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WARNING: DRIVING ON OLD TIRES

I checked date codes on my tires recently and they were from 2001! I was shocked. They looked perfect. I talked to person I bought car from last year (who I trust implicitly) and he said they had always been stored properly but to look for dry rot, etc. I took car to local tire shop, told him the situation. He looked at all four tires very closely and said there was absolutely nothing wrong with them. He said properly stored tires have an almost infinite shelf life. I'll replace them one of these days, but I will have no problem driving around town on them (if I raced car, it would be another matter). To say any tire that's 6 or even 10 years old must be replaced -- regardless of situation -- simply isn't true. The clock starts ticking when they begin exposure to UV rays, elements, pressure, etc. Tires properly stored in a climate controlled garage/warehouse age at an almost imperceptible rate.
 
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I checked date codes on my tires recently and they were from 2001! I was shocked. They looked perfect. I talked to person I bought car from last year (who I trust implicitly) and he said they had always been stored properly but to look for dry rot, etc. I took car to local tire shop, told him the situation. He looked at all four tires very closely and said there was absolutely nothing wrong with them. He said properly stored tires have an almost infinite shelf life. I'll replace them one of these days, but I will have no problem driving around town on them (if I raced car, it would be another matter). To say any tire that's 6 or even 10 years old must be replaced -- regardless of situation -- simply isn't true. The clock starts ticking when they begin exposure to UV rays, elements, pressure, etc. Tires properly stored in a climate controlled garage/warehouse age at an almost imperceptible rate.
The Michelin Pilots on the new Challenger live a sheltered life. NOT climate controlled, but high-dry-shaded storage in a very mild climate. Not hot, not cold. They dry rotted quickly. 2009. Treated with 303, but not since new. No one seems to be able to confirm if it is cosmetic.
 
My tire says high performance tires use compounds that tend to dry rot more.

I know Michelin tires have a well deserved reputation, but firestone has been good to me. My wife picks up nails easily, going through 11 tires in three years. The road hazard at firestone cannot be beat.
 
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!

View attachment 525686
THAT is some serious ply separation!!!
 
The Michelin Pilots on the new Challenger live a sheltered life. NOT climate controlled, but high-dry-shaded storage in a very mild climate. Not hot, not cold. They dry rotted quickly. 2009. Treated with 303, but not since new. No one seems to be able to confirm if it is cosmetic.
It might very well be cosmetic, but who wants to take a chance? Is or isn't it's almost gotta be the tire compound reacting to air. I've also noticed that Michelins seem to do it more, with that said I'm a diehard Gdyr fan, so I'm always checking the 'other brands'! Growing up within spitting distance of Akron tends to do that to you, along with father&grandfather both working there!
 
How did I miss this post!? I'm the world's worse for running old tires. Just recently I made a 200 mile lumber haul with 20 year old Micky tires and did fine but my speed was kept under 65mph. Then I ran back to the same place and picked up a 'Swab' and brought it down to my place for selling but just 10 miles from home, a tire shredded and I had to pull over on the freaking freeway to change it....in a bad spot no less. Yup....old tires should never be used but something that's 10 years old shouldn't come apart unless they've been in the sun all their lives. GY's, Micky's, BFG's, you name it....they will all hit you in the head but the real issue is how well they were taken care of in those years. If they were kept outside and in the sun, yeah, get rid of any tire that's more than 5 years old.
 
With what I said above, I always marveled at how Michelin got the sidewalks so perfect when radials first came out. No sidewall splice(bump) visible at all. They are great tires but the wife always commented that they rode harder than other brands. Course other brands were always Goodyear,lol. Many many moons ago you could get the brand changed over when you bought the car! ( what a concept!)
 
This is why burning tires is a good thing, they never last long enough to rot:thumbsup:
 
How did I miss this post!? I'm the world's worse for running old tires. Just recently I made a 200 mile lumber haul with 20 year old Micky tires and did fine but my speed was kept under 65mph. Then I ran back to the same place and picked up a 'Swab' and brought it down to my place for selling but just 10 miles from home, a tire shredded and I had to pull over on the freaking freeway to change it....in a bad spot no less. Yup....old tires should never be used but something that's 10 years old shouldn't come apart unless they've been in the sun all their lives. GY's, Micky's, BFG's, you name it....they will all hit you in the head but the real issue is how well they were taken care of in those years. If they were kept outside and in the sun, yeah, get rid of any tire that's more than 5 years old.
Will you discuss it with the other mods and see if we can make this thread a sticky?

Thanks
 
Hey Guys! Commercial Truck Tire Salesmen from Goodyear here! date is super important as far as tires go, especially on old cars like ours! like RVs, Rec vehicles will 9 times out of 10 run into blowout and sidewall deterioration issues far before you will find tread depth issues. in order for any tire to be used on a US road it has to be fitted with a 12 digit DOT number this number tells you tire model and plant it was made, as well as the date the tire was made. the date can be found by taking the last four digits (example mc37 vabw 4617. in this example 4617 means the tire was built on the 46th week of 2017) now keep in mind for warranty issues. Goodyear will honor Warranty based on new tire purchase date not just DOT sidewall date. this is to prevent customers from passing on a tire that may have sat in the warehouse an extra few months. however the myth that age is everything is absolutely not true. properly stored tires will have the same physical attributes as their new counterparts. if you store your vehicle on jack stands and in a climate controlled facility, look for signs that the tire is close to failure before you drop the money unnecessarily. look for circumferential cracking in the tread, sidewall cracking, ozone deterioration. bead cracking, sidewall and tread bulging or breaks in the belts.
that being said its never bad to have new rubber if you can afford it! and if you cant take the extra steps to protect your investment!
 
Hey guys, think of it this way. When a coolant hose fails, is there always an external bubble to warn you ? No matter how much rubber protectant you use, you are only treating what you can see on the outside. The hose like tires are made from several layers of materials. A common hose failure is much like a tire failure. It is normally caused by a separation between the layers of the hose/tire. If you are lucky you will get some warning in the form of a visible bubble. That is if you routinely inspect your tires, belts and hoses. In a hose, heat and pressure can accelerate the failure.
In a tire, heat, tire pressure (or lack of) proper pressure, and the load of the weight being carried and the speed (centrifugal forces try to pull tread off)of the tires rotation all act on the tire. They are much more complex than most think. Tires are constructed of many different materials custom mixed according to the tires application. All Weather, M&S, Performance, OTR, speed ratings etc...Once the tire is assembled and cooked (vulcanized) in its mold the clock starts to tick. The clock runs at different speeds based on use and storage. A wrapped tire, stored in a cool, dark, environment ( sounds like storing medications and food ) will have an extended life compared to a tire sitting on a tire rack, trunk or on the vehicle itself. All materials have a designed life expectancy, that is the major function of a date code. A tire can look perfect on the outside and have a flaw or damage to the inner liner caused by faulty materials or workmanship. Impact bruise on liner from pothole, rail road track crossing etc... Here is the long and short of this thread. Always err on the side of safety. Unless the tire is for display or you are just moving the car at less than 30 mph or so and it is more than 5 years old according to the date code, don't risk it. A tire failure at hi-way speeds is not only dangerous for you an others, but can cause extensive damage to your vehicle. Tire cost $ 200. for a good quality tire, Quarter panel, fender, paint etc.. damage to the car $$$$ Hospital... No matter who tells you that it will be fine, there are no guarantees. I am retired from Bridgestone/Firestone as a tire store manager and worked the Ford Explorer/Firestone Radial ATX recalls. We learned a lot first hand about the effects of the tires age, proper inflation, excess load, tire inspections...Be Safe Although not widely reported, those in the industry also knew about silent recalls from Goodyear and other tire manufacturers that were not as large but just as dangerous.
 
Put old tires on for the winter so it wouldn't sit on the race tires. Took it around the block when I got the car out of the race trailer. Right front went flat at the end of second gear and this is what I have now. Old tires! "Don't take the chance" Owned this car since the 70's. Lost it in 2017.



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"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,"

might be true for you, you are in Ontario. Down here in Phoenix AZ, I wouldn't bet on it.
it will get up to 160 in some warehouse.
 
Just around the block. How's the tree doing? Seriously though, shame to mess up a beautiful car like that.
 
What's the rest of the story?
Let me guess. The right front tire went, pulling the car to the right side of the road and striking something. Car then rotated clockwise and struck large tree or pole with the left rear.
 
It seems that there is a great disparity between life spans of tires. I have a set of Nitto 555s that look great from every angle. I replaced them just to be safe. I looked inside, outside, back and front and they look great still.
 
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