Tire Life . . do you worry about it??

[JohnG]

I get posts from a baby Bird group. They were having a discussion about tire life. Essentially there are claims out there that tires last 6 years.

I have to admit I was appalled! I have Diamondback Classics I bought in 2004 and which have about 10K miles on them. I expected to convert the car to Hydrogen power before I figured on more tires

So...do any of you replace your tires simply based on age? Has anyone had any disasters that might be blamed on age??

I emailed Diamonback Classics to hear what they had to say; of course they would be happy to sell me another set...

thanks!
John

[scumdog]

I've got tyres on my F100 that are about 8 years old.

And I bought a car that had been sitting for 5 years - and its tyres were old before that.
Never had a problem with the tyres.

Maybe for high-performance/high speed driving you would not want to use old tyres though.

[Yellowbird]

I've never worried about the age of the tire. Instead, I do pay attention to the condition of the rubber. Is weather cracking / checking visable? Also look for uneven wear and separation of the plys (sp?)

Leonard

[simplyconnected]

SAFETY vs SALES?
Discount Tire, always looks at the date codes. They don't care how much tread is left. If the tire is much over six years, they claim they are not allowed to fix it. Of course they have a back room FULL of new tires to sell, instead.

I have mixed emotions about that:
* Some new tires are years old before they are mounted on a car. Nobody ever asks the age of new tires.
* Mom's Escort had 11-yr old Kelly's that leaked out the sidewall from dry rot. The car never moved from her driveway, and was in direct sun every day.
* My MUSTANG had Michelin ("V" rated) Pilots on the front that refused to wear out. They were old, but looked and rode very nicely. (Pilots are soft and sticky.)

So, now that we have classic cars that will never wear out tires, I think 'age' is comeasurate upon the tire quality and the materials used in manufacture. I think it's wrong to say, every six yr old tire is unsafe. Maybe it should be illegal to sell a six yr old tire, because the buyer may not be aware of its age. I need to think this out... what happens if the tire is on a car that's for sale?

[RustyNCa]

I've never worried about the age of the tire. Instead, I do pay attention to the condition of the rubber. Is weather cracking / checking visable? Also look for uneven wear and separation of the plys (sp?)

Leonard

I'm with yellowbird on this one. I have a friend that owns a shop that does front end work and tires, even though he doesn't really push the tire side much.

He drives around his 55 Wagon on tires that I believe he told me were from the 50s.... and knowing him, he wouldn't run them if he thought it was a problem.

I am running tires on one of my birds that are at least from the 80s maybe older than that... They have been kept inside, protected from the sun and elements over the years, they look good as new.

[Astrowing]

Tire age

I haven't had a tire on a classic car come apart other than a Firestone in about 1986, but I've had several trailer tires blow out with hardly any visible wear. The tires were about 5 years old at the time of their sudden failure and the trailers sit outside in Texas.

[Anders]

My spare tire seems to be from ´60 something, but it´s so uneven, I mean, not only oval, but uneven in width as well ( inches ), so I have decided to put it up on the garagewall, with it´s original rim, as a sculpture
But the other 4, seems to be booth cheep, dry and old.
But as we say here...
As long as they are legal ( min 3 mm deep thread ), we use them!

@RustNCa: Love that Nomad!!!!!!!

[dgs]

It seems that there is no consensus about how old is too old, only that there is definitely an age limit on tires. This article at Tire Rack says that there is no standard in the US but overseas folks recommend an upper limit of 6-10 years, depending on who you ask.

[ncbird]

buyer awareness

First, yes there have been fatal accidents blamed on old tires. A man lost his daughter with in weeks of putting "new" tires on her car. Investigation showed the tires had been in storage for 5 yrs. It is also true as has been mentioned that trailer tires are replaced more for age then miles. To me it comes down to being informed and making your own decision. If you are just cruising around town you may feel perfectly safe on 20yr old tires. With my pickup pulling a car trailer with my pride and joy on it I do make sure of the tire age. I recently put a new set of Michelins on my truck and insisted they not be more then 90 days old. My tire shop never questioned that and got me fresh tires. With tire life growing..remember wide ovals that got 10 thousand miles... it is becoming more of a problem. The manufacturing dates are right on the sidewall so anyone can determine tire age. Like I said the 20 yr old tires on my roadster are still in great shape and I dont plan on changing them because of the way it gets used. my 2 cents Grant

[Dakota Boy]

Tires stored in a place where they never freeze and thaw, and are out of the sunlight will last alot longer than those exposed to the elements.

I have a stack of bicycle tires in my basement that would back up this statement. That being said, I'd never run an old tire on the front wheel of my road bike...because I like my teeth the way they are.

[vernz]

The tires on my '59 are Sears Allstate 8.50x14 wide white walls. They have to be from the 60's. I drive them around town, but would never trust them on the highway.

Vern

[JohnG]

I emailed Diamondback Classics, who I got my tires from and asked what their opinion was. I got the following response:

We use modern radial tires from the various major tire manufacturing companies.

The useful life a modern tire is from 6 to 10 years. Mercedes and Ford have stated that tires on their cars should be replaced after 6 years. The German government concluded the maximum safe life of a tire was 10 years.
In the USA, 6 to 8 years is considered the useful life of a tire.

After about 8 years I would not drive fast for any length of time on the tires - i.e. 60 mph for several hours. Relying on ones personal experience is probably not a good idea. I have talked with several people that have made trips on 10 plus year old tires with out a blow out, but I have talked with more that have had blow outs.

Sorry to break the bad news to you, but the natural rubber used to make tires is the culprit, it deteriorates when in contact with air.

I asked if it was ok to pass his thoughts on and he said it was fine so here they are.

John

[Dan Leavens]

John Happy New Year and thanks for getting this information for us and taking the time to post.

[Guest]

Hey Guys,
Nitrogen filled tires last longer! The straight dope web site quote:
"Another claim I've seen is that since nitrogen is slightly lighter than air, you'll save weight and get better performance. However, we're talking about a weight difference of less than 4 percent of the gas in the tire - in other words, a difference of less than an ounce for most vehicles. A possibly more realistic benefit is that nitrogen is largely inert chemically at low (i.e., normal) temperatures, so it won't attack the rubber in your tires like oxygen does. Oxygen attack is something both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Ford Research have studied, and can be a problem for tires used for a long time or in rough conditions." End of quote.
I've heard this before, but that does not change the outside air attacking the tire.
This is my opinion and does not reflect the opinion of "Squarebirds" and or its members!
Richard D. Hord

[scumdog]

Hey Guys,
Nitrogen filled tires last longer! The straight dope web site quote:
"Another claim I've seen is that since nitrogen is slightly lighter than air, you'll save weight and get better performance. However, we're talking about a weight difference of less than 4 percent of the gas in the tire - in other words, a difference of less than an ounce for most vehicles. A possibly more realistic benefit is that nitrogen is largely inert chemically at low (i.e., normal) temperatures, so it won't attack the rubber in your tires like oxygen does. Oxygen attack is something both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Ford Research have studied, and can be a problem for tires used for a long time or in rough conditions." End of quote.
I've heard this before, but that does not change the outside air attacking the tire.
This is my opinion and does not reflect the opinion of "Squarebirds" and or its members!
Richard D. Hord

Well the guys in smog-bound Southern California should get a long life out of their tyres...hehehe..!