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Took a little spin around the local airport last week to blow the dust off the '71. Put her back in the garage that night and woke up to this the next morning.
I guess it's true what they say about old tires. They probably had over 90% tread left but were 17 years old. Replaced all 4 with BFG TA radials.
From: Middle TN by way of KY, OH, VA, IL, CA, FL, NY, SC, HI
Originally Posted by Capt Bill
Took a little spin around the local airport last week to blow the dust off the '71. Put her back in the garage that night and woke up to this the next morning.
I guess it's true what they say about old tires. They probably had over 90% tread left but were 17 years old. Replaced all 4 with BFG TA radials.
Originally Posted by rfn026
And that is what Age Wear looks like.
Was sitting in the house an heard loud boise from raw garage. The rare was at 32 lb. Before
I just changed out the 22 year old Goodyear Eagle ST's on my '67 GTO last year. Looked like the original poster's tires: good tread, no cracks visible, not dried out. When I pulled the trim rings to align the car, I saw a carcass-deep, 8 inch long crack in one tire by the bead. That was enough. Had a 31x10.50/15 separate on my '83 Toyota pickup at 70mph on a 100+ degree day with a full load a couple of years back....it didn't lose air, it just lost the tread and turned into about a 40 inch tire. Caused a TON of body damage. Have never seen an old bias ply tire explode and take out a car's body, though. They just seem to blow out and let the car down on the rim. Only steel belted radials seem to separate and destroy body panels.
I guess I'll recheck my tires after I complete my engine rebuild.
I had a BFG radial T/A do that too me on the way too the SUPER CHEVY meet at 131 martin mi on a sat am. with my 71 chevelle SS454 convertible a couple years back. we limped into a local tire store and they where nice enough to change my spare out for me. sooooo I made it down the entry road into the track and the spare bulged on me! what the odds of that!? any way I entered the car in the show and looked for a tire to get home on. ended up taking a editors choice award with a bulged front tire! wow! we made it home and I bought three new tires, 2 for the front and a spare. we were very lucky!...troy
I had a BFG radial T/A do that too me on the way too the SUPER CHEVY meet at 131 martin mi on a sat am. with my 71 chevelle SS454 convertible a couple years back. we limped into a local tire store and they where nice enough to change my spare out for me. sooooo I made it down the entry road into the track and the spare bulged on me! what the odds of that!? any way I entered the car in the show and looked for a tire to get home on. ended up taking a editors choice award with a bulged front tire! wow! we made it home and I bought three new tires, 2 for the front and a spare. we were very lucky!...troy
The odds are rather high. From experience, when one tire separates, others on the car, if they are a part of the same set bought at the same time, will soon follow suit. I have seen this happen more times than I could count. You got extremely lucky....luckier than most.
I'm glad you and your car are ok as this could have been tragic if it blew out while you were driving. It always amazes me that guys will have $30-100k tied up in a classic car, yet will risk them (and their own safety) by driving on tires 15-20 years old or older rather than spend a few hundred bucks on a new set!
OK, I'll admit, I'm one of those guys that just doesn't drive 'em enough. Mostly just local area with an occasional car show. Still under 30,000 on the odo. I know old tires are bad but just figure it won't happen to me. Yes, I was very lucky it didn't blow while on the road. Guess I'd better check the dates on the other "toys" too. Too many toys and not enough time is my only defense (I'll take that). Thanks for all your support, this forum has been invaluable to me.
I am truly puzzled by people that spend a small fortune on these cars, and then ignore something as important as tires.
Most of out cars don't get a lot of miles on them, so the tires go bad because of age, not mileage.
I recently did a presentation for my NASA engineering department on tire safety. I cannot attach it, but I will email it to anyone that wants it. My email address is emccomas57@gmail.com
So, how may of you an actually tell us what the date code on your tires are at this point?
Also, having a car sit for a long period of time can cause flat spots on the tires. Sometimes these will work out after driving for a while, something not.
And I still see people trying to sell these ancient (older that 10 years) tires to unsuspecting people. That, boy and girls, is a law suit waiting to happen.
Do yourself, and everyone else a favor, destroy these old tires. Don't let them became another statistic.
Remember this...
Last edited by emccomas; Jun 13, 2017 at 09:56 AM.
Do yourself, and everyone else a favor, destroy these old tires. Don't let them became another statistic.
Remember this...
You're advocating a giant landfill problem with the millions and millions of tires you're advocating being destroyed aren't you?
Bias ply tires sound better all the time, don't they?
Why not put bias ply on your car and not worry about blowouts on rotten tires?
PS. Steel belted radials are known for having this problem, whether new or old. Documented. There are polyester cord radials (of which I own a couple of sets) that I have never heard of having this problem. Have you?
Looks to me like the tire companies should get off their butt and come up with a better idea.
Think a plug will work?
