Allmotor
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Location: Lane County, Oregon
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posted on 8-9-2008 at 18:20
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The age of your tires matters! 'New' info
Many know this, many don't. The age of your tires matters very much! With exposure to ozone, radiation, etc tires can break down and this damage
may not be visible to the naked eye. Here is what happened:
A good friend/co-worker buys a new camp trailer. It is a hardly used 13 year old model that still wears the factory tire rubber which appears to be
in perfect condition. Tire pressure is good. On the way back to Oregon from Washington a tire explodes. A chunk of the tire goes partway through
the floor of the trailer. OK. Pull over, change the tire, back on the road with the spare. Approx 20 minutes later a second trailer tire blows.
This time the force of the explosion breaks the leveling jack free form the camper. The jack strikes another car on the freeway (this is on I-5) and
further damages the trailer. Les Schwabb is phoned and the trailer gets 4 brand new tires right on the side of the freeway. This was just a month
ago or so.
Different manufacturers have different recommendations, but if your tires are older than around 8 years old you shold seriously consider replacing
them. Exposure to sunlight (radiation) breaks the rubber down at a chemical level. More exposure, more potential unseen damage. But wait you say.
You keep your tires in the garage. Well, electrical equipment (freezers, fridges, etc) release ozone which does the same thing.
I know a lot of folks have older rigs, older tires and they will say they drive them all the time and never had a problem. OK- well what about the
first time you do?
If you drive at high speeds the problem can be much worse. If your department vehicle is slow to accumalate mileage, this could be a liability.
Something to think about.
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Allmotor
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Location: Lane County, Oregon
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posted on 3-3-2009 at 17:16
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There is a code on the sidewall indicating the build date of the tire. I forget where I found out how to read it, seems like it is a 4 digit number,
two for the year and the next two for the week # of the year. Or something similar.
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sean
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posted on 22-3-2009 at 15:40
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yeap you are right...first two number is for the week it is produced and the other two is for the year..thus if it is 0209 mean it is week 2 yearp
2009..
normally have been told 2-3 years is the life span on the car not more than 5 years in storage but must be vertical storage which never is. Thus I
stay away from tires anymore than 2 years old.
And check that all four or at least the two on each axle is the same type and time just to be extra safe.
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sean
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posted on 22-3-2009 at 15:42
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esp in hot weather as ozone and heat kills the rubber...and any hits to the sidewall is always possible sidewall fracture too......as is under
inflation too
punture repair not done early or right can also allow water to seap into the tyre lining causing the casing to fail
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Allmotor
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posted on 29-3-2009 at 15:29
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Electrical equipment (freezers, fridges, etc) also release ozone so if they are stored near them (like in most peoples garages) it can also contribute
to tire degradation (sp).
This is one reason I will never buy a tire expected to last 80,000 miles. I want it to wear out within 5 years.
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sean
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posted on 5-4-2009 at 06:00
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wow...80000miles..wat tires are those...mustbe hard as a rock.....
normally tires should run for aroudn 3 years and they are pretty hard after getting cured or heat affected after many years and thus would lose grip
and are pretty noisy too
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sean
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posted on 5-4-2009 at 06:01
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might be interesting to have a report on what tyres ppl like and why..to hv a comparison as wel as get a discussion going in here as it has been
pretty quiet lately
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Allmotor
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Location: Lane County, Oregon
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posted on 5-4-2009 at 21:17
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Les Schwabb sells a tire rated/warranted for 80k. I can not imagine it lasting that long. My last set of new tires (Goodyear Wingfoot HP) I put on
the Taurus went about 40k.
Our Lincoln ('95 Towncar) will need tires later this summer. As yet undecided on it.
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sean
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posted on 6-4-2009 at 15:10
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wow, i do really wonder wat kind of conditions they may apply to get u to attain 80k on the tires...
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Allmotor
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Location: Lane County, Oregon
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posted on 7-4-2009 at 15:10
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I am sure the composition is rather stiff. I can not imagine any tire with real grip lasting anywhere near there, even if driven grandmotherly. If I
remember right tread depth is towards the deep end for a passenger tire also, but not excessively so.
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Allmotor
Super Administrator
Posts: 126
Registered: 21-2-2007
Location: Lane County, Oregon
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posted on 4-2-2010 at 04:23
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I thought about doing a new thread, but I will add to this one. My lovely wife waas searching stuff and found this link to a 20/20 broadcast about
tire age. It is about 9 minutes long and I found it good information. This was done in 2008 so it is relatively recent.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/aged-tires-driving-hazard-4826897
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