Tire age

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Good lord, did I specifically single you out as fear mongering? Did I quote you? Did I call into question any of your opinions? Nope. I know your not the sort to get all butt hurt....settle down:lol:

When I see here and elsewhere posts by some regarding any number of topics with responses (that I infer as) akin to “the sky will fall” I call it fear mongering. That’s my opinion, simple. Like the debates I’m well educated on regarding “Helmet” age, especially in the motorcycle world. How about seat belt certification every two years? More bullshit. All depends on thorough visual inspection, IMO: Nobody likes it? Big hairy *** deal.
If your tires are too old then go buy some new ones.
It's ok. If I overreacted, my bad. Yesterday wasn't a good day for me and today is shaping up the same. Sorry if I shot off in your direction. It had to go somewhere.
 
But I digress........I remember when I was a kid, this wasn't a huge issue. There were people that routinely had tires that were ten plus years old and did fine. Of course, lots of factors have changed, too including car speeds with the advent of everything having an over drive transmission, so that's one thing. It could be too that since the whole world wasn't "as connected" you just didn't hear about the many tire failures as much too. I wonder though, about tire rubber composition. Has it somehow changed for the worse? I'd sure like to think it's improved, "supposedly" like everything else.
Bias ply construction and the rubber used is why IMO. The polyester belts are more forgiving than steel.

My first car was a 1970 Dart 4 door, that I bought in 2001. It had 11,000 original miles with the original tires on it. The car sat in a garage in Florida it’s whole life. My brother and I drove on those tires for a year before I could afford new ones. I was 14 lol I remember the new set of 14” tires were $118 installed out the door! Took me a year to save!
 
Bias ply construction and the rubber used is why IMO. The polyester belts are more forgiving than steel.

My first car was a 1970 Dart 4 door, that I bought in 2001. It had 11,000 original miles with the original tires on it. The car sat in a garage in Florida it’s whole life. My brother and I drove on those tires for a year before I could afford new ones. I was 14 lol I remember the new set of 14” tires were $118 installed out the door! Took me a year to save!
That's a possibility I hadn't considered.
 
But I digress........I remember when I was a kid, this wasn't a huge issue. There were people that routinely had tires that were ten plus years old and did fine. Of course, lots of factors have changed, too including car speeds with the advent of everything having an over drive transmission, so that's one thing. It could be too that since the whole world wasn't "as connected" you just didn't hear about the many tire failures as much too. I wonder though, about tire rubber composition. Has it somehow changed for the worse? I'd sure like to think it's improved, "supposedly" like everything else.
I know you posted this yesterday and today is a new day.

When you were a kid, I suspect baby/toddler car seats didn’t exist or the safety benefits of them were not known? Similar to the effects drinking alcohol have on someone when driving (or flying or operating any other powered vehicle)? Or smoking? A lot has changed over the decades as there has been a focus on safety.

It’s not stated in any of the reports I’ve read but did the Porsche Paul Walker was in have bald or cracked tires? Only the cops who arrived on scene and the tow truck driver would know that. However, the tires on that Porsche being 9 years old are considered in the accident.

It is an extreme example but asking an 80 year old person to cut your lawn on a hot day probably won’t end as well as asking a 22 year old.
 
Bias ply construction and the rubber used is why IMO. The polyester belts are more forgiving than steel.

My first car was a 1970 Dart 4 door, that I bought in 2001. It had 11,000 original miles with the original tires on it. The car sat in a garage in Florida it’s whole life. My brother and I drove on those tires for a year before I could afford new ones. I was 14 lol I remember the new set of 14” tires were $118 installed out the door! Took me a year to save!
 
@413 post 29 shows a tire that the cords are intact but the tire seperate from itself.

To me this indicates that the bond between the cords and the tire rubber was not strong enough.

The inside and outside of the tire might have been perfect, but the inner construction was falling apart.

I pulled the a piller trim off my dart the other day. There is foam tape in there. It was trying to grease!
 
Timely subject. I put new reproduction E70-14 white letter Goodyear Polyglas tires on the Duster about 7 years ago. 2,000 miles later they still look and perform as new. The car lives in the shop 98% of the time with no weight on the tires.

So the above said, and since they’re not radials how does that work. Still good to run? Modern radials, no way would they be on the road at highway speed.

Yes, I had a blowout on the front of my Dodge Dually at 75 mph on I-20 in Texas. It instantly jumped 10feet to the right. Luck was with me as no one was over there.

Tires were Michelin XPS 235/85/16, 10 ply. About 70% tread, 80 psi, no damage ever and they had turned 6 years old two weeks prior to the blowout.

NO older radials for me.

RonR
 
I know you posted this yesterday and today is a new day.

When you were a kid, I suspect baby/toddler car seats didn’t exist or the safety benefits of them were not known? Similar to the effects drinking alcohol have on someone when driving (or flying or operating any other powered vehicle)? Or smoking? A lot has changed over the decades as there has been a focus on safety.

It’s not stated in any of the reports I’ve read but did the Porsche Paul Walker was in have bald or cracked tires? Only the cops who arrived on scene and the tow truck driver would know that. However, the tires on that Porsche being 9 years old are considered in the accident.

It is an extreme example but asking an 80 year old person to cut your lawn on a hot day probably won’t end as well as asking a 22 year old.
I agree 100% that's why I didn't speak in absolutes.
 
Ok boys good info here I have a set of BFGs that I wont even tell you how old they are... time for some new 17" rims and any thoughts on micky Thomson's ? I here the new bfg are turning brown on the white lettering.
 
It’s not stated in any of the reports I’ve read but did the Porsche Paul Walker was in have bald or cracked tires? Only the cops who arrived on scene and the tow truck driver would know that. However, the tires on that Porsche being 9 years old are considered in the accident.

iirc, the subsequent investigation found that the tires on the car were something like double the recommended age for the car. naturally they tried to go after the shop that had last worked on it (the old "ever since..." rule) but supposedly they had paperwork backing up the notation and recommendation for tires that was refused at time of service.

anyway, the both the daughter and dad sued porsche; they settled with both-- i want to say her chunk of change was something like 10M and they didn't disclose the settlement with the dad.
 
I was buying some used roller tires I was talking to the tech about used tires.

He shared a story he said he saw first hand.

A 90 something jeep Cherokee with the OEM spare which sits inside the left rear passenger compartment.

The customer came in for new tires and while there the spare exploded in the car blowing out the windows.

No one had touched the tire at the shop.

It was unknown if the owner had done anything to it.

I bought the used rollers and went home. It's been a few months and there is no signs of problems. The tires are less than 10 years old so I feel ok for their intended use.
 
I was buying some used roller tires I was talking to the tech about used tires.

He shared a story he said he saw first hand.

A 90 something jeep Cherokee with the OEM spare which sits inside the left rear passenger compartment.

The customer came in for new tires and while there the spare exploded in the car blowing out the windows.

No one had touched the tire at the shop.

It was unknown if the owner had done anything to it.

I bought the used rollers and went home. It's been a few months and there is no signs of problems. The tires are less than 10 years old so I feel ok for their intended use.
It's a fact that they are surely dangerous. No doubt. I used to work at a trucl tire shop and changed a lot of lock ring wheels. A lot. In fact, I won the southeastern championship one year using a hammer and tire irons. I had it changed in under a minute. Airing up was not required and the tires were not aired up to begin with. I can still do it........but not like THAT. LMAO
 
I was a tire buster, then later an alignment mechanic for a Goodyear dealer back in my Yute. Big place that did a lot of truck service too. We had one old timer that did all of those though as they weren't going to allow any of us kids get our face torn off by one of those exploding rings.
 
@RustyRatRod I realize you apologized, and that’s so nice of you.

Question: how do you feel today about removing post #43 so folks don’t have to read through your F bombs? We all have bad days. It really isn’t necessary to the topic to post that stuff.
 
I’m glad I joined this forum for all the advice and information that I have received. After reading this regarding tire age, I have decided to replace my 15 year old tires. I would never forgive myself if something happened to my grandkids while riding with me. It could also result in damage to my car or innocent people may get hurt. A set of tires and peace of mind is worth it to me.
 
I was a tire buster, then later an alignment mechanic for a Goodyear dealer back in my Yute. Big place that did a lot of truck service too. We had one old timer that did all of those though as they weren't going to allow any of us kids get our face torn off by one of those exploding rings.
Don't kid yourself either. It really happened sometimes. That's why I NEVER touched one if the ring had any dents or was twisted when I removed it, or the ends were "sprung" and too far apart when the ring was removed. There were some older guys there who were real idiots and aired them up WITHOUT putting them in the cage, because they were in a "hurry". I've seen one blow apart, but it was in a cage. The cage wasn't worth a chit after that.
 
The only way to " thoroughly inspect a tire" is to send it to a lab where they can use their test equipment on it and intentionally destroy the tire. then they do an "autopsy" on the various components testing the different materials and chemicals used in the tires manufacture.
Only Superman had X-ray vision.
Tires have very little "rubber" in them. Mostly petroleum derived synthetic compounds.
Want to see evidence of old tires with new tread that fail?
Watch the freeways during the summer and you will see delaminated tread all over the sides of the road.
Note : the Motor homes, boat trailers, travel trailers etc... that sit all year and get taken out for summer vacation.
Low air pressure is like running low coolant in your radiator. Heat builds up to the point of tire/engine failure.
I work both Firestone recalls. The first one was at the time when radial tires were a new concept to the American market.
Most manufacturers suffered tread separation problems and a lot of testing was being done using all types of belt and carcass materials.
The strongest being Nylon. But Nylon gets stiff when cold and would "thump" in the morning until the tires warmed up. So it got relegated to commercial tire use since comfort was secondary to strength and durability.
Polyester, rayon are the most common carcass materials. Each have their advantages.

The second recall in 2001 was more of a family/business issue. The President of Ford at that time was Jacques Nasser. When Ford was being sued for roll over deaths on their Ford Explorers, which were equipped with Firestone made tires that were spec'd by Ford for the Explorer Jacques blamed Firestone and he threw them under the bus on tv. eventually he was fires and Bill Ford jr. assumed the presidency of Ford. By the way he was Bill Ford Sr and Martha Firestone's son. Henry Ford and Harvey Firestones great grandson.
Most don't know that Ford reimbursed Firestone for the recall. and the Explorer was completely redesigned as well as the air pressure requirement was raised.
We found that checking the psi of the Explorers coming i
n for replacement tires averaged only 18 psi in their tires. People just don't check their tires air pressure.
Heat is always the enemy. Low inflation, low flexibility ( Hard rubber) generate friction= heat.
Heat causes the tires compounds to delaminate/disintegrate causing catastrophic failure/blowout of the tire.
High speeds generate high centrifugal forces on the tread/belts.
Tires were not designed to just support the weight of the car. A balloon can do that.
They are designed to provide traction and stability for your car.
Keep your old tires for rollers around the shop or for display purposes, but don't risk your self or others safety to try to stretch the time you think your tires are safe.
Body work/damage isn't cheap either.
Be safe,
Check your air pressure monthly. and replace your driving tires whenever the tread is less than 4/32 and/or over 6-7 years old. Don't gamble on a few extra dollars saved.
You and yours are hopefully worth more than that.
 
Another thing is they these newer tires have much higher max pressure than 32 psi like the 70’s.

So dont go by the tire pressure chart that says 24psi front and rear on my 1970 New Yorke. The Hankook 235/75/15 tires are 50 psi max.

so these tires at 24 will be less that half way inflated.
I run them at 44psi and that has good handling for the huge, heavy vehicle. 24 it looks low with a large bulge, 32 isn’t much better. Nd the cornering is just dangerous with 24 psi.

I worked at a tire store 40 years ago. Yes most tires that came in were low on air.
 
Never exceed the max pressure indicated on the tires sidewall.
American and European tires have different ratings and the European tires will show 44 psi as max on many passenger tires.
 
"Used to be" when a tire had the "P" in front of the size, that of course meant passenger and the obligatory PSI was 35. That's slowly changed through the years. It could be anything now, so best to read the tire.
 
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