I have Goodyear GT Radials ON MY 1970, have to be 20 plus years old,
with lots tread life and no air loss over the winter in the garage.

Some say the tires have to replaced and is one rerason for a harsh
ride. The VET has been garaged forever and the tires look fine.

Any thoughts??????

 

When you drive on them, they will not have the grip of a modern, fresh rubber tire.

I had the same issue and just threw them out after trying to drive on them.

 

sell em to that guy on "fast and loud" to do burnouts with.
billy

 

Just got rid of my '82 Goodyear Eagle GT tires. They were original with the car and only had 18,000 miles on them. My '82 was always garaged and saw light duty on the road. They also looked great and appeared brand new.......but upon close examination of the tires when I had it up on a lift, I saw the reverse side starting to dry rot. That coupled with a rough ride and the prospect of a future blowout made my decision to replace them immediately an easy one. Cheaper to replace all four now than to replace all four later after they do a job on your fiberglass fenders during a blowout or worse. Do yourself a favor and replace them today!

 

You all make sence, deep down I felt the same way, old is old, time to
move on the new shoes.Goodyear, Firestone etc I'll check the out.

Any sucess stories on, Goodyear, Firestone etc

 

Go for new ones, why risk a blowout

 

Old tires may not die, but they certainly can kill you.

Driving on tires that are old, hard, and dry rotted is a safety hazard.

 

Personally 10 years is the limit regardless of how they look.

 

I've seen several discussions on this matter on this and other forums. I also know the local goodyear guy very well. From what I've read and been told, the industry standard is 6 yrs. You can tell the age of the tire by reading the 4 digit code near the rim. The first two digits are the week of the year and the last two are the year, i.e., 1407 is the 14th week of 2007. However, I don't know if the tire manufacture date was required way back when.

Based on this knowledge, I would not drive on tires as old as yours.

 

I've also seen posts on this very forum where old but perfectly good tires blew up sitting still in the garage.

 

And, just imagine if a judge, or perhaps your daughter or son, happened to be closely inspecting or polishing something nearby when it decided to go. IMHO, this is something where the originality thing can be taken beyond reason. In any event, tires old enough to have no date codes aged out long ago. Silicone based "protectants" hasten the process.

 

I have seen posts just like this on multiple forums. Dangerous. Our tires are 10 years old and I'm sweating a little while saving up to buy new ones. We're not driving it, but just having it in the garage makes me nervous.

Adam

 

Goodyear TA radials..255/60/15

 

glad you decided to replace them as all the guy's here are dead on about old tires.i hit a patch of packed snow with my 10 year old radial ta's and went for a sleigh ride.they began to separate in the between the treads and it was only a matter of time before disaster.i run year round and put Michelin ltx m/s tires in the original 225 70 r 15 size and love the ride and comfort.not everyone will agree with my choice though.best of luck on your choice.

 

I have a Geo Storm that had Firestone Firehawks (same as my Vette). This car has a Lotus suspension and always handled like it was on rails.
Last year the handling suddenly became deadly and I almost ended up under a semi after hitting a slight uneven ridge on a highway. I racked my brains trying to figure out what was wrong. Checked every bushing, all control arms, sway bars and even installed new struts. Hit any uneven or bumpy section of road and the car would dart off in a random direction. I'm the only owner/driver since new and never hit anything.
Pushed the car from side to side and noticed quite a bit of movement in the sidewalls.
Hmmm...could it be the tires?
They only had 10,000 miles on them and looked like brand new...thinking back I had bought the optional factory alloy wheels that used the wider low profile tires and decided to dig up my receipt which showed they were 13 years old. Time flies!
I had another set of Yokohamas on original wheels which have 3,000 miles on them and had been stored in bags (they're about 17 years old). I put them on and took a ride...holy crap what a difference! Drives like new.

Ordered new Dunlop Direzzas and everything is perfect. Somehow the sidewall strength disappeared. Still hard to believe tires that looked so good turned so deadly.
I had Tirerack send the new Tires to NTB and the kid installing them looked like he won the jackpot when he found out I didn't want the old tires back. I made it crystal clear to the manager how bad they were and they better not end up on another car.

I think 10 years is my limit on car tires and 5 years on my motorcycles. Not sure what to think on my 17 year old Yokos as they've been bagged and kept inside out of sunlight.

Loved the Firehawks on my '75 but I don't think they make them anymore. Seems the selection of 15" performance tires gets worse every year.
I bet in 10 more years it'll be a choice of Cokers or updating to larger wheels.

 

It's not the only thing in play, but UV exposure is certainly a big factor, as regards tire rot. Reason I mentioned silicone "protectants" earlier is that they apparently promote rather than guard against breakdown of the tire's anti-UV properties over the long haul. FWIW, Lance Armstrong once had several years worth of dedicated TDF racing tires stashed away in some guy's cellar over in Europe, but I'd doubt they were all that many years old when he put them to use.

 

Shark Racer Two of the 16 year old T/A's on my '70 did "blow out" sitting in the garage. I thought the first one was a fluke, but when the second went kaboom, I went shopping for new tires...old tires are bad news.

 

At worst KILL YOU! at best fail on the highway and rip out a fender, either way its cheapest to replace if over 5-7 years old.

 

My tires looked perfectly fine. They were 15 yrs old+. This blow out happened at 60 mph on the highway. Luckily the tire didnt come apart and destroy my fender. Old tires can kill you!

 

I am glad I saw this thread. I fired off an email to the P.O. of my car and asked him how long the tires had been on the car. He traded it to a dealer and the dealer I purchased it from did not know.

Turns out they are at least 13 years old! The tires are Goodyear Eagle GTs and look to be in good condition.

Time to buy some new tires.

Any tire recommendations ???