Bf Goodrich bad tires

[robertmark]

I put new tires on my 89 Speedster in July of 2013. The car has been driven 250 miles since. The car is in a heated and air conditioned garage. As you can see the tires are cracking terribly. Has anyone experienced this with Goodrich tires? I want to go with a different manufacturer, but I’m having trouble finding the size I have on my car. I put on slightly larger tires to fill out the rear wheel wells a little better.

[lochrie2]

Whats the DOT date? Tires are only good for about 6 years driven on or not

[jac1976]

Most tires are going to do that.

And you have now opened yourself up to a barrage of “why have you only driven it 250 miles in 6 years?” Then the follow up question of “why even replace the tires?”

[bpu699]

I had 18 year old tires on a collector car, driven 5000 miles over that period. Looked like new...

Those tires were likely under inflated, got hard, then got driven...

[robertmark]

I thought the 250 miles might take me behind the tool shed. Ask some other 89 Speedster guys, and I’ll bet they’ve driven even fewer miles. I have a few cars to drive. I’ve had many cars with tires over the six year mark, and they never degraded this badly.

[jac1976]

Agree with the above.

[robertmark]

Originally Posted by bpu699

I had 18 year old tires on a collector car, driven 5000 miles over that period. Looked like new...

Those tires were likely under inflated, got hard, then got driven...

Thanks for the input. Going into winter I typically add 5-10 pounds over suggested pressure. I also roll the car a foot back and forth every few weeks to avoid flat spotting. Could I have caused it by my over inflating, then deflating going into spring?

[porsche930dude]

Iv seen that alot with bfg's and some coopers. My brothers coworker had a set on his 69 firebird only been on his car during the restoration cracked to hell in 3 years or so. And another guy with a 69 nova went to war for 4 years and come back and they were toast. Although my dad has a 58 impala he had bfg radial ta on it for almost 20 years and they didnt crack. Doesnt seem to have much correlation with uv exposure

[RWebb]

throw them away - pull date is now

6 yrs for tires as per post above

[robertmark]

All four look this bad. Car only sat in sun a handful of times over six years. So uv shouldn’t be the issue. I even used tire gloss, which I would have thought kept the rubber softer. In any event these are history. I just hate to go Goodrich and experience this again.

[patkeefe]

I think the cracking in the photo is not totally out of left field, as rubber tends to get cosmetic cracks during long periods of inactivity.

[porsche930dude]

Originally Posted by robertmark

All four look this bad. Car only sat in sun a handful of times over six years. So uv shouldn’t be the issue. I even used tire gloss, which I would have thought kept the rubber softer. In any event these are history. I just hate to go Goodrich and experience this again.

Silicone based tire shine is actually bad for the tires

[eastbay]

I'd try BFG customer service and see if they will do anything. As others have said, I have had 8, 10, 15 and 20 year old tires that looked new and ran like new.

The 6 year deal is lawyer BS from the Ford Exploder fiasco.

[RWebb]

WRONG. Please do not post BS about something that could kill people.

The rubber in tires will continue to cross-link via disulphide bonding whether it is exposed to oxygen, sunlight or what have you.*

“Deleterious changes occur in tire properties after storage at ambient temperatures for five years or after use on cars for similar periods.” T. Kataoka, P. B. Zettterlund and B. Yamada, Rubber Chem. Technol. 76, 507 (2003).
- cited in The Pneumatic Tire, DOT HS 810 561, Feb. 2006, Chapter 2

EVO magazine found that the winner of one of its tire tests performed worse than the last-place tire when a one-year-old example of the winning tire was mounted up and tested against the rest.*

Tires Expire in Six Years - Tire Safety Group

[Arne2]

Originally Posted by eastbay

The 6 year deal is lawyer BS from the Ford Exploder fiasco.

The Exploder fiasco brought us mandatory tire pressure monitoring, not the 6 year expiration. Tire companies have had that recommendation far longer ago than that. I worked in tire sales and service from '76-98. That was a guideline that I recall at least from the early 80's, and probably in the '70s as well.

[darrin]

Originally Posted by robertmark

I’m having trouble finding the size I have on my car. I put on slightly larger tires to fill out the rear wheel wells a little better.

What size are you looking for? going with a taller tire will adversely effect straight line performance.

[walt]

Long shot but do you do any welding in your garage. Certain types of arc welding emit ozone which can effect rubber life.

[RedCoupe]

It is curious, though, why some tires at the six year mark look fine and others show the cracking that the OP has shown us. For example, my 86 Carrera has Continental tires that date from 2013. They look as new, even under a close examination. But, I'm going to replace them this fall anyway because they're six years old, and the car occasionally gets driven fast. However, a family member has a cool Jayco motor home that has Michelin tires that date within a couple of weeks of my Continentals. Both the Porsche and the motor home are stored out of the sun and have been in the same climate for the life of the tires. Yet, the Michelins on the motor home have severe cracking on all sidewalls. Even on the inside tires of the dual rear wheels. Is it a difference in tire compound? I have no idea. But, I'll probably avoid Michelins (or BFG as they are made by Michelin) when I get the next set for the 86. And, I'll work harder to try to wear out the new tires before they "age out". 😄

[robertmark]

Wanting 255/50 16 on rear, and 225/50 16 on fronts. Car came with 225’s on rear I believe. However I don’t feel it fills in the wide body rear wells enough. No, I don’t have any welding equipment of any kind in the garage. All three other cars, with different tires on them are fine. I’m
Guessing I just got a bad set.

[Trackrash]

Planned Obsolescence, pure and simple.

It's how the tire manufactures solved their dilemma of the tread lasting 80K miles, but still needing to sell new tires.

Tire manufactures could make a side wall that lasts. Take a look at old truck, tractor or trailer tires.