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I was down in the shop today working on my replacement frame and wanted to get some measurements from the old frame/ control arms. I have the car on dollies and moved it maybe a foot for better positioning, got down and started popping the passenger side front center cap only to have a large boom / bang/ whatever go off... lets just say I moved real fast. Low and behold the tread on the read passenger side decided to blow off at that moment. After looking at it further, I'm guessing that one of the two plugs failed and air got in under the tread.
Backstory: Tires were new the summer of '93, I bought it Spring of '94, and drove it Summers only to '98... couple of thousand miles. Its been stored since and I'm finally getting around to rebuild her. No idea when the plugs were installed but assume '93. Its been on the dollies for a year now. I'm going to get some new tires to roll it around while I'm under it.
Brother they will do it without warning. My truck had sat in a garage in L.A. for two years before I bought it from the orig. owner. Super clean, not a dent or scratch on it to speak of and a nice era correct patina which I'd planned to keep. Played it safe and had it towed it home to Palm Springs. Ordered new tires and they came in a couple days later. Tire shop was less than two miles from my house so I decided to drive it over. A mile down the road at 35 MPH the left rear let go violently. All the damage you see on this panel was caused by that tire coming apart, tore off both of the lower body moldings, wheel opening trim, dented the fender fore and aft, bent the tail pipe even scrubbed big black marks in front of the gas cap. A real F'n mess at low speed.
My paint guy couldn't match the patina fade so I said screw it, changed the game entirely and had him paint the whole truck. All good now but them used rubbers gonna let you down every time!
Not that unusual for old tires. Be thankful you weren't driving at the time. I had much the same thing happen this summer to 35-40 year old tires that had been on a car that has been undriven since '94ish. They just lose their integrity through the rubber compound's degradation.
Last edited by barkingrats; Feb 6, 2021 at 05:08 PM.
Brother they will do it without warning. My truck had sat in a garage in L.A. for two years before I bought it from the orig. owner. Super clean, not a dent or scratch on it to speak of and a nice era correct patina which I'd planned to keep. Played it safe and had it towed it home to Palm Springs. Ordered new tires and they came in a couple days later. Tire shop was less than two miles from my house so I decided to drive it over. A mile down the road at 35 MPH the left rear let go violently. All the damage you see on this panel was caused by that tire coming apart, tore off both of the lower body moldings, wheel opening trim, dented the fender fore and aft, bent the tail pipe even scrubbed big black marks in front of the gas cap. A real F'n mess at low speed.
My paint guy couldn't match the patina fade so I said screw it, changed the game entirely and had him paint the whole truck. All good now but them used rubbers gonna let you down every time!
Same story here. My perfect 9 year old tires with NO WEAR came apart on my way home.
Looks are deceiving with tires more than 7 years old.
I never would have thought so.
93. 30 year old tires. all you have to do is roll across the driveway and they can come apart. story about a guy bought an old truck. rolled it on flatbed and off flatbed at his house. he heard 3 tires blow the first night.
Brother they will do it without warning. My truck had sat in a garage in L.A. for two years before I bought it from the orig. owner. Super clean, not a dent or scratch on it to speak of and a nice era correct patina which I'd planned to keep. Played it safe and had it towed it home to Palm Springs. Ordered new tires and they came in a couple days later. Tire shop was less than two miles from my house so I decided to drive it over. A mile down the road at 35 MPH the left rear let go violently. All the damage you see on this panel was caused by that tire coming apart, tore off both of the lower body moldings, dented the fender fore and aft, bent the tail pipe even scrubbed big black marks in front of the gas cap. A real F'n mess at low speed.
My paint guy couldn't match the patina fade so I said screw it, changed the game entirely and had him paint the whole truck. All good now but them used rubbers gonna let you down every time!
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
same blow out on my ford truck but the tread slapped the tail pipe and crimped it shut as well as making my fender look the same and pulled out the wheel well liner
I noticed just about every picture above is either of a lower quality mass market tire (BFG Radial TA/All Terrain, etc) or a no name tire I have never heard of.
FWIW I never buy ANY tire for ANY of my vehicles that is either not considered a premium Tire Brand (Michelin, for one) or more importantly, if possible, an Ultra High Performance All season tire (Cooper RS3-G1, one example) or ultra high performance summer only tire (Michelin Pilot Super Sport 4S-just put on my Lexus IS 350). A ultra high performance tire is one speed rated W (168 MPH) or Y (186 MPH), traction AA, Temperature A. Any other ratings you are gambling even when brand new and lessor tires will degrade very fast with age. An ultra high performance tire is MUCH STRONGER than a mass market tire and will retain its structural integrity over road debris, age and lack of proper tire pressures across the board better than lesser tires.
My 01 Grand Prix with 225,000 miles on it has had at least 4 sets of ultra high performance AS tires over it s life because they handle great, ride fantastic, are super strong, and simply just safer. Also have had multiple sets of Cooper RS3-A's, ultra HP AS tire on my 2008 Chrysler 300...simply great tires!
I have ultra high performance summer only tires with low miles last over 12 years and no issues covered in a garage away from ultra violet sunlight, as well. Sunlight is a tire killer
Last tip! Never inflate tires according to the PSI pressure recommended on the car door sticker which is a compromise between ride comfort and safety. I generally inflate all my tires to 40 PSI on ultra high performance tires (W/Y speed rated). Did all the tires pictured above have confirmed close to max tire pressure when those failures occurred? Just curious.
PS-I have never had one of UHP tires suffer a blowout or any type of delamination. Any tires I have ever had that had issues over the last 40 years have been low speed rated one (S/T/Q)-quality. BUY GREAT TIRES! YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! You will thank me!
Just as a heads up, Michelin, now recommends tire replacement at 7 years maximum [size=13px]regardless[/size] of mileage.
What other brand tires does Michelin make?
Michelin is a French tire manufacturer and actually owns a number of popular tire brands including Kleber, BFGoodrich, Riken, Tigar, Kormoran and Uniroyal. Today, Michelin is known for having produced “green tires” which are aimed at reducing the amount of fuel that your vehicle consumes and uses while driving.
Most car tire brands are owned by one of the bigger tire companies and Michelin owning BFG or others does NOT mean that a BFG tire branded tire is a Michelin tire with a different name..far from that reality.
Any tire manufacturer recommending tire replacement regardless of age or mileage is a general rule to protect that company from liability and is a broad parameter to cover multiple scenarios and conditions that a tire MAY experience during its time once it leaves the factory.
Would I replace a Michelin tire sitting outside in the desert sun every day for 7 years after 7 years regardless of milage? Yes, of course ( I would probably replace it early, in fact!). Would I replace that same tire after 7 years with low mileage covered under a car cover in a heated/cooled garage, spending most of it life in the dark? Absolutely NOT!
FWIW, there are facts and proven instances that ANY brand of tire can be subject to aging and even poor workmanship. Read some Michelin reviews at Tire Rack and you will see that even some NEW Michelins with only a couple of thousand miles on them have had failures. And not just a couple, either. The Michelin AT2 has proven to be "questionable" after even little age or usage. Numerous failures are involved. Saying that buying a "premium" tire voids any chance of failure is ridiculous ... even though it "might" be a better investment.
My tires were put on in 2014, they were made in 2013. According to the previous owner they only have just over 1,000 miles on them. They look great but now I am thinking 7-8 years old might be too much to gamble. I have looked at getting new Cooper tires or BF Goodrich, any difference in one better than another?
THink the cooper is better, guys just buy the bfg for the lettering. Had a set of tires go rock hard that had never seen the sun. Dry rot happens no matter how $ the tire is.
We can see these threads all day long and yet someone will insist its ok to do it cause its their car, must be special.
We sit right in front of the rear tire with just some glass separating your body from the tire. If a tire can fold up a steel body panel imagine what it can do to you.
I have found it’s not so much the age as it is the long periods of sitting that accounts for the blow outs on radials. I have yet to have a bias ply blow on me even older ones.
every tire I have had blow out has been due to the weight of the vehicle sitting stationary on the tire for long periods combine with the aging tire.
The above statement of inflation to tire spec / 40psi over car recommendation for inflation is dumb. Ever driven a corvair? How about a MBZ W123?? There is a reason they run low pressures on one end of the car. Weight on the tire effects contact patch and inflation varries the contact patch so no it is not for comfort compromise all the time. Obviously in drag racing, heavy hauling, off-roading you will alter tire PSI but Max inflation is not always the answer.
Last edited by The Grinch; Feb 7, 2021 at 04:33 PM.
FWIW, there are facts and proven instances that ANY brand of tire can be subject to aging and even poor workmanship. Read some Michelin reviews at Tire Rack and you will see that even some NEW Michelins with only a couple of thousand miles on them have had failures. And not just a couple, either. The Michelin AT2 has proven to be "questionable" after even little age or usage. Numerous failures are involved. Saying that buying a "premium" tire voids any chance of failure is ridiculous ... even though it "might" be a better investment.
Let's try this one more time:
FWIW I never buy ANY tire for ANY of my vehicles that is either not considered a premium Tire Brand (Michelin, for one) or more importantly, if possible, an Ultra High Performance All season tire (Cooper RS3-G1, one example) or ultra high performance summer only tire (Michelin Pilot Super Sport 4S-just put on my Lexus IS 350). A ultra high performance tire is one speed rated W (168 MPH) or Y (186 MPH), traction AA, Temperature A. Any other ratings you are gambling even when brand new and lessor tires will degrade very fast with age. An ultra high performance tire is MUCH STRONGER than a mass market tire and will retain its structural integrity over road debris, age and lack of proper tire pressures across the board better than lesser tires.
Please point out above ^^^^where it says by me that buying a premium tire voids any chance of failure? I ll answer for you, it DOES NOT! What it does say is "An ultra high performance tire is MUCH STRONGER than a mass market tire and will retain its structural integrity over road debris, age and lack of proper tire pressures across the board better than lesser tires"...Lets repeat that statement, less of a chance, NOT, NO chance. OMG!!!
Old Tires....
