Question on older tire usage

[jpage]

Back in 2001, I purchased a set of Goodyear 6.00x16 WW tires from Lucas Tire. As it happened, I was not able to get the car finish till now. The tires are still wrapped in their original plastic coverings and have been stored in a cool, dark place. What are some thoughts that you guys may have on using these tires. They may still be good, but who knows. I thought about selling them for possible use on a static car, like a museum vehicle. I see that this brand seems to be no longer available.

[39BuickEight]

They are probably fine, but it is a risk-reward thing.  In the chance they are not, it can be very bad.  If you are just going to poke around and not take many long trips, that would lessen the risk.

[avgwarhawk]

That is quite old for a tire(rubber).  Even if kept in the best conditions.  If you plan on just local low mph driving that should be ok. 

 

[intimeold]

The fact that you stored them, in a cool, dark place, and covered the original plastic coverings; certainly help preserve the tire to some degree.  We have learned that the Sub, ozone, high temperatures and a few other things, start to degrade rubber very quickly. 

 

I have done the same as you and one added step; spray a covering of silicone or some substance that is sold to help rubber stay pliable and prevent just plain air to penetrate the rubber.   I would say this helps with cosmetics.

 

On the safety side; who knows?  There are certainly driving situations that would be suspect.  High speed and high temperatures would come to mind. Do You feel lucky today?

 

intimeold

[60FlatTop]

Are you willing to bet 20 years of work on them?

[dalef62]

28 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said:

Are you willing to bet 20 years of work on them?

Are you willing to bet 20 years of work on new "junk" tires???  How many times have we heard recently that a new tire failed??

 

What I would like to know is when did the rubber compound switch to what it is today?  Older tires, will last forever and not fail like the newer tires of today.  Sometime in the 90's-2000's they switched up the rubber compound and that is when tires started to dry rot at an alarming rate.  I have tires that were bought in the '70s and don't have a speck of dry rot and are almost as soft as they were the day they were bought.  Granted this car hasn't seen daylight much, but the tires are 50 years old and run fine.  On the other hand I bought tires for a small trailer I have about 3 years ago and they are cracked and dry rotted to the point where they are unsafe. 

It is all about the switch in the rubber compound!  When did it happen??

 

[edinmass]

Never mind the cost, or the possible damage to the car from old tires..........you know how many people get hit on the side of the road changing tires? Ask one of our members here who's wife spent a month in ICU when a kid crashed into them when they were ten feet off the road..........both of them are lucky to be alive......and four years later are still suffering the after effects.......which will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Put new tires and tubes on it........sell the NOS tires at Hershey for someone's static display. 

[pfloro]

23 minutes ago, dalef62 said:

It is all about the switch in the rubber compound!  When did it happen??

I would like to know why  the rubber compound was changed... 

 

Was it strictly a manufacturing cost consideration?  Does the new compound offer better wet or dry traction?  Perhaps tread life (miles driven) is better...  

 

Maybe it was another way to get you into the tire shop more often...!  

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2022 by pfloro (see edit history)

[old car fan]

Definitely better  tires than nowadays, know ones know.I think you  would  be alright ,if not touring 

[Buffalowed Bill]

This is not a race to the finish line, but if I were handicapping the race between me and my tires I would bet on the tires lasting longer than me, I'm 78 yrs old. I have a set of Lesters that I bought years ago that I intend to offer the gentleman who bought the car for which they were intended. The 700X17 tires have never been mounted and stored in a climate controlled dark area. That gentleman is 83 yrs old so we can only guess at how the car will be used. At a value less then half the retail price, he would be foolish to look at this as a long term investment unworthy of consideration. 

[leomara]

I find this discussion of great interest.  Back in the late 1960's I acquired a 1933 Chevrolet Master coupe for my transportation while I was in high school.  It had a set of later wheels and tires on it and I made an effort to bring it back to period standards.  I found a set of the correct wire wheels and the tires that were on them must have been there since before the war.  When I broke down the wheels I found red inner tubes in the tires.  Well these tires were fairly petrified but I replaced the tubes and mounted them back on the wheels and then on the car.  I drove that car everywhere, summer and winter and at minimum highway speed, never even had a flat and when I sold the car those tires were still on it.  Totally bizarre and amazing!

[Larry Schramm]

36 minutes ago, edinmass said:

Never mind the cost, or the possible damage to the car from old tires..........you know how many people get hit on the side of the road changing tires? Ask one of our members here who's wife spent a month in ICU when a kid crashed into them when they were ten feet off the road..........both of them are lucky to be alive......and four years later are still suffering the after effects.......which will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Put new tires and tubes on it........sell the NOS tires at Hershey for someone's static display. 

 

That is one of the reasons that I carry a 20 volt impact wrench in my truck all of the time.  If I ever need to change a tire, I can do it very quickly. 

 

The idiots driving down the road seem to never move over for a vehicle on the side of the road.   

 

In fact, sometimes I think the speed up and see how close they can come to the vehicle/trailer on the side of the road.

[old car fan]

Sort of  should I, we normally  replace  tires and tubes  on a new car, I don't  think it is necessary,but we drive. 

[28 Chrysler]

I had a set of tires date code of 2001, they lasted aired up until 2014 when the side walls went to crap. At the same time a set of rollers from the early 70s started doing the same.

[F&J]

Ok, I will be the outcast.  Stored that way in wrappers, cool, dry, I would run them on my year round daily driver 32 but they won't fit the wheels. But, the tubes, if that same age, might have cracks on their folds from being in the package (if they were not in airtight sealed bags).  I trust old tires but not the newer thinner tubes made these last decades  (if exposed to air for awhile before getting mounted)

 

[Gunsmoke]

For what it's worth, I bought this 1931 Chevrolet Coach in 2008 and it had last been licensed for the road in 1967. At that time the owner bought 6 new Goodyear 4.75x19 tires, one still had the manufacturer's sticker, and all 6 still had the original molding "hairs". The tires had never been on the road. After I spent 4 years restoring the car to the point of ready for paint, in 2012 I licensed it and then drove it for 9 years with those tires (and their tubes), never removed a tire, and never had an issue over perhaps 3000 miles. Have since sold car to a guy who has completed the painting and he is still driving on same tires. Now this is no speedster, hums along nicely at 35-45 MPH, but even today, the now 55 year old tires look like the day they were bought. So my advice, keep an eye on your tires and unless they start to show signs (cracking in sidewalls, losing chunks of tread, getting hard etc), you are likely fine at low to moderate speed. I know a friend with a lovely 1940 Chevrolet coupe who bought a new set of tires and tubes 5 years ago and on his first 50 mile trip had a blow-out at 50MPH. So go figure.

[Bryan G]

Most of the conversations I've read strongly suggest the difference isn't so much old/new compounds but bias/radial. Hands-down, a radial is a better tire in most every respect, but forget about getting more than 8-10 years out of them. 

 

On my last car, the tires on it when I acquired it were cheap Nankang's from the early 90s and badly cracked up. (6.00:16) I found a set of whitewalls dated 1997 with about half their tread left and ran them down to the bars, no trouble, then mounted another set of barely used Craigslist specials that were about 15 years old. Nary a problem. On my current car the tires are absolutely ancient, but look fine. I checked the pressure last week, as well as the pressure in my wife's modern vehicle. The radials each needed at least 5 lbs. but the worst of the Silvertowns had dropped a couple pounds since December.

 

But, as they say, your mileage may vary...

[jpage]

Thanks for all the replies, but it's still hard to know what the best option is. The car is a '36 Dodge that will probably see less than 500 miles a year at about 50-55 mph top speed. I'm leaning to replacing them but I'm a little sceptical about the quality of the new tires and tubes, given the fact that everything is probably imported. If anyone knows of someone who could use these tires please let me know!  Thanks again for all the help. I'm just curious why Coker dropped this brand, or maybe I just can't find them in their listings.

[Trulyvintage]

How Good Is Your Luck 🍀 ?

Myself - I am the living definition 

of Murphy’s Law …. 🙄

 

Be that as it may - I would sell them

” as is “ with no intended warranty

express or implied - to someone 

willing to roll the dice … 🎲

 

 

Jim

[West Peterson]

I would use the them. Just my opinion. I like the idea of purchasing new tubes. Afterall, it's the tubes that are pretty much holding up the tire. However, I'd go to a Firestone store (or any place that deals in truck tires) and get tubes there as opposed to the reproduction tire outlets. You'll find the quality is much better.

 

[Str8-8-Dave]

The worst tire failure I ever had was when a low mileage modern Michelin radial tire blew out on the left rear corner of my Ford Econoline Club Wagon.  The tires were 6 years old.  They all had excellent tread and no signs of sidewall deterioration, but that tire said kapowee in the worst area of freeway near Detroit Metro Airport.  Based on that experience I just replaced the 4 original tires on my recently acquired Porsche sports car which had 5900 miles on the original tires and close inspection of the tires revealed no visible defects.  I happily shelled out $1700 for peace of mind that a car with no spare tire wouldn't fail a tire.   

 

Tires on my 1931 Buick are 5 year old Coker BFG reproductions but I took them off the rims to have rims powder coated and replaced the tubes when I put them back on the car.  That car has a brand new spare identical to the tires on the ground.  If that car spends more than 20 minutes at 50mph I will replace the tires on that car.

[West Peterson]

Apples and oranges when discussing radials and bias ply and the amount of time it takes for each to deteriorate.

[SC38dls]

I’m a little surprised about all the comments regarding “foreign” manufacturers of tires. Goodyear, Goodrich, Firestone, Cooper, Dunlop, Michelin, Handkook, Continental and more all have plants in the USA AND in other countries including but not limited to China. How do you know the tires are cheap foreign tires as opposed to cheap USA made tires? I would guess the only way is to check the plant/country of origin code. Most tires being made in a country will be used/sold in that country as corps make tires for market demand and don’t want shipping cost and problems associated with transporting them. Isn’t that the reason they open the plants in that country along with labor cost?  Odd sizes with very low demand (all the sizes we need probably) may not be made in all plants all the time but may be in limited runs. Again we have no way of knowing until you see the plant code or ask the sales person where do they come from?  I just believe multi national corps are smarter than shipping tires from China to the USA when they might be made here in one of their smaller older plants. I’m not trying to say ALL tires are this way I am saying we don’t know until we check the codes just like date codes. 
dave s 

[JFranklin]

I would bet the GoodYear tires in this thread were made in New Zealand.

[28 Chrysler]

I have an original pair of Good Year Blue Streak tires from the 1960s the old rubber is still pliable and the tubes hold air for months, the cotton cords I would not trust.

The modern tire's compounds have been changed over the years and the new tires are mandated to use X% of recycled tires that won't help with ageing.

[76 Caddy]

Just yesterday (4/13/22) I put new tires on the '76 Fleetwood, American Classics.  The Dimension IV's were no longer available which I put on in November 2001 and had 15,000 miles on them and still looked like the day I put them on but after 20 years I decided it was time.  

Will the American Classics last 20 years with no problems like the Dimension IV?  

 

Tim

[tcslr]

Mr Jpage, ultimately you need to decide. That you are looking for input implies reservation - that’s likely wise. No one - I mean no one - wants or likes to spend money foolishly or wastefully. 
seems a key answer to your question is this: would you feel comfortable using them? Would there always be a concern or worry? is that something you can live with? Or not? therein is your answer. 
Tom

 

[Larry Schramm]

A number of years ago I got a new set of Michelin tires for our VW van.  I was looking at the tires and the four new tires were made in four DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.  Go figure.  All bought at the same store.

[Guest]

Hi Jim,

                     I know there is much info here  for you to wade through and the ultimate decision will be yours but I'd like to weigh in on this subject too.

Years ago I worked in a Goodyear tire shop that was a notch above most.  We actually had a tire building facility and made tires for the Vehicle Research Institute at the local university to run on their experimental car.   Speed, heat, compounds were all tested criteria.  The first lesson I learned there was that heat makes tires and heat breaks tires.

That being said there seems to be a common feeling today that simply due to a tire's age, it is axiomatic that it's useful life is over.  This is simply not true with all tires or all rubber compounds.  There are many factors involved that need to be considered before making that determination.

First and foremost is rubber quality.  As mentioned above there is a higher and higher percentage of recycled rubber being used today in tire manufacture.  Not so when you bought those tires.  Goodyear offered a top quality tire in almost every range.  Another factor is that most of the early deterioration today is attributed to radial tires rather than bias ply.  Radials with their steel belting vs nylon or other natural fibers is also a factor.

You have stored the tires properly, they were made with high quality compounds.  I would not hesitate to run them, provided new, high quality tubes are used.

Cheers, Greg

[Marty Roth]

On 4/14/2022 at 3:39 PM, 76 Caddy said:

Just yesterday (4/13/22) I put new tires on the '76 Fleetwood, American Classics.  The Dimension IV's were no longer available which I put on in November 2001 and had 15,000 miles on them and still looked like the day I put them on but after 20 years I decided it was time.  

Will the American Classics last 20 years with no problems like the Dimension IV?  

 

Tim

Tim,

 

While I won't comment on how long the replaced Dimension IV series might have lasted,

I wish you luck even getting a good balance on the new American Classic tires. The sets I've had installed on our prior 1970 Cadillac convertible were all dramatically less than satisfactory despite multiple attempts to rebalance on the same wheels previously used for my much earlier Michelin Radial Whitewalls. I also have American Classics on two of our vintage cars, also with less than positive results. 

[60FlatTop]

I have the money and added cautiousness to make the rules and use judgement as I go. Next week I will get my '86 Buick Park Ave convertible out of storage. I bought those radials in 2013. They may have 2,000 miles on them. Average that at 40 MPH and that would be the amount of daylight they have seen as well. I am not inclined to replace them only on age. They will be checked thoroughly. I slightly over inflate them to run cooler and to resist embedding road debris. If I feel something of concern, like sashaying from a shifted belt or the like, they will be replaced. They won't be stressed either. That's not my style of driving. Age is a factor but there are other facts and I don't remember any failure of anything that was caused by a single factor. There's always more to the story.

 

I'm with Gunsmoke on the precautions. I saw the old tires on his car and wouldn't worry any more than normal precautions. If I saw another picture with that 20' extension ladder removed from the wall, then I would be concerned.... probably a little scared.

Edited April 28, 2022 by 60FlatTop (see edit history)

[Soupiov]

These Allstate Safety Tread tires were put on the car in 1967.  They look and ride fine and need a bit of air every three or four months.  I rarely go over 35mph and have no intention of replacing them.  The car is garaged and I do put it on jack stands during the coldest winter months but other than that never had a problem.  Wish I could say that about the new tires a I put on a few of my cars a couple of years ago.  They are pure garbage!  Sidewall cracks and tubes that don't hold air.

[supercub]

You probably didn't pay much for them back then in comparison to today's prices, so you could probably sell them as rollers for what you paid.

A tire shop may not mount them if they are over 5 or 6 years old, depending on the state that you live. They may look fine as they sit but once inflated, cracks could appear. Stick you fingernail into the tread and compare to a newer tire, see if the rubber is much harder. Hard rubber doesnt stick to the road well, in cornering and braking.

[Flivverking]

I have never heard of an actual real disaster from runing old tires,even 50 years old.

Guess what! a blow out of an old tire is the same as a blow out of new tire,which can happen at any time and does!

  I see old tires run with huge side wall cracks.cracks in the tread showing the cords on classic cars of the 30s.

 Tires are very strong and  hardy..if the rubber isn' t coming off in chunks,and your on a budget,they hold air..you can nures them along. 

 

 It's changing them that sucks..

If you have to take old tires off and it's a huge chore because they are hard and stiff...go get new tires before you think to remount the old ones.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

[supercub]

I hit a spark plug in the road, the tire was near new. It really blew, like an explosion. I've had a few near new tires ruined by road debris. The old worn out ones never blow.

[JACK M]

Had a blow out on my motor home once that cost my insurance company a couple of thousand.

But they would not buy me a new tire LOL