned my lesson on a tractor tire, had excellent tread but weather cracked so what's the harm on a tractor right? Pulled it off and put a new tube in then while airing it up to get it on the bead it exploded and knocked me on my @$$! No more, if it's old it's gone.

 

[Dibbons]

RE: Posts #33 and #34 where brothers want to replace Michelin tires with Cooper/Firestone. If it is for economy reasons I would say fine, but Michelin is a better tire.

 

[Dennis H]

View attachment 524034
How about 9 year old tires on a (New) Challenger. 12k. Breaks my heart to throw them away. One more trip to Pasadena. These are the original Pilots. Gonna put Coopers on when I have to. This dry rot is COSMETIC right?

RE: Posts #33 and #34 where brothers want to replace Michelin tires with Cooper/Firestone. If it is for economy reasons I would say fine, but Michelin is a better tire.

Michelins seem to have dry rot issues, and are pricey. Even with a deal at Costco, they cos a fortune for a set. Happy with the Cooper CS3's on the new Charger and the Cobras on the Coronet. Lower priced too.

 

[manic_mopar]

Just spotted this after leaving my car on jackstands for a week. After checking the date code, its been just a hair over 10 years! Amazing how time flies.

The shocking thing is the car rides smooth. I'm wondering if it finally separated once it got the pressure off being up in the air.

Either way, new shoes going on it soon. Now to figure out how wide of a rim/tire i can run on this!