Old Tires

[33 IMP]

From my personal experience, Coker tires are $hit. Buy Diamondbacks instead. My Cokers took a lot of weight to balance. At 4000 miles, the belts separated on one of them. Replacement Diamondbacks balanced with little weight.

is Kelsey tire different from Coker? The correct redlines for my car are by Kelsey, $531 ea, and currently unavailable.
Since I'm not a purist (tho I should be with my rr) I think I'll run whatever I want, instead of what's "right".
I do like diamondbacks. I wonder if they can put a redline on a drag radial?

 

[HawkRod]

(Yes, I know this is an old thread)

Here's my 2 cents regarding old tires:

There is no magic date when tires suddenly go bad. But as they age, they become more prone to failure. Lots of things, like the original quality of the tire, what conditions it has been in since it was made, how you use it, etc., will affect how long it will last. So basically, the older the tire, and the faster you drive with it, the greater the chance that you have a major issue with it.

On my 2022 drive across country in my 1973 Road Runner, I had 10 year old BFGs that I figured I would "wear out" for the trip. The tires were suddenly subjected to high miles and high speeds (70-80 MPH) on highways. Well, 11 days into the trip, the belts on one of the rear tires let loose.

Luckily the tire didn't blow apart, so we were able to put on the spare and then buy two new tires.

If I remember correctly, @CoronetDarter had an old front tire on his coronet blow out and significantly damage his front fender. (Edit: Remembered in error- see below)
So it all comes down to what chances you are willing to take.

IMHO, a really nice car, with an over 10 year old tire, and a fast speed on the highway is a risk I don't want to take any more.

 

[CoronetDarter]

(Yes, I know this is an old thread)

Here's my 2 cents regarding old tires:

There is no magic date when tires suddenly go bad. But as they age, they become more prone to failure. Lots of things, like the original quality of the tire, what conditions it has been in since it was made, how you use it, etc., will affect how long it will last. So basically, the older the tire, and the faster you drive with it, the greater the chance that you have a major issue with it.

On my 2022 drive across country in my 1973 Road Runner, I had 10 year old BFGs that I figured I would "wear out" for the trip. The tires were suddenly subjected to high miles and high speeds (70-80 MPH) on highways. Well, 11 days into the trip, the belts on one of the rear tires let loose.
View attachment 1593538

View attachment 1593537



If I remember correctly, @CoronetDarter had an old front tire on his coronet blow out and significantly damage his front fender.

IMHO, a really nice car, with an over 10 year old tire, and a fast speed on the highway is a risk I don't want to take any more.

Actually Hawk, it was the lug nuts that backed out. Took out the fender as you said. On a positive note, I wound up with a restored car because of it.
When I bought the Dart in 2012, the BFG's were date coded 2001. The car was always garaged and there were no visible signs of decay so I drove on them until 2022! I got away with it. Replaced all four tires before making the road trip down to Spring Fling that year.

 

[oldchevelle541]

From my personal experience, Coker tires are $hit. Buy Diamondbacks instead. My Cokers took a lot of weight to balance. At 4000 miles, the belts separated on one of them. Replacement Diamondbacks balanced with little weight.

The larger problem I had besides the tire issue was that I did not feel valued as a customer AFTER the purchase. I let their top management know I have 4 classics that they will never see business from. It was crickets - no response.

 

[kiwigtx]

Old Polyglas tires make really awesome smokey burnouts......I know this from experience.

Starts at 12 seconds.... and ends a minute or so later

 

[HawkRod]

Actually Hawk, it was the lug nuts that backed out. Took out the fender as you said. On a positive note, I wound up with a restored car because of it.
When I bought the Dart in 2012, the BFG's were date coded 2001. The car was always garaged and there were no visible signs of decay so I drove on them until 2022! I got away with it. Replaced all four tires before making the road trip down to Spring Fling that year.

Thanks Rich. I obviously remembered the event (not good for you for sure) but I misremembered the reason.

I'll go back and correct my post.

 

[Black_Sheep]

is Kelsey tire different from Coker? The correct redlines for my car are by Kelsey, $531 ea, and currently unavailable.
Since I'm not a purist (tho I should be with my rr) I think I'll run whatever I want, instead of what's "right".
I do like diamondbacks. I wonder if they can put a redline on a drag radial?

They can put a redline on any tire