Would you trust 13 year old tires?

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I used to run any old pos tire, back 30/40 years ago. Some lasted weeks some lasted longer. I worked as a mechanic and wages were very low,but used tires were FREE!
Well I never had a "blowout", but I had lots of very rapid tire deflations; occasionally at hi-way speed. Either end. Several of 'em. My young wife too.
We're not scared of rapid tire deflations on our DDs.Ok, she might be.
As Time went on,I made better money, and the tires on our fleet were newer, until one day, most were/are less than 3 years old.
The 295s on my Barracudas DD rims tho, are getting on in years. They haven't had traction in something like 5 or 6 years. BFG/Coopers only have a modicum of traction for the first summer, 2 at most. They still get tortured every time the car goes out. Even tho I have a brand new set :) waiting in storage :( . They are probably good for 60fts in the 17 second zone,now;lol.
 
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This has got me wondering about the tires on my car. Can anyone decipher the age of these tires? If this is even the correct date code number.

DSCN8575-Front Date Code.JPG


DSCN8607-Rear date Code.JPG
 
I just watched an episode of Chasing Classic Cars where Wayne bought a mid 50s Studebaker that he claimed was totally original including tires.
This car will only be driven when going to a show, so I guess these 60 year old tires are safe for this application.
They looked to be in really nice shape (wide whites), as the car had only 7,300 original miles. What a beauty.
Looked like it came from a time capsule.
 
The basic problem with tires is that they decay from the inside out, so they may look fine on the outside, but the inside is deteriorated.
I recently sold my 2004 Corvette Z06 that I bought new and sold with only 1,500 miles with the original tires that looked like they
just rolled off the showroom floor. So, 12 year old tires, but I did have concerns about their age. Sold car before I had to replace them,
and that would have cost around $1k or more.
 
Alan H. said:
I just watched an episode of Chasing Classic Cars where Wayne bought a mid 50s Studebaker that he claimed was totally original including tires.
This car will only be driven when going to a show, so I guess these 60 year old tires are safe for this application.
They looked to be in really nice shape (wide whites), as the car had only 7,300 original miles. What a beauty.
Looked like it came from a time capsule.
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I seriously doubt he's actually driving that car with those tires. Typically if cars like that are driven and shown they're driven with one set of tires and shown with another. Not only would it be a complete waste to total the car because of a tire blowout, but you don't want to wear out the original tires. If high end concourse cars are driven it's not uncommon for them to have a lot of extras, stuff they use to drive on the road and original or correct parts they use to show.

Most of the time cars like that are driven off the trailer and onto the grass anyway. If he is driving that car on those tires for any distance or at any real speed, well, he's gambling. Doesn't matter who he is. But he's rich, so maybe he doesn't care.
 
here in califorina . if its 6 years old or older . tire shop will not do anything but dismount it . i run 10year old tires on the rears . try to keep fresh rubb'r on the noise . just good for a driver . now show stuff , i would like to know how my insurance company sees the issue . tire costs are far less then replacement of a restored car , as well as all the other vintage rods n rides outthere . its funny that i change out front rubb'r faster than the rears , its seems the fronts all ways get issues before there wear out . just key'p da rub'r syd down my friends . burn'm if u can .
 
Got2Gnow said:
I bought my car 13 years ago. It still wears the tires the previous owner had on it. I drive mostly surface streets (very rarely on the freeway) 45-50 mph maximum. I drive it less than 1,000 miles per summer. Tires "look" OK. What would you do?
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NO NO NO
 
The big question is are you any good at bodywork? When one blows out at about 50 or 60 mph it will probably destroy your fender or quarter panel and possibly cause you to wreck. I had an old tire ( not as old as yours) blow out and destroy the whole bed on my 2001 Dodge 2500
 
72bluNblu said:
I seriously doubt he's actually driving that car with those tires. Typically if cars like that are driven and shown they're driven with one set of tires and shown with another. Not only would it be a complete waste to total the car because of a tire blowout, but you don't want to wear out the original tires. If high end concourse cars are driven it's not uncommon for them to have a lot of extras, stuff they use to drive on the road and original or correct parts they use to show.

Most of the time cars like that are driven off the trailer and onto the grass anyway. If he is driving that car on those tires for any distance or at any real speed, well, he's gambling. Doesn't matter who he is. But he's rich, so maybe he doesn't care.
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Tires use to last much longer. 5-7 now
 
One thing I learned from driving Vipers, tire age is a real concern. Older tires harden up and if you have them on a performance car like a Viper you can't make them hook in the corners and that can become pretty serious pretty quick.
 
short answer, feck no.

Some have mentioned tires rot from the inside out, but thats not the case. What breaks a tire down is exposure to air, heat, and UV.
Your tires may appear new, but the compound has degraded and they are no longer structurally sound. This means if you are lucky, they will develop a slow leak to tip you off, but most likely the failure will occur at speed, and be sudden and catastrophic as the sidewall fails. This can result in a damaged rim, damaged sheet metal, and total loss of vehicle control. So you are further tempting fate in a vehicle that isn't exactly the safest thing on the road to start with. It really doesn't matter the mileage on the tires or the looks. Over time they break down, end of story. Ever went to pull an old blue tarp off something, tarp looks fine, but once you give it a yank, it disentegrates in your hand. So yea, you are cruising around on that old blue tarp.

I'd also argue the multiple comments about tires from back in the day being made better and lasting longer. Tire technology has come a very very long way.
You can easily get a quality all-weather tire for under $90. It's not if, but when you come up short on tire roulette..
 
for tires that have only been on for a few years, but you feel they are hardened and losing grip, you can treat them with Formula V.
I have used it on my vintage racing tires to keep them fresh. It def extends the life of the tire when they are being pushed hard and heat cycled.

http://formulavtraction.com/about/
 
Bringing back a earlier topic here... Had a different aspect of aged tires show up here yesterday. While out doing other things, I noticed the left front on my 67 fish is flat as a pancake.
"HMMM That's od, a 1st for this car. Must have picked up a small nail during last little ride. A ten year old tire probably shouldn't lay that way though, ( sidewalls wadded ). I'll pump it up daily if needed until I can get to the tire store".
Nope. Rubber valve stem is broken. Air leaks out almost as fast as pumped in. Maybe bumping it last time we washed the car caused a small crack that grew larger. Who knows?
I've heard of 2 recalls of rubber valve stems. Even so, I doubt there's lot of quality control or life expectancy research related to any of them. 99% made in China? Probably.
Metal valve stems, with or without pressure monitors behind them, are just 1 more modern car advantage. Thy are designed and built to be more dependable in ways we never think about.
Anyone know where to find quality metal valve stems that work in 1967 Chrysler steel wheels?
I know to break them down and replace the stems is a bit pennywise and dollar foolish.
The never ceasing virtual vacuum takes our dollars and leaves the pennies.
 
I'm running 10 year old reproduction biasply red lines and they are much, much worse than they were even 5 years ago. Absolutely zero traction with the slightest bit of moisture on the road.

I only use them for slow town cruising. They still look much as they did when I got them but they are rock hard.

I believe that much over 5 years and you are on borrowed time.

I'm going with a modern radial next.
 
i have 4 tires that have been stored indoors or at the very least room temperature out of the sun and weather since new.They are 7 years old.
How much and how will they have deteriorated?
 
ir3333 said:
i have 4 tires that have been stored indoors or at the very least room temperature out of the sun and weather since new.They are 7 years old.
How much and how will they have deteriorated?
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The Ozone has an effect on aging tires. Myself, I won't run a tire over 5 years old.
 
Ozone..very complicated stuff...but if ozone is affecting tires they will be cracked.
Mine aren't cracked on the outside and the air inside should not have any ozone in
as it is not getting ultraviolet rays from the sun or from any electrical arcs?
 
ir3333 said:
Ozone..very complicated stuff...but if ozone is affecting tires they will be cracked.
Mine aren't cracked on the outside and the air inside should not have any ozone in
as it is not getting ultraviolet rays from the sun or from any electrical arcs?
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Doesn't anything that rotates produce an electrical charge and the faster it rotates the more charge it produces???

Treblig
 
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.
 
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I always love it when people cheap out on tires. What's your life/car worth? The one thing that keeps you on the road and stops the car...."I'll risk it..."

Smeh.
 
ToMang07 said:
I always love it when people cheap out on tires. What's your life/car worth? The one thing that keeps you on the road and stops the car...."I'll risk it..."

Smeh.
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I doubt many cheap out on tires..cosmetics are just too important to car guys but I think that that you'll find guys spending money on horsepower long before they upgrade the original drum brakes and suspension of these old relics.
 
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