Aging tires................and a hot summer.

[Guest HessLakeGuy]

To all:

In Michigan this year we have had over 30 days that topped 90 degrees. My cars are stored in a garage that is neither heated or cooled. Not good on the rubber parts, for sure.

When I took the 1991 out of storage yesterday the heat had turned one of the tires a light shade of gray. Never seen that before. Never want to.

I knew when we got back from Ames, IA twenty five months ago that those Yokohama tires were not going to hit the road again, and I bought new ones earlier this month. I stored the car all last year.

Anyway, the car now has new tires and wheels and those nine year old tires are going to be recycled or used on my dock as bumpers. (They only had about 7,000 miles on them.)

Keep an eye on your tires age. Discount Tire will not even check your air free if the tires are too old (cannot remember exactly what their numbers are).

Tom

[KDirk]

Tom,

This has been a bad year on tires all around, at least in the regions of the country that got broiled. I saw more shreds 'n' treads on the highways this summer than I ever recall seeing before. Had a couple of close calls in evading large pieces of cast of tread as well. I almost ate a front bumper valence and grille on the 91 about a month ago when a large truck changed lanes in front of me, only to reveal a big hunk in my lane about 400' away (and at highway speeds). Luckily, I was able to do a quick lane change and avoid it. Had traffic been heavier at the time, I'd had taken the hit for sure.

I'd encourage everyone in the harsher climatic regions to inspect their tires and make sure they are decent after the summer heat that gripped most of the country. The weather has also put a beating on a lot of road surfaces, exacerbating the issue of tire failures, so look out for bad spots especially on asphalt surfaces.

KDirk

[Barney Eaton]

I remember that Jim Finn lost a front fender when the front tire on a Reatta he had just purchased let go.

However.... I also believe the tire industry wants to sell more tires and some of this gloom and doom is hype to sell tires. Sort of like the mattress comercials that tell you the weight of you mattress doubles in 8 years from sweat and dust mites......... how much does a dust mite weigh and how many would be in a pound?

The quality of the tire probably has more bearing on their life than just time. We all know that you can buy basic tires and they are rated "S" & "T" (with speed ratings of 112 & 118) If you upgrade to an "H" rated tire (129mph rating) the manufacturer must be using better materials and construction which should = better/longer life under normal driving conditions. If you want to spend more $$ then there are "V", "W" and "Z" rated tires that should be even better.

I am reluctant to believe that just because a tire is 6 or 10 years old it is automatically bad. You must consider more than just age.

As an example, this past year one of the automobile magazines did an article on A.J. Foyt's old Indy Roadster "Calhone", it is in the 500 Museuem and they took it out on the track and did some laps at 70 MPH......... on original tires from around 1966. Would the Speedway, Magazine, Editors, and Driver do that if they did not think the tires were good? But the tire industry, and maybe the next step is the Federal government telling us (via a law) that tires must be replaced when that are X number of years old.

The 7.50 X 15 Coker tires on my '39 Buick were made in 1992........ I check them often and 55 mph is my upper speed limit.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Barney Eaton (see edit history)

[padgett]

Think I just replaced a set of 1993 tires about a year ago had maybe 1,000 miles and sat in garage (up to 100 in summer) most of the time. Looked new in and out.

[zoltanb]

If they were mount on the car wouldn't they be a little square after that length of time? I have stored tires on the rims for over 20 yrs in a dry garage for my TR6. Only drive occasionally. They are the old Michelin X's nice and soft and good as new.

[KDirk]

I kind of concur with Barney on this. The push to worry us all sick about old tires is the industry talking their book, as they want to sell what else but more tires. I might not trust a really old dry rotted tire for a long road trip but if the tread is good and I can't see cording through the cracks from dry rotting (ok, that is extreme, but you get my drift), I will still run the tire. Of course, there is some point where just age is a concern (maybe 10 years, irrespective of mileage) but storage and climate do factor in to the longevity no doubt.

One needs to be sensible, but being overly cautious to the point of obsession is a chronic societal affliction that is only getting worse with time. From anti-bacterial hand soap to child safety seats for everyone up to what, probably 15 years old now, it is out of control. Oh, and that safety seat has to be replaced every 3-4 years, so no reusing it for the next kid. This paranoia moves a lot of product. It is also a great way for many industries to improve their profits by selling products to replace those that aren't yet truly worn out and unsafe to use. About 30 years ago and back, many things were made so well they could last decades without replacement (furniture and appliances are two good examples). Then the manufacturers got smart (for their own benefit, not ours) and started making junk so we have to replace their product every few years. This is what qualifies for growth now.

Gotta love that I own three cars, the newest of which is 17 years old. It is my way of thumbing my nose at a pervasive culture of waste and needless expenditure. I imagine I am the proverbial "most hated customer" of many companies that make consumer products. I'll milk something old by maintaining and repairing it (like a car or a TV) like a cow with two udders (yeah, try that mental image) just to avoid buying something new. And not because I'm cheap, but rather because I'm not stupid. And of course, because I can, whilst many people lack the knowledge and initiative to do so. Their loss, my gain.

Oh, and in 8 years my mattress has gained 30 pounds, but only when I'm laying on it. I really need to work on that because I will need to buy larger pants before I need a new mattress.

KDirk

Edited August 31, 2012 by KDirk (see edit history)

[Booreatta]

I still have tires on my Riviera that date code to 1990, 22 years ago. I plan to replace them next winter. Dont drive it much so no big hurry. I think the National safety board says 6 years look for new tires.

[Guest Kingsley]

Tom - thanks for starting this timely thread.

I am sure that the 1990 Reatta prototype convertible, now in Lafayette, IN and ultimately moving to the San Diego Automotive Museum, has the original tires on it (spare?). I believe there is an oil change sticker on it with a 1992 date on it and, while I do not think there are many road miles on it, it will give us a picture of what simple aging will do on tires. I suspect that in this case they will look like new and certainly clean up nicely if needed. It does carry a 1988 VIN and I do seem to recall that it was running in the early days of its stay in the Ivy Tech College.

Note Padgett has also mentioned his 1993 tires in a preceding post.

Taking a bit of license to talk about this car, as info it was donated by General Motors to the Ivy Technical College as part of their Automotive Specialized Education Program and over the years many aspiring automotive folks have had a chance to work on her.

Kingsley

BCA 42720, Reatta Div 994

'89, '90 Coupes

[Guest Squire Tom]

i believe the high dollar X W Z rated tires will last only half as long or worse. they must be lighter to dissipate heat and the tread is stickier and wear faster .ask a corvette guy what he pays for tires and how often. no real reason to do better than an H rating . be extremely careful of ' dry rotting 'tires .. the tread can separate at any time and plastic front fenders will lose the battle.

[NCReatta]

i believe the high dollar X W Z rated tires will last only half as long or worse. they must be lighter to dissipate heat and the tread is stickier and wear faster .ask a corvette guy what he pays for tires and how often. no real reason to do better than an H rating . be extremely careful of ' dry rotting 'tires .. the tread can separate at any time and plastic front fenders will lose the battle.

Not to mention that most corvette guys have to buy run-flats.

[padgett]

My experience over the years is that garaged tires last much longer than those on cars stored in the sunshine. 90F is not hot for a tire but then I once got a set of Dunlop street tires (165x13) hot enough to glue the car to the pavement. Pyrometers are standard equipment for real racers.

The 1993's I had were "T" rated off-brands (cheap: maybe Remington) that looked new inside and out when I gave to a friend. Main reason was that they had seen the north side of the century and wanted new ones if happened again.

OTOH I won't buy a used tire anymore. Once had a pair of CR70x13 Firestone 500s lose their tread within 150 miles @ 70 mph but can say they vibrated really bad before the treads seperated.

So any more I stick to BFGs and Michelins (same company) and replace before needed. It rains a lot here.

[Guest Corvanti]

Not to mention that most corvette guys have to buy run-flats.

nah, not really. even the newer (C5,C6) ones, have better replacements. my '99 had kumho's on it when i bought it, and all the tire pressure gauge sensors worked fine.

now, the '74 i had went thru a set of eagle gt's in less than 8,000K - with proper 4-wheel alignment and early rotation.

not a good idea to run on old tires (10 yrs+) even in a controlled temp/humidity garage. maybe a little longer (?) if it's on a rack off the tires. all tires - easier to decode after 2000 - have a code to show year of make. any "traffic collision" with injuries i investigated due to a possible blowout, were checked for the code.

criminal liability? no. civil? perhaps...

my $0.02

[Guest my3buicks]

Several years ago we took a trip to Gettysburg from Pittsburgh one fall morning in a gorgeous original 19K mile 79 Riviera sitting on it's original tires. One the way home we started to shake and sway about an hour out of Pittsburgh - we slowed the pace and by the time we got home it was like a carnaval ride - so if you run on old tires, it will catch up with you sooner or later.

[wws944]

My '90 still had its original tires on it when I picked it up from my mother (exactly) three years ago. The car only had 9300 miles on it at the time and had always been garaged. So no UV damage, no cracking, and rode fairly well - once warmed up. We drove it 2k miles from Illinois to California with no real problem. Though I did watch them very carefully along the way. In retrospect, had I known at the time that the Reatta had plastic fenders up front, I should have replaced them before the trip.

Once out here, the tires got worse real fast. Lots of vibe that never really smoothed out. I finally replaced them last November.