The Danger of Old Tires

[RWebb]

from a test in Classic Motorsports, March 2009 p. 87-89

the old Michelins were bagged and stored carefully in a cool dry area - besides the risk of explosive failure, note the overall poor performance, lousy braking, and "snap oversteer" as the (low) limit is reached.

of course, the Michelins were quite old, but this should be a suitable caution for anyone thinking of being concours correct on any tire over 5 years old.

and.... this is not really an "oxygen got to the rubber" issue -- the rubber itself continues to self-vulcanize over time.

check the date code on your tires if you do not KNOW their age.

[schamp]

Tire store last week told my Mom her 12 year old brand new Michelin tire which was the spare wasn't any good. Never been on the ground. Tried to sell her 5 new ones. Said the steel belts rust. He did want the tire though. Ended up putting the best of the used as a spare and 4 new ones. I have the new old spare. I feel sure the tire store would have sold it for 100.00 or more. Tire came with the E320 Mercedes in 97.

[Brotok]

Nothing is more dangerous than old tires - they are deceptive.

Worn tires are safe, old aren't.

For example, I bought wheels off of a good friend with tires on the wheels. He said that the tires were in good shape so I took his word for it. A little while after I put the wheels/tires on my car I wiped out on an onramp and pretty much destroyed my car - I wasn't even cornering hard.

Feel tires with your fingers, if they feel plasticky, they can kill you.

[Techne]

Do one autocross session on old tires and you will find out how dangerous they are. My 1st time on a course in a new-to-me 914 with 8 year old tires had me spinning in circles! It was a blast for a first timer - I couldn't stop giggling. But, the lesson was learned and I got new ones for the street right away. I had no idea since "the tread was still good."

[rgrimm]

"best of the used as a spare"

Done that...but I wouldn't stray too far from home, nor would I run very fast if I ever had to use it.

BTW, I did blow out an 8-year-old tire once...might have run over something, but it was there one minute and shredding the next. As far as I'm concerned, once they're over six years old, the tire store can have 'em.

[Augustus]

Thanks for bringing this up RWebb. I've been hunting for an old set of Michelins.....not any more...

[KTL]

Let me preface by saying i'm not endorsing use of old tires by any means. But we also must keep in mind that a 1975 tire is going to have much less technology in it compared to a 2008 tire. Tires have come a long way since the 70's and the rubber compounds are much more advanced. So even your basic 2008 street tire is going to outperform a quality Michelin of that vintage. Regardless, anybody who drives on a 33 yr. old tire deserves crappy handling and a blowout.........

[alniki]

Drove my 3.2 for 180 miles, with speed up to 120 mph on highway, back to home right after purchasing it two years ago. The tires were 4 Michelin's made in 1995 with visible cracking lines on the side walls.

All went fine but I'd not do that again next time!

[Walter_Middie]

A friend of mine bought a car last year. He was killed on the way home with it. The accident happened on a straight stretch of road with no witnesses.

[jsveb]

I have my original Fuchs (15) from my 1976 Carrera 3.0. I think the tires are stamped 81. Gave me a good excuse to get some 8 and 9 original Fuchs

The old tires were absolutely crap. Extreme under steer and front wheel lock-up.

Jesper

[midlife]

I bought a set of Kuhmo tires from an on-line tire warehouse less than a year ago. A week ago one of the tires started to de-laminate. The local tire shop pointed out that the tire was actually made in 2000.

[skipdup]

So, how does one find the date? Seems I used to know???

[Won]

Originally Posted by skipdup

So, how does one find the date? Seems I used to know???

http://www.tuninglinx.com/html/car-tire-date-code.html

[Cooper911SC]

Here's a VERY interesting Tire Saftey Video... 20/20 segment from July 2008 about 10 Min. long

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897&affil=wfaa

Cooper

[RWebb]

we need a pull date for tires - AND it needs to be enforced legally.

[Cooper911SC]

I agree! I checked out all of the Mfg. dates on the cars my family owns after watching the 20/20 clip.

[jurhip]

What a coincidence. I just got new tires today and yes I checked the build date - all in 2008, the rear pair was actually built the second to last week in January 2008. I found that amazing.
Anything over 1 year old from the tire dealer and I would request newer ones. Some people even say 3-6 months old.

BTW - I just got 951 fuchs w/ yoko s.drives (205/225) on my 3.2. Its raining now, but I like the combination better than my 18" 225/255 goodyear f1 gs-d3. Overall grip seems a tiny bit lower, but the car is much more lively (fun) and throttle control is back (even more fun). And it's WAAAAAY smoother. Now I just need to lower it a bit - kinda ralleyesque right now.

[alniki]

Repaired tires are as dangerous for high speed. A friend totaled his BMW 7 on the way from LA to Las Vegas due to a tire that was pretty new but once punctured and repaired.

[Rrrockhound]

Somewhere I read about a guy who went to great lengths to locate the original tires for his Lamborghini Miura SV. He finally found them, bought them back, and re-installed them on his car. Granted, they were probably a hard-to-find size, but who needs 40 year old tires on a 380 hp car?

[jurhip]

Originally Posted by Rrrockhound

Somewhere I read about a guy who went to great lengths to locate the original tires for his Lamborghini Miura SV. He finally found them, bought them back, and re-installed them on his car. Granted, they were probably a hard-to-find size, but who needs 40 year old tires on a 380 hp car?

because it makes it feel like it has 480bhp...

And for the record, I wish I had the problem of find original tires for my Muira. Then I would get all the ladies with my sexy OEM rubber.