I know this post is going to generate allot of negative responses regarding Coker tires. I just replaced 25 year old coker tires on my 1967 due to all the latest articles regarding internal cracking due to age. For the record I am not sticking up for coker or any other brand,but only stating the facts. After dismounting the tires I had the shop check them out with the equipment they use to stretch and plug tires with. They said the tires looked brand new inside and out. No visible cracks even when stretched with the tire equip. Granted my car has never seen rain or bad weather and always in a garage and the tires had only approx. 1000 miles on them. The professional opinion from the tire shop was that they looked fine. I have read all the negative remarks on the forum regarding coker quality. I don't know if I got luckly and got a good set or that they were produced 25 years ago that they appear perfectly fine.I say the word appear cautously.Was quality good a while back. You can't prove it by me one way or the other with my experience.The good news is I replaced them with Diamond back radials and the ride and handling difference is incredible.Again please don't hang the messenger as I am not saying coker tires are good!!,but only describing the findings. So are news articles regarding tire change due to age being driven by major tire manufactures???

 

I've had both Coker and Diamondback tires and have nothing but positive experiences with both. I've seen negative things said about Coker, but from my personal experiences and those of folks I know, I've not heard anything negative. It can happen with any product and company.

As you said, I can only report my experiences.

 

No. But also, the problem with old tires really isn't about old rubber 'cracking'. If there is cracking along the sidewall where the tread is adhered to the tire may indicate the there may be a problem. But no crack does not indicate that there is not a problem.

The problem with old tires is with the process that is used to adhere the rubber tread to the steel components of the tire. Over time, this adhesion breaks down, and it's possible that conditions can lead to tread separation.

If this adhesion has broken down the two major factors that can facilitate tread separation are heat and speed. Heat, causing the rubber sidewalls to 'soften' a bit, and speed, leading to greater forces being exerted pulling the tread away.

So, you can have old tires with no cracks, that look and feel brand new. But under the wrong situation - boom!

 

Hi v61,
I've wondered about the issue of driving on 'old' tires too.
I have a set of Kelly Springfield G60-15 tires that were on my 71 for about 20k miles from 1972 until 1995. They too look very good inside and out and the tire guy I showed them to concurred. But the talk about old tires makes me too unsure to drive on them.
The huge rwl SUPER CHARGER G60 couldn't look more early 70s! Here they are turned backwards (the way I ran them) in about 1985. Great wide-oval shoulders on them.
Regards,
Alan

 

I had a set of Goodyear Eagle GT 255/60/15's on my 78 from 1983 to about 2001 and they also looked great (no cracks in the sidewall or tread) BUT I did notice a tendency for them to lock up easily in about 1999-2001 and finally concluded that the rubber had become VERY hard with age leading to the loss of adhesion to the road. I use 10-12 years now as my benchmark as to when to change tires on my older cars. I had the same issue with my 1994 Mustang GT convertible with the original Goodyear Eagle Gatorbacks (245/45/17's) and they too became VERY hard with age. Replaced those in 2008 (20,000 miles on them with plenty of tread)-I will not go that long anymore. hope that helps!

 

So it turns out that when I was a teenager doing burnouts I was actually keeping my family safe by wearing out the tires before they became old and dangerous.

 

Exactly!!!

 

How many times was your family arrested?? you said they were old and dangerous....