Would you trust 13 year old tires?

I wanna say you guys worry too much, but I realize that is flippant, and peoples lives could be at stake.
So I will say; Personally, I don't worry about the tires. You cannot imagine the junk I have run on since 1969. I do not believe for one second that radials rot from the inside out. I have seen thousands and thousands of tires come off cars that were ugly as sin on the outside, and looked brand spanking new on the inside. The rubber on the sidewalls is only a couple od mm thick, and is only on there to protect the carcass underneath from curb rash and sunlight. The tread rubber can have deep and wide cracks; no big deal until something small enough and sharp enough gets in there, and it probably wouldn't have been slowed down anyway by perfectly new rubber there. Going hard is an issue for safe driving. All P-car radials go hard after about 50% treadwear. Most are designed that way, to give you time to get rid of them, on account of they will no longer shed moisture properly, and are susceptible to hydroplaning and loss of steering. This is an early warning system.It doesn't mean the tire is junk. It only means you need to slow down when water or snow is present. Shoot I have run tires down into the cords, on dry roads. Even on my motorcycles.

But I tell you what, if a tire slips a cord or starts thumping, that is the tire I worry about, and get rid of ASAP. Those are the rapid deflaters.
Also tires that have been run flat are usually trash. Those are the ones where the insides are coming apart.They very likely won't hold air. If they do today, will they tomorrow or next week? And if they let go at speed, you will be in for a surprise.
Also tires that have been run at very low pressures. The constant flexing overheats the carcass, and they may not be able to resist it.And you can't always see it inside, so on the back they go; and stay.
Also mounted tires that have sat flat on concrete. These too tend to crack on the inside. Sometimes the cracks are only skindeep. But they can be tricky, so I put them on the back. If they hold air, fine, they can stay there.
And if you say I must have had a lot of blow-outs in my life, you would be wrong. I have had ZERO blow-outs, in 48 years. But I have had quite a few rapid tire deflations ;some even on the front of my cars,and even on my motorcycles. While the 2 rapid deflations on the front of my motorcycles were unnerving, it didn't actually scare me until below about 5 or perhaps 10 mph. That's when the little dance the now-flat tires do, gets a little exciting. But we stayed upright,Ok.
But 13 year old P-car radials that pass inspection?; pshaw, I'll mount them up and run 'em just about anywhere.
Maybe you think me reckless. But in my experience, rapid tire deflations are only scary to think about.None of the ones on my car were dangerous. And there was no real correlation to the age of the tires at the times of the events. It happens with newer tires too.
Maybe you think me a moron. That's ok;you are entitled to your opinion.Hey I got waaaay scarier things to think about than 13 year old tires....... back to the top.