At what point do tires get too old? Is there a way to tell how old they are? I'm wondering if I should change them even though there is plenty of thread left.

 

If they are 5 or 6 years, I would replace them.

 

Any of the following.

Not more than 5 years.
40,000 miles.
Wear bars showing
Uneven wear.
Cracks in sidewalls.
If you cannot get out of your garage without smoking the tires in reverse.

Jim

 

I think it depends how your drive... and how much you drive...

For my vette I think I'd limit the age to 5 or 6 years...

For my daily driver (which sees tons of miles) I limit it to whatever the warranty is (50,000 miles or so)...

My Dad's oldsmobile has tires that are older then I am, and they're still kicking (I'm 20 yrs old).

 

with Mikey. If you are not hard on your car... if it is just a weekendcommuter car that doesn't see spirited driving, I don't see why your existing tires are not sufficient... BUT

I will caution that harder rubber will suffer from traction issues. Therefore braking and hard accelleration will see some rubber scrub. That also transition into wet conditions too... your shoes become skies and conditions become increasingly dangerous. Food for thought

 

mikey, quantum, Jim is actually more correct. Not sure exactly why (I have a theory on profitability of tire companies... ) but about 10 years ago, tire making "evolved". Whereas we used to have old cars that'd been sitting or tires off the cars that were 20 years old and still in useable condtion, around the early 90s things changed. Tires started to "wear out" even before they were "worn out". Sounds like a contradiction and it could be blamed on acid rain, ozone, etc. But the fact remains, tires are deemed not safe after X number of years, no matter how gently they've been driven, if at all. And no matter how many or few miles they have on them.

Is this an absolute dictum? No, but it's pretty much the case. (some tires, kept in a controlled environment, or away from heat, lights and ozone-producing sources can be ok for a lot longer than 5 years) And you will be taking your life in your hand not at drag strip speeds, but at normal around town and highway driving. There's a reason why DOT required mfrs. to print the coded build date on tires. This is one of the reasons.

Just remember this: once upon a time you could tell by "looking at" belts and hoses when they were going or getting ready to need replacement. No more. If one is falling apart (a belt) or explodes (a hose) you know it's gone. But there are others that should be replaced and you just can't see it or feel it or tell in any way as you look at it on the car (as in the old, squeeze the hose technique). And then, they let go. Usually not in your garage.

 

Especially since I've seen catastrophic failures on serveral cars my friends own last year. On one the 6 year old original tires looked great, plenty of tread, driving down the highway the left front tire just disintegrated. I agree with the 5 year rule that some automakers like Ford and BMW support. For the price of a set of tires amortized over 5 years, its not worth the risk to personal safety or my vehicle trying to wring out a couple of extra years on old tires.

 

I have a 90 vert with only 14,000 orig miles which still had the original factory tires on it. I struggled with this question as well, but came to the decision to get new tires. The new tires are more quiet and the ride seems smoother. Not to mention the peace of mind knowing there is new rubber down there, was well worth the cost. Get new tires.

 

Some very valid points there.
My father totaled his 78 because he was on 10 year old tires. And he drives very slow!!!! He was going a round a 45-50 mile an hour turn at 60 and the right rear let go...

 

There was a report on the news the other night that asked that same question. "How old is to old". And they said a tire should be replaced after 6 years reguardless of how much tread is left.

I still have my original tires, still on the wheels of my 1993 ZR-1 with 15,000 miles on them. However they are sitting in my shed. There are no cracks or any idication of a problem, you would not know by looking at them that they are 12 years old. But I don't think I would ever put them back on the car.

 

yes there is a way to tell how old they are, there is a date code on the sidewall almost looks as if its branded there, if you get it , ill let you know when they were made.

 

What J. Nichols is a valid sumation, as to a specific time I guess some were around 5 yrs. unless as said, you are auto x or really pushin on it.
Here is other side of build dates, when I put the 285's on mine the first 2 sets sent from bfg/michellin direct to discount had a a build date of 02. I refused to believe it so I called them and they confirmed the exact shipment and told me that they send the oldest first (some sizes dont sell as fast) and that because they are evoirmentally controlled there is no problem. I had a problem w/this and IMO is not a new tire, refused 3 sets till I got some 04 dates.

 

M, which "discount" are you talking about? discounttiredirect.com? or some other store/inet retailer? that is disturbing news. thanks.

 

Interesting article on tire age and safety:

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosins...A01-188098.htm

 

They now say 6 years old you need to replace your tires, cause of dry rot. At dealership's across the country tell you this when you bring in your for service.

 

The #1 enemy of any tire (other than your right foot) is UV radiation from the sun and Ozone. When you start to see cracks in the sidewall it's time to replace them. A good tire will not crack for many years, the outer sidewall is made from a form of synthetic rubber named EPDM which is resistant to UV and Ozone. Normally the tread will wear to the bars before they crack, especially if you keep the car in a garage.

Tires will harden over time due to oxidation. If you want reduce the hardening (oxidation) fill them with 100% nitrogen. I've been watching my Michelins over the last 2 years with a Durometer and they have hardened very little. I don't use nitrogen in them (only in the race car).

So my 2 cents is, under most circumstances, replace them when the tread wears to the bars. It does vary tire to tire....you get what you pay for.

 

That also applies to any "rubber" in the car, belts, hoses, seals.

 

Discount Tires, an outlet, I would guess their web site reflects the chain oulets, mine in particular was in Clinton Twp.,Mi. I do need to mention that they too agreed w/my point of veiw and went out of their way to make it right (manager is a car guy and immediately was on the phone). The only beef I had was the time it took (with all the turn arounds ended up being about 3 weeks), which cut into the season. Tires are BFG/KDWs.

 

Thanks mseven for the info. Sounds like a good manager even if it took quite awhile to get it right.

On another note, Atok, it does seem as if you have a good recomm. However, in some cases where someone doesn't drive the car much, the 6 year replacement recommendation will come up much sooner than the wear bars will be seen. But as you say, it varies from tire to tire.

 

Thanks for all the info guys. The tires are sumitomo's and they do look good. Not a scuff on the sidewalls and plenty of thread. The only number I could find on the sidewalls was pc593 in small print. Is this the manufacture date?
The whole reason his came up is that I had the car on the track and it held pretty well, but the tires didn't seem consistant. Sometimes they held and sometimes they let go. This probably should answer my question, but I thought I'd wait to see what you folks thought.