Tire age...again...

[patrick66]

I was out in the shop, checking tire pressures on five vehicles. Might as well check all of them, right? As I was checking the Imperial, I noticed the tires had just turned ten years old. The tires are in no way checked or cracked. By just looking at the car, you'd think they might be a couple of years old, at most. The air in all four was 30#, which is where the ride quality with the car seems to be best. Max pressure for the Hankooks is 36#, if I remember right. I really don't want to replace tires this year - I've got a wedding to help pay for and my wife and I are taking a couple of trips this year (flying, no driving). I know it's a crapshoot with modern tires anymore - some people get 20 years from a set, and others get 20 days before things go bad. I had a set of Goodyear Eagle STs on my Coronet that I had installed new. I also drove those for 17 years on that car., before switching wheels and tires in 2019.

Knowing that how a car is stored and driven, as well as the age and brand, determine a great deal on how long a tire can be expected to last. The only time my cars see sunshine is when I am driving them. As we all know, ozone generated from the exposure of rubber to the Sun is a leading cause of premature tire expiration (death!) from sidewall cracking and/or cord separation, as well as under- or over-inflation. No sunshine enters my shop unless the roll-ups are open. Plus, 235-75R15 tires are getting scarce; and what there are out there from the specialty sources, are friggin' expensive! The 14" tires for the other C-bodies are even harder to source.

I look at expense (stupid expensive for new ones!), safety (sh!# happens with any tire at any age!), and risk (you roll the dice daily in Life). I put maybe 600 miles annually on the Imperial, so these tires that are on it have somewhere between 6K - 7K miles on them.

I'm curious on what any of you would do in a similar situation? I'm quite familiar with tires and tire safety these days, so please, no lectures, no sermons, no "you're gonna kill someone!" silliness - just "what would be your choice, all else considered?"...and why?

 

[MetalManiacAZ]

I say replace them. For no other reason other than a new set is definitely cheaper than the repairs to that beautiful Imperial if one of those treads becomes a 25lb flail at 60mph. My buddy's truck needed a new bed side after an 8 year old tire cut loose on him.

 

[CBODY67]

Seems like Hankook is one of the few who put the age limit at 10yrs old. They might look good on the outside, but could be starting to dry-rot in the unseen areas, I suspect. One emergency maneuver can further separate things internally, from my experience years ago. But you DO have the option to leave the car in the building to delay the new tires happening, which can be good.

Enjoy!
CBODY67

 

[amazinblue82]

My experience only. No lectures. Just what I do and why.

On daily drivers that see interstate speeds, no matter appearance, I don't use tires over 10 years old. I have my reasons, personal and professional preferences mainly.

I have/drive cars with 40+ year old Goodyear RWL Polysteels, Eagle GTs/ST's/Wingfoots. Firestone 721's (from years they used 721's to replace the recalled 500s), Uniroyal Royal Seals, etc., on them.

Cars on jackstands in storage so no flat spots on the tires, and tires otherwise look beautiful and are ORIGINAL to the cars when they rolled out of assy plants.

Irreplaceable as date-coded originals. (the Polysteels RWL have been repopped but $$$$$) so I only drive less than 45 mph, less than 20 miles from home base. And, again I just do not trust/expect tires over a decade old to behave like newer tires.

My recommendation is what I would do/have done for 40 years under conditions similar to those you describe: Per your description of condition, maintenance, storage, I'd recommend that you do NOT replace them.

You can reasonably expect you'd be at the upper end of their average useful life and therefore able to continue to appropriately use them.

So, keep/use them with "due care" for their age and what your personal experience has been with your cars/driving style.

 

[azblackhemi]

If doing Highway driving during the heat of the day I'd replace them. Oklahoma is cooler than Phoenix but still pretty hot. For just cruising around town you should be ok. I would be very aware of any changes in ride quality and replace them if any slight vibration or bumpiness occurs.

 

[57fury440]

I agree with above. If you do highway driving, then I would change them. For around town, I think you will be okay.

 

[gyknot]

I'll be the odd man out here and say keep running them. We all know the possibility exists for them to fail, but if I have to worry about everything that could go wrong, I'd never drive my cars.
If you start finding signs of age, then of course replace.

 

[SGT FURY]

As long as you don’t see any signs of cracking I would keep them.
Then again I had to buy my own tire machine because my tire shop guy was throwing me out the door for wanting to mount up old tires.
Also my favorite part on Cold War Motors is the classic tire episodes……

 

[MAXWEDGECHAR]

I try to make 7 years the limit on anything I'm running. The trailer, the van, any of the cars. I'm the guy in the left lane running 70-80 MPH and I do not need a problem. When I put the Max back on the road in 2017 the 30 year old Pro-Tracs were traded out for new ones from Coker. The other thing is I realized that Load Range "E" tires were better for the van than Load Range "D". I got tired of tread separation on the PA 'Pike coming back from Carlisle! When my wife died I inherited her 3 Subarus. I still have them, they are family. I had the '93 Legacy in the shop and they told me it needed a battery and tires. I decided not to have them do anything. Then a month later the battery dies and a little after that I checked the tire dates. They were 12 years old! Yes, and I was running the left lane of I-295 at 85!

 

[Boydsdodge]

If you decide to change tires, the Nexxen AH5 WW are a good deal. 235/75R15 with heavy weight rating. I have driven my Imperial to Carlisle and Woodward and the tires were quiet and smooth.
I change out tires before ten years and will keep for project cars and stuff around here, then after project cars they get scrapped.

 

[War Wagon2]

Hello Boydsdodge
I have a specific question , when/where did you buy those Nexxen tires? I have been going nuts trying to find a tire with a friggen whitewall for my Gran Furies and my wife's Fifth Avenue. So far this is what I get from every local tire supplier : The Hankook H724 ...discontinued , The Cooper trendsetter SE ...discontinued , The Matrix Multimile apparently has been gone for a while! I spot the Nexxen AH5 109S which on every illustration I find on the net show a whitewall , I just talked to Canada wheel who are supposed to carry the Nexxen tire AH5 and what do I get ....Yes they have the sizes but none of the tires carry a whitewall so what the fritz is going on? Just to get some new rubber on my wife's Chrysler I ordered some Goodrides from Kal tire as apparently they are the only out fit that makes a 215/75r/15 tire ....black wall! This is all very annoying....

 

[Boydsdodge]

I had the problem with my supplier thinking the AH5 was not a white wall. I then contacted Nexxen Canada direct and the positively told me that the 235/75R15 AH5 is a narrow white wall. I have installed 8 Nexxen AH5 tires and they are all Narrow white walls. Great price as well. $600.00 installed/ ballanced on last set.

 

[marty koirtyohann]

I say replace them. For no other reason other than a new set is definitely cheaper than the repairs to that beautiful Imperial if one of those treads becomes a 25lb flail at 60mph. My buddy's truck needed a new bed side after an 8 year old tire cut loose on him.

it all depends on how much he drives it . if its like many classic cars they spend most of their life in a enclosed trailr & then r Never driven @ highways speed . now i drive mine

 

[Mr C]

Based on your report of the inspection of the tires and your financial factors, especially the inflation that is going on, I'd run them another year and keep an eye on them.

 

[Boydsdodge]

I buy new tires at 7 years max. I can still sell the take offs to someone who wants to drive them till 20 years old. Win win. Also you never know when they decide to stop selling the now good inexpensive tires you like and can get.

 

[marty koirtyohann]

Based on your report of the inspection of the tires and your financial factors, especially the inflation that is going on, I'd run them another year and keep an eye on them.

no its the yr they was made i tried tell my bosses for the company i worked for the truck we was useing had 20 y/o tires on it i told him &told him to get new tirs on it . & he said r tiers r fine drive it . they r 12 ply they wil never blow out but they did & tore up the truck the same thing can happen to yur car. if u blow frount one u may roll it or flip it . if u blow a rear u may tear up a rear quarter but the choose is yurs

 

[Mid70's Chrysler Fanatic]

From what I read, replace them, though it might not be an urgent issue given your usage. Especially since fewer choices are available nowadays. Tires can dry-rot from the inside as the oxygen in the air reacts with the rubber. Some tire shops inflate the tires with pure nitrogen to reduce this.
What is Dry Rot? | Car Care Tips | Wiygul Automotive Clinic

 

[SGT FURY]

A tire guy was telling me that vintage bias ply tires that were well kept will be Ok to use,but it’s old radial tires that do not age well?
Any truth in that?

 

[azblackhemi]

A tire guy was telling me that vintage bias ply tires that were well kept will be Ok to use,but it’s old radial tires that do not age well?
Any truth in that?

Could be true. When I had a yard full of project/parts cars I'd occasionally hear a loud pop. When I went to investigate I'd find another old steel belted radial had blown it's tread off. The Arizona heat was brutal on them however it was never an old bias ply tire that blew. I made it a point to try to have bias ply tires as rollers on as many cars as possible.

 

[3175375]

I’m dealing with the same situation regarding my RV. The tires are approaching 10 years old and have maybe 10000 miles on them. They look fantastic and are stored in a heated shop when not being driven.

I’m in the midst of a 5000+ mile trip and they will be over 10 years old later this month.
They are all Michelin steer tires and I will likely replace them, unless someone can give me good reason to sneak out another season or two.
My fear of a tread separation is what’s leaning me to replace them.