Tire Age?

In reply to No Time :

We have zero inspections here in Florida. I wonder what the average age of a tire on the road is.

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I also wonder what it would be if we compare real time age, or the effective age taking into the account the accelerated aging due to heat and sun in Florida?

I can almost guarantee the tires in my father's truck (Bradenton) will age out before wearing out, but I bet they will remain on it until cracking appears or the tread finally wears out. 

In reply to No Time :

Yeah, that, too. What is the heat and sun doing to all these tires, especially those that sit a bit? 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Nothing good, that's for sure.

I know I can get over a year out of wiper blades in MA, but in FL you only get a fraction of that life, especially vehicles parked outside.

Im sure it's not as extreme with tires, but there must be some effect. 

No Time said:

I know I can get over a year out of wiper blades in MA, but in FL you only get a fraction of that life, especially vehicles parked outside.

Im sure it's not as extreme with tires, but there must be some effect. 

It would be an interesting experiment to take several brands of tire with varying compounds, get baseline readings of the new rubber (Durometer, skid resistance, chemical compound, etc), and then park them outside for a year and check them again.

I'd be willing to bet the results would be quite revealing...

My tires get 8 months, or less, use each year, and I don't put more than 6K miles on any vehicle annually. I run them to ten years and replace them with plenty of tread left. Last set I replaced the guy at the tire store asked if I minded if he took them. No problem as long as there's no disposal fee on my bill.

Back in the 70's,  80's, and 90s we never cared about date codes on tires.  We were poor and would pull tires out of dumpsters or off the side of the road or out of the junkyard.   No one cared.  There was no mention of it.  Why all of a sudden in the last 15-20 years or so have tires become so date dependant on not killing you?  I don't get it.    Tire companies making cheaper rubber?  With specific chemicals now known to cause cancer has the formula changed and we now are much less UV resistant?  Simple scare tactics by the tire manufacturers to sell more tires?  Someone sued someone and now the CYA answer from the tire manufacturers is 5 years?  

In reply to dean1484 :

XLNT questions. My popcorn will be ready in a couple minutes.

In reply to dean1484 :

A quantifiable decrease in performance as the tire ages seems like a good enough reason for me.

In reply to dean1484 :

You didn't have 50, 60, 80,000 mile tread life back then, especially with bias plies that wore quickly.  They wore out long before they aged out. IIRC some of the tires had 5,000 mile expected lifespans.

Go back to 1965 and say you only got 80,000 miles out of a set of tires and see what your reaction would be.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

In the 90s and into the 2000s I regularly got 90k+ out of a set of tires. My service van had Uniroyal Tigerpaws on it and I ran them to the wear bars. My record was just a touch over 100k on a set of tires.

dean1484 said:

Back in the 70's,  80's, and 90s we never cared about date codes on tires.  We were poor and would pull tires out of dumpsters or off the side of the road or out of the junkyard.   No one cared.  There was no mention of it.  Why all of a sudden in the last 15-20 years or so have tires become so date dependant on not killing you?  I don't get it.    Tire companies making cheaper rubber?  With specific chemicals now known to cause cancer has the formula changed and we now are much less UV resistant?  Simple scare tactics by the tire manufacturers to sell more tires?  Someone sued someone and now the CYA answer from the tire manufacturers is 5 years?  

Yes.

In the 90's I won a championship on tires I picked out of tire piles behind garages. I didn't think twice about it.

As far as I know, no tire manufacturer says how long a tire will last. Somebody probably pulled the 10 year recommendation out of their ass and it stuck.

thatsnowinnebago said:

In reply to 914Driver :

Lol I'll do my best. The local used tire purveyor is pretty close so I'll be calling them later this week to see what their stock of "round and won't kill me" looks like.

Beware if the brand name on the sidewall says "Meipahps".  

Peabody said:

dean1484 said:

Back in the 70's,  80's, and 90s we never cared about date codes on tires.  We were poor and would pull tires out of dumpsters or off the side of the road or out of the junkyard.   No one cared.  There was no mention of it.  Why all of a sudden in the last 15-20 years or so have tires become so date dependant on not killing you?  I don't get it.    Tire companies making cheaper rubber?  With specific chemicals now known to cause cancer has the formula changed and we now are much less UV resistant?  Simple scare tactics by the tire manufacturers to sell more tires?  Someone sued someone and now the CYA answer from the tire manufacturers is 5 years?  

Yes.

In the 90's I won a championship on tires I picked out of tire piles behind garages. I didn't think twice about it.

As far as I know, no tire manufacturer says how long a tire will last. Somebody probably pulled the 10 year recommendation out of their ass and it stuck.

Michelin says 10 years.

dean1484 said:

Back in the 70's,  80's, and 90s we never cared about date codes on tires.  We were poor and would pull tires out of dumpsters or off the side of the road or out of the junkyard.   No one cared.  There was no mention of it.  Why all of a sudden in the last 15-20 years or so have tires become so date dependant on not killing you?  I don't get it.    Tire companies making cheaper rubber?  With specific chemicals now known to cause cancer has the formula changed and we now are much less UV resistant?  Simple scare tactics by the tire manufacturers to sell more tires?  Someone sued someone and now the CYA answer from the tire manufacturers is 5 years?  

We didn't know better? Age is just a number?

It's also budget driven, if your buying/finding used tires because that's what you can afford, round and holding air are probably the biggest requirements. 

Michelin says 10 years.

The Michelin site also uses the phrase "as a precaution" in conjunction with the ten year statement. If I didn't keep my cars so long it wouldn't even be an issue, just trade the car before the tires hit ten years old.......

In reply to chandler :

If I recall it's a recommendation, and they say that specifically.

But now that you mention it, that's who's ass somebody likely pulled it out of, and made it internet law

dean1484 said:

Back in the 70's,  80's, and 90s we never cared about date codes on tires.  We were poor and would pull tires out of dumpsters or off the side of the road or out of the junkyard.   No one cared.  There was no mention of it.  Why all of a sudden in the last 15-20 years or so have tires become so date dependant on not killing you?  I don't get it.    Tire companies making cheaper rubber?  With specific chemicals now known to cause cancer has the formula changed and we now are much less UV resistant?  Simple scare tactics by the tire manufacturers to sell more tires?  Someone sued someone and now the CYA answer from the tire manufacturers is 5 years?  

I would bet one factor is modern tires being much more grippy than most tires were 30+ years ago.  If they start out with more grip, the drop-off with age is probably more noticeable. 

I autocrossed my mustang on a decade old set of Azenis RT215's a few years back. It was EXTREMELY challenging to keep the car pointed straight. Easy to light up the rears in 2nd.  2/10, had its moments of amusement, but wouldnt do again. 

rslifkin said:

dean1484 said:

Back in the 70's,  80's, and 90s we never cared about date codes on tires.  We were poor and would pull tires out of dumpsters or off the side of the road or out of the junkyard.   No one cared.  There was no mention of it.  Why all of a sudden in the last 15-20 years or so have tires become so date dependant on not killing you?  I don't get it.    Tire companies making cheaper rubber?  With specific chemicals now known to cause cancer has the formula changed and we now are much less UV resistant?  Simple scare tactics by the tire manufacturers to sell more tires?  Someone sued someone and now the CYA answer from the tire manufacturers is 5 years?  

I would bet one factor is modern tires being much more grippy than most tires were 30+ years ago.  If they start out with more grip, the drop-off with age is probably more noticeable. 

I suspect that with the increase in treadwear and grip over the life of the tire, chemical instability in the compound has become more of an issue. Just about every tire I've seen that's older than 15 years can compete with plastic for hardness and lack of grip.

My V8 Pontiac Firefly (Chevy Sprint) with 10 year old tires accelerated about as fast as a stock Firefly with new tires. 

Smelled a lot more like burnt rubber though.

Grip/tire performance is one thing and that is a personal choice to replace a set of tires.

I am commenting on the internet myth and legend that if a tire is over X date you will face certain failure and death.

It was just not that way up until recently.  Now if you use a set of tires that are say 5 years old you are the scourge of society as you are putting babies, kids, and my grandmother (rest her sole) at risk if you drive something that old.   

I am not saying that we should be driving on these older tires if the manufacturers are saying there is a danger.  But to date, it seems like an internet myth that must have some small bit of truth that has just taken off.

In reply to dean1484 :

I wonder if the recent proliferation of electronic vehicle traction/ stability control systems has anything to do with it. 

It would be really cool if there was an article to read about tire age, as well as maybe ask an expert on what has made it more of a concern now than in the past. 
 

Of course is should also subscribe so I could reach such an article.