Tires Are Not What they Once Were.

[mmissile]

This is just a theory but it worth considering....
Maybe the rear tire wear on the late model stuff is still accelerated even without actually breaking traction very often.
These cars are H E A V Y compared to our classics. Our 2015 weighs 4250, my '70 Charger weighs 3940 with a big block! If you're frequently accelerating at a rate just shy of breaking traction, you're still stressing and flexing the tread on the tires. Maybe that flexing slowly and quietly wears off the tread while leaving no marks or noise.
Maybe?

It could be the vintage John Force burnouts....

 

[Nutso]

I am not an expert on tires (or much else for that matter!) but I am pretty impressed with the tires I’ve had the last 10-15 years on my daily drivers. I’ve had the Les Schwab siore brand all terrain tires (first Toyos and currently Mazamas) on my 4Runner and they have lasted 50k miles with no blowouts/issues/etc. I drive on logging roads, highways, freeways, etc. They offer good traction in wet, rainy conditions, on dirt roads, and even in the snow we get here in PNW.

 

[Photon440]

Obligatory tire history post

The rubber plantations burned in the 90's. The largest in the world was set fire, it was owned by: Firestone/Bridgestone
Once that happened, the manufacturers were forced to lean heavy on synthetics. While previously they were a small part of the tire to add tread life or make a more cost effective tire, now it was mandatory.
Remember all the Firestone blow outs on the Explorers? Oh yeah, air pressure. MMMhmmm, certainly not experimental formulas required after the plantation burned. Blame it on someone else or the entire tire industry would go bankrupt.

Shortly after: DOT mandated expiration dates. 5 year rule.

If you notice, the age of 70,000 mile treadware passenger tires is about long gone, before the rubber fire this was common even on off brand stuff, and those tires would actually last and run the tread down.

no matter what additives they put in, plastic is not good in the sun, UV destroys it. Heat cycles take a toll also. So even just sitting, try to keep them out of direct sun. Or just understand that every 4-5 years you need to chuck them.

I have tires from the 90's in perfect shape, some were on my Ramcharger. When I got 32's for it, I put the 31's on the Dakota. no issues. Pre-fire tires. They ride nicer too.
I have a set of rollers that came on my cop car from the early 90's. i have never had to air them. They have no cracks. I would drive them across country.
The Goodyear spare on the original cop wheel in the trunk of the car from who knows when looks perfect. Probably goes back to the auction in the early 80's, might be original.

Until the rubber trees are restored, and the consumer demands it, we will never have quality like we did 30 years ago again. Get used to it.

Wouldn't that have affected mainly Firestone production? Which plantation was it...Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Vietnam are the top rubber producers, they can't all have burned. Firestone's current largest plantation, which is the also the world's largest, is in Liberia and doing well, except for the strike that occurred last year.

 

[SteveSS]

During my time as a product designer, I can truthfully say you don't get what you pay for. A lot of stuff is smoke and mirrors. Designers can push a product upscale with very little value increase. Do you think a designer purse is worth $5,000? There's a sucker born every minute. The task of industrial designers (like me) is to make something look expensive and cheap to manufacture. Brand names are the easiest. This isn't limited to women's fashion. Plenty of men fall for this. Hey, I'm guilty of buying expensive watches.

 

[Nutso]

During my time as a product designer, I can truthfully say you don't get what you pay for. A lot of stuff is smoke and mirrors. Designers can push a product upscale with very little value increase. Do you think a designer purse is worth $5,000? There's a sucker born every minute. The task of industrial designers (like me) is to make something look expensive and cheap to manufacture. Brand names are the easiest. This isn't limited to women's fashion. Plenty of men fall for this. Hey, I'm guilty of buying expensive watches.

Please make it easy to work on!

 

[SteveSS]

Sorry, that's engineer's job. We do design things with manufacturing in mind. For instance, if it's plastic, we try not to have any slides in the mold. In layman's terms, that means the part pulls from the mold without any undercuts.

You do end up in the middle of the night talking to China. I won't say the company's name but we do tricks like, Quality Engineered In The USA.

True, but it was made in China.

For instance, a well-known boat company will change the side graphics and seat coverings year to year. That costs nothing but it makes the new model look new.

 

[Nutso]

Roger…totally understand the mold process. Interesting - it’s always interesting to look at old designs and see what was necessary and what was added (louvers, vents, lines, etc..) to make it look cool/interesting.

 

[Budnicks]

disclaimer;
not to say the issue isn't real, I'm sure it is
I see posts by members I really trust & respect
But;
there must be a common denominator on why this is happing
condition or storage lack of usage, flat-spotted, weathered/cracked etc.
(I don't know all the details of all of them)
other than "the brand is **** or the tires are junk"

I've had BFGs & by the way they are owned & produced by Michelin,
1990 acquired Uniroyal & Goodrich Tire co. not Coker
Coker has licensed rights to specific styles they reproduce,
they don't own BFG

Had them on all my streetcars & sports cars,
I've never any issue ever since like 1975, now 47-year track record
(hope I didn't Jynx myself)
I do know about the casing age deal too,
I've pushed it way beyond 6-7 years
even kept out of the weather & in a garage always
all tires have a shelf life,
no matter what brand



Worst luck I've had was;
Good Years on my Dakota 4x4
& Firestones that were on the F350 4x4 Dually Diesel
OE installed org. tires (both are ******* junk)

(I have had decent luck with Good Year Slicks & older Firestone slicks
I use to run a lot of M&H way back when
I prefer M/T or Hoosier now, depending on the compounds or size
Whether I'm racing on the asphalt or on concrete too
& unless you buy 'a race tire', from either of them, they take
more care/attention & are hand made & they have shelf lives too
unfortunately, some NHRA classes have 'a spec tires' & require Good Years)

By the way also Mickey Thompson are made by Good Year Tire co

I have Open Country (made by Toyo & Nitto) from Les Schwabb
32x11.5" on my 99 Dakota
Japanese-owned Mother co. distributed/mfg's in US, Mexico & Canada
the POS G-Ys didn't last 19,000, started ballooning,
or showing belts on the sidewalls & they wore like ****,
I have 41,000+ on these O-Cs & still have 1/2 the tread
great traction snow & mud, they ain't cheap either...

No cracks, no discolorations, no bubbles,
no belts/band showing on the side walls
& no funky cupping BS
I had with the Coopers, Good Years or Firestones on other rigs

I check all my tires for cracks, I rotate them regularly
from side to side or front to back X patterns 'when applicable'
(hard to do with bigs & littles thou)
& keep on top of the air pressures constantly
especially if you live in an area that has huge temp swings
between seasons or high humidity
driving around on underinflated tires will break them down/overheat them
& cause 99% of the issues we hear about
tires just can't sit forever, they need to be driven
& kept cycles going, keep them pliable, not flat spotted
the more they sit
the more prone they are 'for/to failure'
no matter who's brand

I had horrible luck with Coopers, on both my F350
(it eats tires, it's a Ford 4x4, they always have)
& a few DD type cars, Lisa's old Toyota Supra, my son's Eclipse
the daughters Toyota 4x4 & others, had quite the fleet

by the way;
Coopers are now owned & produced by & in Hangzhou, China
(no longer a USA company, very few are made in Ohio now)
most all their Truck tires are made in China too

I swore to never buy another Cooper branded tire, ever

your results may vary



my $1.25



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good enough to post again