how old is too old for tires?

I am looking at a set of AT tires to go on my Jeep. They are manufactured 11th week of 03 and were used for 2 months. Motor blew, vehicle sold, tires have been in storage since. They are 30x9.5 Pathfinders if it makes a difference.

Are these going to be just too old to try and use? How long is a set of tires good for? I have never had tires for more than 3 years.

In the UK and a few other countries it is illegal to mount a tire over 6 years old onto a wheel. They have to be removed from service after 8 I believe.

Here in the US we have no such laws and most tire monkeys dont even know how to read a date code. Expect reduced traction compared to when new. Other than that who knows.

Well..

I ran a set of 1960's vintage Firestone Super-Sport bias-ply tires on my '58 Pontiac for about 6 months without incident.

I'd say if they're not dry-rotted, square or cracked they'd be fine.

YMMV

Shawn

I had a tire place not want to mount a spare for my car because it was made in 2003. What a joke, they also wanted to sell me an h rated 130$ tire for my spare so to hell with them.

former520 wrote: How long is a set of tires good for?

With the way my wife scrapes up my Sport Track's Toyo AT's sidewalls while parallel parking, probably 6 months total. Maybe you don't have this problem.

I had the original spare mounted on the back of my Jeep (built in September '98) as recently as this spring. I had to change my front tires because of bad wear and couldn't find the same type, so I had to replace them all. Kept one of the good rear ones to mount as a spare, so that's only a couple years old. I don't keep a tire cover on it, so it's exposed to the sun. I would guess that would take some time off its life.

No one magical answer. There is not a date at which tires fall apart.

The plies are protected by the tires rubber. When that cracks, checks, rips, etc, the plies are exposed, and then they degrade. Steel rusts, nylon rots, etc. Traction wise, rubber hardens, so they don't hold the pavement as well.

Myself, I'd probably use those tires if I got them cheaply and they were a tire type I liked. But then I've been known to run tires far longer than many people. Heck, one of my bikes is on tires that are probably 52 years old.

rubber also degrades due to sunlight, ozone, and general venting of hydrocarbons over time. As this happens, they get hard, brittle, and will eventually crack. LONG before that, they will probably lose as much as half their mechanical traction.

Who has a link to the classic motorsports article where they tested a NOS set of 1975 Michelin tires against the modern equivalent?

Phrases like "unpredictable and violent oversteer", "Terrifying", "Loud", "Immediate brake lockup" are the ones that stick in my mind.

As long as it holds air it'll be fine on a jeep. It's not like AT tires have a bunch of mechanical grip on paved surfaces anyway.

plance1 wrote:

former520 wrote: How long is a set of tires good for?

With the way my wife scrapes up my Sport Track's Toyo AT's sidewalls while parallel parking, probably 6 months total. Maybe you don't have this problem.

Seems teaching her how to parallel park would be a good investment

I've ran tires that where about 15 years old before, however they did not have dry rot or cracking. The tires on my Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser were all around 12 years old and they have been slowly blowing out 1 at a time at innapropriate moments, I'm talking total tire failure type stuff. I've since replaced 3 of them and will be replacing the 4th before I use the car again. I only use the car to go to Menards/Lowe's/Home Depot right now so a trip for it is 5 miles at 25-30mph so I haven't been worried but before it leaves Appleton it will get a new tire..

Daniel

I look it at this way: What is the worst thing that could happen by running questionable tires? Blowout? Kill an innocent bystander? Feh.

We ran the Karmann Ghia for 1 autocross with the Jc Penney bias-plys that it sat in the barn with. The tires held air and weren't dry-rotted.

nocones wrote:

plance1 wrote:

former520 wrote: How long is a set of tires good for?

With the way my wife scrapes up my Sport Track's Toyo AT's sidewalls while parallel parking, probably 6 months total. Maybe you don't have this problem.

Seems teaching her how to parallel park would be a good investment

I tried. Too many tears (hers), training didn't take. I tried teaching her how to drive a manual, again, too many tears (this time hers and mine). Poor clutch.

Buy her a new Ford. Problem solved.

honestly, I would not trust a tyre older than 3 or 4 years... no matter how good it might look

The tires currently on my just completed resto 70 Opel GT have about 2000 miles on them but I put them on the car around 1994. When I first got the car back on the road this summer the tires were very slippery and squealed a lot. After scrubbing them in a bit (putting some miles on them) they don't squeal or slide unless pushed a bit. I consider them OK for around town but won't push them on a spirited drive. They will be replaced in about a month but I'll be keeping one for a spare. A friend wants the remaining 3 to use as spare/shop tires. Would be great for that use.

I am definitely not going to tell you guys (and gal) that the Michelin XZXs on my 64 Spitfire are 18 yo with probably less than 2,000 miles on them.

The original tires on my Liberty are now 7 yrs. old. They are due for replacemen due to wear. Otherwise they are working just fine. One thing, it was always under cover when not being driven.

Five to six years is considered the safe limit. I know we've all run them longer but that's the point where you go from "it's not gonna happen" to "well I think I'm ok" If you've ever had a catastrophic blow out at speed you WILL pay not to repear the experience.

I have always managed to wear out my tyres before they get old.

the one exception was a set of semi new tyres I left stacked outside mounted on their rims while I rebuilt one of my fiat spiders. They sat there for about 6 or 9 months... got the car all primered and painted and looking good.. threw the rims on.. and a week later, in the ran.. slide the car sideways into a guardrail that I had gone by hundreds of times in a smaller tyres Hyundai Excel with no issues.. it had been literally like driving on ice.

Your profile doesn't say where you are from but colder climates have very bad effects upon stored tires, and you also didn't say if they were kept dry and clean.

Those items make a big difference, but the general guide is 6 years anyway.

skruffy wrote: As long as it holds air it'll be fine on a jeep. It's not like AT tires have a bunch of mechanical grip on paved surfaces anyway.

and its not like Jeep brakes really stop the vehicle well anyhow.....

(former Cherokee owner who ended up in the middle of more than one intersection trying to stop for yellow lights, lol..)

mad_machine wrote: honestly, I would not trust a tyre older than 3 or 4 years... no matter how good it might look

I wouldn't trust a tire spelled with a "y"

You need to get out more, all tyres are spelled with a "Y" if you speak English.