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I've heard that running on old tires can be hazardous to both you and your ride. It makes sense to me and while I am using my 30+ year old Goodrich T/As for rolling my '71 project around the garage, I do plan to get new tires before she hits the road. I sold my little '88 p/u 3 years ago to get a newer & larger one and a few weeks ago I came across a wheel & tire from that truck that had been in my shed for years. It looked OK and I left it outside the shed in preparation for posting it on Craig's List as a give-away. Well, earlier this week I finally went to take some pictures of it and this is what I found:
If this can happen just sitting outside, it certainly can happen while being driven!
Tread and steel belts letting loose like this at speed sure could do some damage to fiberglass bodies!
UGLY! Sure glad it wasn't on my vette!
Definitely reinforces my decision to get NEW tires once the vette is ready for the road again after restoration.
Paul
Last edited by nwav8tor; Aug 21, 2020 at 04:32 PM.
From: Loud, Raw and Dangerous 1968 327 4S in Southern California
Amazing...just sitting there! I guess they really do rot on the inside. Mine were 18 years old when I bought the car and that was the first thing I changed. Also interesting is that the old ones had nice white letters and the new ones are a duller brown tinted color. I think Michelin lost the recipe when they bought the rights.
2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
I just had a '70s flashback.
This is what my right rear 3-year old Firestone 500 looked like back in '79.
Unfortunately mine was on the car. At around 75 mph.
Last Firestone I ever owned.....
Yeah, I remember the Firestone problems back in the late 70s/early 80s. That;s when & why I switched to BFG for my vette when it was my daily driver. Not sure what I'll go with for the same car once it's "reborn."
The old tires I use to roll the car around the garage are BFGs produced in Nov '85 from what I can determine.
The tire that burst was a BFG that I believe was manufactured in Oct '92.
I've never worn out a tire on my Vette. Over 30 years now. Yes I've replaced a fair few. Last time I sold my old ones on Ebay. Got a good buck for them too. New owner thought he had a major score! They were 8 years old!
I have never had a blow out ever until I rented a 25’ RV and after going about 1400 miles ( Chicago to Tucson) the inner dual tire exploded.
It sounded like a BOMB went off in the camper. It destroyed the plastic inner wheel tub, smashed the exhaust into a pancake, and put the mudflap in between the dually wheels.
I was stuck on the side of the road for 3 hours before the tire guy arrived.
Goodyear HT tire completely delaminated. Tire repair guy said he sees this tire do that all the time.
My brother in law had the front fender of his thunderbird turbo coupe fly over the roof after the right front tire exploded on the interstate. They were late for my wedding reception but at least they were OK, just a little shook up.
Even good-looking 10 year old tires can do the same thing.
Went out to the garage one morning in 2008 and the Corvette was leaning at the left front. Tires were about 10 years old with less than 100 miles.
Here's why: (BTW, I removed all 4 wheels, destroyed the other 3 tires so they wouldn't be sold, and bought 4 new tires.)
Went out to the garage one morning in 2008 and the Corvette was leaning at the left front. Tires were about 10 years old with less than 100 miles.
Here's why: (BTW, I removed all 4 wheels, destroyed the other 3 tires so they wouldn't be sold, and bought 4 new tires.)
Thanks!
Yeah, I just hated the thought of those other 3 brand new looking tires being sold at one of those used tires places. Imagine one of them failing on the highway while coming towards you or your family at 70 mph. Tire dates are extremely important to monitor.
From inside a shed (at less than 70*F) to sitting outside in the sun beating down on black rubber....the pressure inside the tire likely doubled!! If it only had 5psi in it and it jumped to 10psi, that probably would not have happened. Maybe it had 20 or more psi when in the shed. The rubber in the tire would also have softened significantly from that increase in heat, as well.
But, the point of this thread is that OLD RUBBER GOES BAD!!! So, it's a good visual learning lesson for the 'non-believers'. Rubber hardens and weakens with age.....
Thanks!
Yeah, I just hated the thought of those other 3 brand new looking tires being sold at one of those used tires places. Imagine one of them failing on the highway while coming towards you or your family at 70 mph. Tire dates are extremely important to monitor.
Just curious, how did you "destroy" the other three? My guess is skil saw or sawzall, or maybe you went nucular and threw em in a big trash fire?
From: Arizona - If you don’t know CFI, STOP proliferating the myths around it...
Originally Posted by sstocker31
I'm a firm believer that tire life expires after 8 years.....
Yep! However, you WILL hear old diehards on this forum swear that they can drive on VERY old tires and never had an issue. IMO, they are just playing with fire and are risking their life and everyone's lives on the road when they do that. Play it safe, buy new tires, don't be a cheap ***, it's a corvette. If you have an issue with buying tires for your vette, maybe you should sell it and buy a Prius?
Last edited by Buccaneer; Aug 23, 2020 at 05:33 PM.
Old Tire Exploded!
