Tyrod
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Ain't buying it! What about the outside!
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Tires
- Thread starter Cyrano
- Start date
Ain't buying it! What about the outside!
ChattanoogaPhil
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The nitrogen makes the car lighter so the tires last a lot longer. Duh!
New tires are on the to do list for my 98 Corvette. It still has the OEM tires. No cracks or dry rot, but I suspect they have hardened and have reduced traction. They are also run flats, which need to go.
bigwheelzip
Absent Comrade
I ain't sellin it, just passing on one of the "claimed" benefits. Maybe having only one side of something oxidize is better than having both sides oxidize, maybe.
In any case, the last several new cars I've gotten, came from the dealer with Nitrogen filled tires (green air valves), so maybe someone can make a user comparison.
wingriderz
Member
Running tire auto centers for 35 plus years. I don't think you have a real issue. Most new cars dont come with premium tires from factory.If you drive 10 / 12 k per year for 5 years more than likely you have changed them. Yes dry rot and flat spots can happen if not driven much . Also climate heat has big factor.
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We just had a discussion with an older gent at our Eagle's Club regarding the tires on his 2010 Explorer which were original. His mechanic told him to replace the tires because of age when he did the annual PA Vehicle safety inspection. The Explorer was built in May of 2009 and the tires are original. Only 38K miles on the vehicle. I definitely agreed with his mechanic, seven years is too old for highway tires.
wingriderz
Member
Back in 2005 when my shop owner bought into the Nitrogen fill machine. I was a bit leary. I have always and my staff had a reputation to up hold as honesty trustworthy. So we went threw the training . Keep in mind we breath alot of nitrogen in our bodies with room air. I made a deal with owner. I had bought my new GoldWing motorcycle a month before (2006 model) Been on bikes since 1975. For me since 1975 I check and fill motorcycle tires weekley. Filled with nitrogen
I found with my own test .That with nitrogen I could go a lil over a month with out haveing to adjust psi. With plain air psi would need added about every other week. So it did hold a bit better
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New idea!!!! Fill them with helium, the car will float over the road and have little to no wear.
Seriously, tires definitely have an expiration date. Many of us "older" folks drive a lot fewer miles than we used to. It's great to be able to keep a car in good condition for years but we have to look at tire replacement to keep the car safe to drive. Sure it hurts to replace tires with a lot of tread left but they are old and could be unsafe. Better safe than sorry!
I remember one car I kept so long that the seats started to disintegrate. I was on my third set of tires and a couple of transmission repairs. It finally died a horrible death and had to be replaced.
I only drove my 1987 Porsche 911 5-6 hundred miles a year on average. After 7 years tire tread still looked new but replaced them. Don't need a blowout on those on-ramp sprints.
30-30remchester
Member
When in the construction business many of our trucks had large flotation front tires that cost in excess of $1200 each. These trucks had low highway miles every year, usually under 1000 miles. Our insurance would not cover any accident in which we had tires that were more than 5 years old. After 5 years some of the tires looked brand new but I had to replace them to meet insurance requirements.
Ben_hutcherson
Member
About a year ago, I put a new set of tires on my MG. I'd owned the car for less than a year at the time. I have no idea how old the tires were, but per the date code they were made before the year 2000.
The old tires were probably at 70% tread. When I had them replaced, another customer at the tire shop looked at them and asked why I was changing them as they looked perfectly fine. Truth be told, they had little external dry rot on them, but I still felt unsafe driving on them. Although I don't make a habit of driving in the rain, any time it would rain I'd slip and slide even driving in a straight line(and the old ones were decently expensive all season tires when new).
The tire shop I deal with is great. The size I needed isn't in high demand so inventory turnover is low. The manager let me hand-pick the newest tires out of their warehouse, and I ended up with a set that was about 6 months old when mounted. He did that because he knew that I wouldn't wear out the tread on them.
Old tires are a serious issue in the MG community, and I'd guess it's probably the same within a lot of classic car circles. When we had the big show in Louisville this summer, I fielded no less than a half dozen flat tire calls(I'm one of three people in the country listed in the mutual aide directory). Granted I all I did was either direct them to shops that knew how to balance RoStyles or properly treat wire wheels, but still it's telling to me how many flats I directly heard about on the way to the show.
And, as another anecdote, a while back I put out a request to buy a RoStyle wheel to use as a spare in my car. Someone told me he had one that he'd give me and would even bring it to me if I could wait a month since he'd be in town and would bring it to me. When he brought me the wheel, it had a tire mounted on it that started shedding rubber when I picked it up. I know the guy fairly well, but he just about made me swear on my mother's life that I wouldn't drive on that tire and I halfway expected him to make me sign a waiver
. I bought a $20 used tire to put on it...
The old tires were probably at 70% tread. When I had them replaced, another customer at the tire shop looked at them and asked why I was changing them as they looked perfectly fine. Truth be told, they had little external dry rot on them, but I still felt unsafe driving on them. Although I don't make a habit of driving in the rain, any time it would rain I'd slip and slide even driving in a straight line(and the old ones were decently expensive all season tires when new).
The tire shop I deal with is great. The size I needed isn't in high demand so inventory turnover is low. The manager let me hand-pick the newest tires out of their warehouse, and I ended up with a set that was about 6 months old when mounted. He did that because he knew that I wouldn't wear out the tread on them.
Old tires are a serious issue in the MG community, and I'd guess it's probably the same within a lot of classic car circles. When we had the big show in Louisville this summer, I fielded no less than a half dozen flat tire calls(I'm one of three people in the country listed in the mutual aide directory). Granted I all I did was either direct them to shops that knew how to balance RoStyles or properly treat wire wheels, but still it's telling to me how many flats I directly heard about on the way to the show.
And, as another anecdote, a while back I put out a request to buy a RoStyle wheel to use as a spare in my car. Someone told me he had one that he'd give me and would even bring it to me if I could wait a month since he'd be in town and would bring it to me. When he brought me the wheel, it had a tire mounted on it that started shedding rubber when I picked it up. I know the guy fairly well, but he just about made me swear on my mother's life that I wouldn't drive on that tire and I halfway expected him to make me sign a waiver
. I bought a $20 used tire to put on it...
Yeah,
It may reduce oxidation on the inside. But the outside gets the UV, ozone, oil from the road and all that. 78% of the atmosphere is N2. Best to keep the tires out of the sun and put some Armor All on them periodically.
I've never had tires dry rot. If you let them sit outside a long time, like on our boat trailer, yes.
It may reduce oxidation on the inside. But the outside gets the UV, ozone, oil from the road and all that. 78% of the atmosphere is N2. Best to keep the tires out of the sun and put some Armor All on them periodically.
I've never had tires dry rot. If you let them sit outside a long time, like on our boat trailer, yes.
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kwselke
Member
phantomcycle
Member
I had the whole tread come off my left rear outside tire once at 70 mph and the screwy thing about it was it still holding air I drove another 20 miles home before it blew and that was a good thing because I didn't have a way to change the tire out until I got home anyways
Sent from my SM-S975L using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-S975L using Tapatalk
If you have 19 year old rubber on that 'Vette, yes, it's time to buy new tires.
My 2013 VW Golf R wears Michelin Pilot Super Sports in the summer...highly recommended!
Disabled1
US Veteran
Something else that happens to tires when they dry rot is they start making road noise while driving. It almost sounds like there are ATV tires on the vehicle. 
Jack Flash
SWCA Member
Two suggestions:
Keep the car out of the sun. I park mine in the garage when not at work or shopping etc. Not only is this better for the tires, it benefits the paint, upholstery, etc.
Get an accurate tire pressure gauge and check the pressure regularly. I check mine at least once a week. Two benefits from this - you catch any leaks right away and you can tweak the pressure with a bicycle pump if each tire only needs a slight adjustment.
One of my wife's friends came over to visit while I was out in the garage doing whatever. She had parked right in front of the garage, so I thought I would check the pressures. (She is notorious for neglecting her car.) One front tire was 40 psi, the other was 20. The two rears were also way off. I let them cool off as much as possible (it was evening in cool weather) and then set them to the manufacturer's specs. I would wager that if you inspect the tires in any random parking lot, you will find that the tire pressures are all over the map from what they should be.
Keep the car out of the sun. I park mine in the garage when not at work or shopping etc. Not only is this better for the tires, it benefits the paint, upholstery, etc.
Get an accurate tire pressure gauge and check the pressure regularly. I check mine at least once a week. Two benefits from this - you catch any leaks right away and you can tweak the pressure with a bicycle pump if each tire only needs a slight adjustment.
One of my wife's friends came over to visit while I was out in the garage doing whatever. She had parked right in front of the garage, so I thought I would check the pressures. (She is notorious for neglecting her car.) One front tire was 40 psi, the other was 20. The two rears were also way off. I let them cool off as much as possible (it was evening in cool weather) and then set them to the manufacturer's specs. I would wager that if you inspect the tires in any random parking lot, you will find that the tire pressures are all over the map from what they should be.
Bozz10mm
US Veteran
I had these tires on my Expedition for only 5 years. It doesn't get driven much, so they had only around 5K miles on them. I discovered the cracks when I got home after driving 90 miles at 80 and 85 mph on a Texas toll road. Discount Tire did give me a very good adjustment on a new set based on the remaining tread. "Dry rot" the guy said. I've had tires on another vehicle last 10 years, but it was garage kept.
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yanici
US Veteran
Thanks to this thread. My 2000 Ford Ranger's tires are a mix of 10 to 12 years old. Tomorrow the truck gets new shoes. The tread is still good on the old ones but after reading here I decided to bite the bullet. Thanks, guys.
Bozz10mm
US Veteran
Just wanted to add that before we traded in the wife's 17 year old Honda CRV, the original spare still looked brand new. The last time I bought new tires for it, the salesman recommended strongly that the spare be replaced too, due to it's age. I didn't believe him then, but I now believe he was right.
I still have the OEM spare on the 2003 Expedition. It's probably useless by now.
I still have the OEM spare on the 2003 Expedition. It's probably useless by now.
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