OE Goodyear tires

[Guest HessLakeGuy]

Hello:

For some reason, I still have a set of the four OE Goodyear tires in my garage from my 21,000 mile 1989 coupe. Can't be safe at that age.

I replaced them with Continental tires and it made a big, big difference.

Anyway, I seek opinions:

AT WHAT POINT (IN YEARS) SHOULD YOU TAKE TIRES OFF THE ROAD? (even low mile ones that spend most of their time in storage in a dark garage).

Tom

[padgett]

Condition is everything. the 1993 tires I just changed out on the GTO still were round and fine & had been garaged since new. BFG replacements have a lot more bite though since the old treads had hardened.

So was it a safety item ? I don't know. The new ones are just better tires.

OTOH the 2001 Michelins I have feel just fine but again always garaged.

All of that said I have had two sets of Goodyear Great Appearance (GA) tires and never liked any but then they did not last long. 20-25k max. Ones in Sam's I saw were made in China so Right Out. (Michelins and BFGs are made in the USA).

And on the gripping hand, the last tire failure I had was with Firestone 500s coming apart in the late 70's but then I am careful about pressures and such.

[Bushwack]

Seven years is what I recall hearing from a DOT representative when the Ford Explorer/Firestone tires problems occurred several years ago. The emphasis was more on the degradation of the rubber compound then having to do with miles or use (or storage) of tires.

Hello:

For some reason, I still have a set of the four OE Goodyear tires in my garage from my 21,000 mile 1989 coupe. Can't be safe at that age.

I replaced them with Continental tires and it made a big, big difference.

Anyway, I seek opinions:

AT WHAT POINT (IN YEARS) SHOULD YOU TAKE TIRES OFF THE ROAD? (even low mile ones that spend most of their time in storage in a dark garage).

Tom

[padgett]

Suspect 7 years is a lawyer's answer (product liability). TOL Michelins used to have a milage warrenty with no time limitation. Now it's 6 years.

"Standard Limited Warranty (All Michelin® Tires)All Michelin® tires have a Standard Manufacturer's Limited Warranty, which covers defects in workmanship and materials for the life of the original usable tread, or for 6 years from date of purchase, whichever occurs first. See warranty for details. "

[raleets]

Hi,

Just wanted to chime in on the tire issue. We recently acquired a '91 convertible with only 18,000 actual miles. It was always garage stored and never driven between September and May. Although the tires "looked" pretty good, I just didn't feel all warm and fuzzy about driving it at expressway speeds so we slapped on a set of Goodyear Assurance from Sears to replace the original Goodyear GA's. We then took it on a 500+ mile trip to northern Michigan and it handled like a dream so we were happy we made the purchase.

Now, all that being said, we also have a 1962 Skylark convertible that we bought in 1990. It was rolling on a nice set of Michelin radials that were practically new at the time. We've since driven that little beauty to Chicago, Boston, St. Louis, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Kokomo, and Detroit several times.

Always cruised at 70mph on the e-way, rain or shine. That same set of Michelins is on the car as I type. Still looking good, with NO dry rot, tread seperation, or sidewall cracks. So go figure!

Should I replace them? Probably, but just can't seem to part with "old friends" that are still serving me so well.

I'm still not sold on tire replacement based on how many years old they may be, even though I've been in sales most all my life.

Just my two cents on the issue.

Bob Leets

Flint, MI

[Guest Mc_Reatta]

Heat, UV and Ozone are the enemy of most rubber products.

Down here in FL we have lots of all 3. Up north, with a car being kept in a garage most of it's life your mileage will definitely vary.

Believe the appearance of side wall cracking is what what would send me off looking for replacements more than just the numeric age.

[wws944]

The original tires on my Suburban only lasted two years. While there was still some tread, the sidewalls were cracking badly. You could actually start to see the cords through the cracks! (I upgraded the lousy OE hydraulic shocks to gas-charged Edelbrocks. Also went to Load Range E tires. No problems since.)

I also have an "always garaged very low mile" Reatta which still has its original tires. We drove it from Illinois to its new home in California a year ago on them, and they did ok. They still 'look' good. (Lots of tread, no sidewall cracking or bulges.) But over the past couple of months, there has been a definite change in ride - especially when cold. They need to be changed ASAP...

So I think the real answer is "it depends...".

[padgett]

The change in ride as a tire ages can be very subtle. The difference when I replaced my 17 year old radials on the Judge with new BFGs was dramatic - old ones looked perfect in every way, had over 7/32 of tread, and were round - no vibration past 70 mph - but were hard and spun easily.

And these were tires on a car that was driven less than 1,000 miles a year, often more like 500, and always garaged in a mild climate.

Were they safe ? Probably. Good as new ? No.

I suspect tires may be better built today than before, haven't heard of losing a belt in quite some time but was common in the 70's.

Just afraid I like the looks of a 16x7 with 225x60x16s much better than the Reatta's stock issue so not really a question for me.

ps not entirely sure what is happening but the P205/60R15 90H BFGoodrich® Touring T/A® Pro Series (Fiero GT tire) is $56.81 at Sam's right now. Seems inexpensive to me for an H rated tire. Am I missing something ?

Edited September 27, 2010 by padgett (see edit history)

[Booreatta]

Hey Tom I don't know about the legal limit of tire age but I can tell you that a neighbor last summer had a tire blow out when the car was just sitting in the garage. We heard a sound like a gun shot and went over to his house and one of the tires on the car had a whole in the sidewall. I asked him how old were the tires as they looked new. He said they were about 10 years old and only had about 2000miles on them. The tread was measured at 11/32. The tires were Goodyear tires.

I put new tires on my Riviera for nationals, there is no sense in taking any chances for $400.00 In my mind safety is still number !

[wws944]

The change in ride as a tire ages can be very subtle. The difference when I replaced my 17 year old radials on the Judge with new BFGs was dramatic - old ones looked perfect in every way, had over 7/32 of tread, and were round - no vibration past 70 mph - but were hard and spun easily.

In my case the difference is no longer subtle. They are downright wobbly when cold, but smoothen out after a few blocks. Didn't do that a year ago.

Just afraid I like the looks of a 16x7 with 225x60x16s much better than the Reatta's stock issue so not really a question for me.

Those Caddy wheelz you and Daves89 picked up sure look nice. I also like the looks of the 2000ish chrome Regal wheelz. But I may stay with the originals just to maintain the originality of the car. And if I do the latter, I really need to get the clear coats redone at the same time.

[johnemac]

Just had a tire fail on my convertible. Michelins look brand new but are old. It failed internally, and I switched it out to the red car being worked on. Last week I heard a bang and the tire actually blew open. No old tires for me.

[padgett]

Might notice that I have 15x8 Snowflakes on the Judge. The original refinished 14x6 Rally IIs without trim rings are in baggies along with the 15x6 Reatta wheels. Judge came with G70x14(approx 215s) bias ply tires that Bill Neely said weren't "even safe in the driveway". My cars are driven and I happen to like snowflakes.

Edited September 28, 2010 by padgett (see edit history)

[Guest HessLakeGuy]

Interesting reading.

No sense in wrecking ourselves and our cars (with a blown tire) just by trying to get another year out of tires. Its surprizing how cheap you can get some tires for when they are on sale (check out Tireracks prices and look for either sales or closeouts).

The Yokohama tires on my 1991 polo green coupe made their last trip to Ames, Ia in July. They went for seven summers, about 5,000 miles. Not sure if I will drive that vehicle next year or not, but when it does comes out of storage it will get new tires. I like both the BF Goodrich and Continentals on my cars--- this set of tires was really nothing special.

I decided this year to carry a full size spare with me mounted on a not so perfect wheel. Yes it does take up a bit of room in the trunk, but it will mount up in a hurry if I need it. ( I actually took the 91s spare out at the Best Western the morning the cars were being judged and rolled it into the bushes---interestingly, some people spotted it there getting rained on).

Trying to decide which car to drive next year out east............

[Jim]

Tom,

Remember what happened to the Reatta I picked up in Orlando a few years ago when George and I were driving between Miami and Naples the very next day?

Jim

[Guest HessLakeGuy]

Jim:

That blown front tire took out one of your front fenders out in a split second...........

Hard to forget that one.

[wws944]

Hopefully I will have been the last person to do a cross country drive on original Reatta tires. I certainly would not do it today.

Last time this topic came up, I searched around the web a bit. Seven to ten years seemed ballpark for recommendations. Tires are molded with a manufacturing date on the side, but not a 'sell by' date. So something to look out for are retailers who sell 'new' tires which were actually manufactured several years before.

[raleets]

Hi again,

I certainly agree with all you folks about not taking a chance with old tires.

We're leaving on a two week trip down south next month in our '06 Trail Blazer which had four 50K Goodyear Wranglers that were looking and handling like c**p.

After much on-line research, I discovered lots of folks were also not too happy with their Wranglers for a multitude of reasons. The SUV tire reviews gave huge kudos to BFGoodrich Long Trail T/A Tour rubber, so I went to Discount Tire and took advantage of the BFG $60 rebate and had a set installed.

I'm happy to report they are FABULOUS. That TrailBlazer rides and handles like a dream and I now feel real comfortable about heading south for over 3500 miles of x-way pounding next month.

As for the "old" Michelins on our '62 Skylark......well, it's rarely driven over 45mph, and virtually NEVER on the big slab anymore, so I think I'll just milk those old jobbies till they go flat!

Happy cruisin',

Bob Leets

[Roadster90]

I have Goodyear _______ GAs' on my white 90 S/Sixty.....42000 miles on the odometer - they are cracking in the tread pattern on the front and maybe about 3/32s+ TD....on the back no cracking and about 5/32nds TD ....could they be original with that mileage please????

[Guest HessLakeGuy]

Hello:

I think both of my 1990s had Goodyear GT + 4 tires.

My 1991 had Goodyear GAs (?) ...........

Did Goodyear have 100% of Reatta production?

Tom

[padgett]

Just look at the date code, prolly xx0 or xx1 for a 91.

To see who manufactured it see here

American Tire Centers | 323.661.8473 | 5206 Hollywood Blvd. CA 90027

"•1968 – United States Department of Transportation (DOT) numbers required on new tires in USA"

"The DOT Code begins with the letters "DOT" followed by a plant code (two numbers or letters) that identifies where it was manufactured. The last four numbers represent the week and year the tire was built. A three-digit code was used for tires manufactured before the year 2000.

For example, 178 means it was manufactured in the 17th week of 8th year of the decade. In this case it means 1988. For tires manufactured in the 1990s, the same code holds true, but there is a little triangle (Δ) after the DOT code. Thus, a tire manufactured in the 17th week of 1998 would have the code 178Δ.

After 2000, the code was switched to a 4-digit code. Same rules apply, so for example, 3003 means the tire was manufactured in the 30th week of 2003.

Other numbers are marketing codes used at the manufacturer's discretion. "

So just look at the date code. Picture is of a 1993 tire, note the sideways triangle on the end.

ps at one show I was really amused by a guy who spent big bucks to have "original" tires on his 67 GTO complete with DOT and FMVSS imprints.

Edited September 30, 2010 by padgett (see edit history)

[Roadster90]

Checked with your info Padgett and 1 tire on the car is an original.....other 3 had 4 didget codes .... thanks

Nic

[Guest HessLakeGuy]

I am going to print out and laminate that guide and put copies in both of my garages so I always have it.

I have a few tires to check out next spring on stored vehicles. In Michigan the leaves are falling and its time to store everything (even though I saw a few nice converts out this week in the warm weather we had this week).

Tom

[padgett]

And in Florida things are cooling off - Oktoberfest in Silver Springs tomorrow is supposed to be partly sunny and 86F high.

[raleets]

I've now tucked my three Buicks into the barn, filled 'em up with petro, added the Sta-Bil, and said "thanks" for a great summer of cruisin'.

We're heading for Kissimmee in mid-October and will take in a cruise night at Old Town for sure.

In the spring I'll once again get down on the carpet and check out all the tires. It's the getting up that's the hard part!!!!

Bob Leets

[padgett]

With a lift its easy 8*)

[Barney Eaton]

Last year when I purchased a 1991 coupe with 17,000 miles it had the original tires. I posted here that I would give the tires to anyone...they could pick-up or I would ship (they pay shipping)

No one was interested and I was not going to drive in the Texas heat on 19 year old tires.

[padgett]

Bet in the future, original date-coded tires will be worth more than a pewter model...

[Barney Eaton]

The only reason I can imagine anyone would want original tires with or without the correct date code is for judging. At BCA events, the judging handbook only states the tires must be original size and appearance. You would get deductions for white side wall or raised white letter tires. The battery must be Delco or there are deductions, but the tires do not need to be Goodyear.