Tire age

-
Gr8polarbear

Gr8polarbear

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2022
Messages
76
Reaction score
52
Location
OHIO
Most of our cars don't get tons of miles on them so it brings up the question, at what point, age wise must we get new tires. My car has older tires i am not going to relay their age at this time due to wanting to see everyone's answer.
I have a set of older tires on my car, there are no cracks or splits at all. Still has a ton of tread left. I do have a bit of traction problems when shifting into second during a normal take off and if i get into the pedal a bit. If i try to launch hard from a stop light just forget about getting traction. Before finding out the age of the tire i just figured maybe to much torque and gear for a 225 tire and thinking i just need to go wider. But after seeing the age of the tire i am thinking that has something to do with it.

So at what age does everyone get new tires for good traction and safety?
 
i tend to follow mfgr's recommendation on tires, which some list 6yrs and others 10yrs as maximum service life. i'll go for 10 but if i'm having traction problems at 6 years, then so be it.

if you're experiencing loss of traction, then regardless of them passing the eye test i'd be fibbing if i didn't say you should be looking for new donuts.

think about the cost of new shoes for your baby vs what your insurance deductible is if, in the unfortunate event, you broke traction randomly and slammed into a curb or another car.

at speed i lost the tread on a left rear that was just past its sell by date, mercifully my wheel lip trim was spared and besides the code brown in my pants i was fortunate that nothing else of note happened.
 
For me ten years, you also have to figure in were the off the ground or on the ground for the cars winter storage, on then for me 7 years. Of course cracking etc change them.
 
There are posts on FABO and FBBO about this. I go 7 years and that's it. If I am on the road I want to be as safe as possible. What freaked me out, I was running my '93 Subaru Legacy in the left lane of the interstate at 80-85 with 12 year old tires! I wasn't paying attention. Think of this: even at 40 MPH you have a flat. There are roads without shoulders. If you have a flat on the left you need to change your tire exposed to traffic.
 
10 years max, way less if you race or drive hard. Even though the tires still look new, they harden with age becoming unsafe. Try pressing your fingernail into an old tire tread versus new and you will notice a substantial difference especially on more modern tire compounds.
 
tires get old enough to question their age?
Shoot mine get the smoke let out very early in life. Lmao!
 
Tire companies are not even supposed to service tires older than 7 years.
The tire manufacturers say the tires dry rot from the inside out and 7 years is their life.
My tire company wouldn't mount a set I picked up that were 8 years old. They told me 15's are made once a year and that they will become obsolete here real soon and only specialty tire manufacturers will carry 15's. 14's are about gone now and 16's are to follow.
I have purchased jeep tires for my xj's used for the last 20 years. Never had an issue. It's becoming more and more difficult to find "used" serviceable tires. My tire guy said I need to find rims that will fit larger tires if want to continue to run the jeep.
Unfortunately I have something like 20 registered 60's and 70's cars and trucks and they all run 15's.
 
10 year old BFG's with very little miles.Tire came apart.
I wouldn't want this to happen to me.

IMG_2710.jpg
 
I have talked to guys who had big blow outs with great looking older tires
but have never seen it. A worry for sure if your tires are old.
 
I put tires on Gladys back in 2015. They still have lots of tread. I'm ridin them beotches till they're slick. I also put tires on Kitty's Escape in 2015. They still have over 3.4 tread left. Those are the kind of tires I will put on Gladys next. They are some long wearin mofos and they have a pretty aggressive tread. They are General Grabber AT2s. Same tread as the BF Goodrich TA/KO. I cannot believe they're wearing this well.
 
halifaxhops said:
For me ten years, you also have to figure in were the off the ground or on the ground for the cars winter storage, on then for me 7 years. Of course cracking etc change them.
Click to expand...

yeah but , how much sunlight has been on them ?
Mine doesnt see much sun ...still look new after around 10-11 yrs <???
 
Used tire retailers are gone in many states. We still have them here in SC but they are req'd to look at build date code. And that really doesn't mean squat. They can't guess how long a tire may have sit flat under a vehicle. Pump it up and get it hot it will round out but it might very well blow out too. You can see the 67 fish in the pic of my recent truck purchase. The left front on that fish has only 40 miles on it. Then it has sit flat much more than inflated during the past 4 years. Snow in hell before I go out in the street with it.

my 2010 Ram 1500.jpg
 
Gr8polarbear said:
My car has older tires i am not going to relay their age at this time due to wanting to see everyone's answer
Click to expand...
IMHO

Would you rather spend 1000 every 10 years or 5000 to 10,000 after you wreck the car when a tire comes apart at 15 years.
 
7 years. I spent many years in the industry and after seeing loss of life and property damage due to old tires coming apart at highway speeds, I’ll never go longer.
 
What is the stock rim and tire size? Mine has 235 60R14 tires on it now.
 
Modern tires are a complex blend of polymers. The ingredients that keep the rubber flexible and "sticky" are the ones that tend to dry out and disappear over time. That's why you start seeing fine cracks in the sidewalls, and why you lose traction. Eventually you wind up with something like the 50-year-old spare in my trunk (since replaced) — zero road miles, but it's as hard and shiny as a billiard ball. I think your tires are telling you "it's time".
 
OK fellas, I posted up there ^^^^ about buying new tires for Gladys in 2015. I had a blowout today. Tires still have a little over half tread left. I didn't run over anything. Just a blowout. So watch your tires.
 
ir3333 said:
Wow..what a coincidence Rusty! There's the proof fellas!
Click to expand...
Yeah and it slap blows, pun intended. Now I gotta 80 buck tow bill PLUS gotta find another tire. Dammit all.
 
RustyRatRod said:
OK fellas, I posted up there ^^^^ about buying new tires for Gladys in 2015. I had a blowout today. Tires still have a little over half tread left. I didn't run over anything. Just a blowout. So watch your tires.
Click to expand...
the universe spoke to you and it said: show your lady some love, oh and put some llantas on the missus ride too!

hopefully it was limited to just the inconvenience of having a flat the quick way and nothing more!
 
Unfortunately most will base buying new tires on how they look instead of the actual age. When the tires are the only thing between your *** and the ground, everyone should be thinking about the age instead of if they look good enough for another few years.
 
H22A4 said:
Unfortunately most will base buying new tires on how they look instead of the actual age. When the tires are the only thing between your *** and the ground, everyone should be thinking about the age instead of if they look good enough for another few years.
Click to expand...
You're right. But I tell you what. I ain't replacing these tires on the Escape. They still have over 3/4 tread left. That's crazy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top