Tire aging reports

if tyre mfg.'s 'know' that 6 year old tyres are dangerous, wouldn't they be drooling to sell us new one's? show me the studies, until then, i'm from iowa.

also, wouldn't climate have something to do with it?

 

I believe so and that's probably why there is no hard and fast rule. Last year I checked the tires on my truck. It sits out in the Arizona sun and one side gets the West sun. Anyway, they looked fine until I got up close. Then I saw thousands of little bumps, like pin pricks. I took it up to Discount, but didn't make it before one tire lost air. Fortunately, I was able to limp the rest of the way without damaging the rim. I probably need to cut some plywood to cover the tires on that side to minimize sun damage.

 

i had 12 year old tyres on my '91 miata when i sold it. i drove it pretty hard, especially cornering. only 20,000 miles and the tyres were like brand new. no idea how the new owner made out with them, but every year, i would ask the mechanic, and he would say, 'it's not years or mileage, it's tread wear and sidewall condition. but what did he know, no one ever sent him the studies.

good point, my father used to have the same problem in vegas, any rubber/plastic under constant sun exposure. they had those little carport roof thingy's out there to keep the sun off.

 

I think basing it on elapsed time without consideration of environment is inappropriate.

Our cars are garaged when they're home and don't see severe solar exposure or heat in any event.

Our tires seem to age well.

 

' seem' seems to be the operative term. it would take a very thorough study, cutting tyres of every type, mileage, usage, storage and etc. to try and figure this out. that's why i'm surprised the manufacturers haven't made a big deal out of this, if they truly believe itoh boy, the article is from a law firm. it says a study will be released in 2005. and it claims manufacturers fought nhtsa on a age safety standard. what am i missing? why don't manufacturers want you to relace old tyres with shiny new expensive onesanother point from the article, 'nhtsa began to study tyre aging after the 2000 ford/firestone recall'. but it doesn't go on to say how old those tyres were. i thought they were fairly new?

 

wow, that symposium was totally devoid of any science. what a great way to run our safety boardthey did mention that tyre manufacturers don't want a lifecycle on tyres because tyres in the supply chain can already be a year old when installed on a car. again, no statistics to back up the assertion that this would cost manufacturers because consumers would want a discount based on installed age, or that this discount could be made up when the consumer had to repurchase tyres in 5 yearsone thing i do understand about the tyre business, they don't really want you to understand what you're buying, so you can't easily price shop.

 

How old is too old for a tire is a question that has no correct answer in terms of a simple number of years. There are too many variables to use a specific number of years as an absolute rule for replacement. It is quite possible for someone in Florida or Arizona who parks 24/7 outside to need to replace tires in less than six years due to the environment there. Others, even in Florida, Arizona and elsewhere, who park indoors and don’t drive much can see their tires last ten years. There is just no hard and fast rule. You have to inspect the condition of the rubber. Environmental damage will show on the outside of the tire, as opposed to interior damage from wear or abuse that cannot be seen without demounting the tire. The quality of the tire is also a factor. I have never had to replace a tire because of environmental or age deterioration, but I park my cars indoors and live in a moderate climate. I have tractors and a trailer that get light seasonal use and are stored indoors. The tires on them have lasted twenty to thirty years. They aren’t exactly the same in construction or use as car tires, but they are rubber, comparable to car tires.

 

agreed. without any scientific basis, we'll be recycling a lot of good tyres.