kthom
Member
Tires begin to deteriorate as soon as they come out of the machine that puts them together. Weather cracking will show up sooner or later, regardless of wear. Storage in or out of the sun, in cold temps or hot, high or low humidity, .... all these things contribute to this problem. Having ridden motorcycles for many years, I have seen a great many tires that look new as far as tread depth is concerned, but since the machine was not frequently driven or ridden, the tires were in serious need of replacement! A weather cracked tire, driven on very hot pavement, and especially if loaded to the gills, is a recipe for instant tire failure!!
When buying tires, I always look at the mfg date on the sidewall of the tire that is mentioned above. A tire can be "new" but due to slow sales, etc, may have been stored for several years since manufacture. If you buy an old tire, it's service life is compromised even though it's never been on the ground or outside. This was especially important when buying motorcycle tires!
I tried very hard to buy tires that were less than a year old since build date, absolutely no more than two years old. FWIW, I routinely check pressure in my spare. I owned a 96 Expedition whose full sized spare was only ever on the ground one time and then for a very short trip to the store to get the flat fixed that was on the ground. That tire was stored underneath the vehicle out of the sun. Somewhere just past ten years of age, while checking pressure, I noticed a large and deep crack all around the tire where the tread met the sidewall area. When I let down the spare to further check it, I found cracks in the tread groove that looks similar to the pictures above. That tire was toast!!!! I sure wouldn't have felt comfortable driving any distance with it to get to someplace where I could get a flat fixed. Tire tip = check your spare tire as well as those on the ground. Know it's age. Forget about how much tread it has. You can tell by looking whether or not the integrity of that tire is still good. Tires are the cheapest and most important insurance you can have for your vehicles. Yeah, you can get more years out of 'em than seven, but at that age, it's just good common sense to replace them if you value your own and your family's life! Why wait till it blows out miles from nowhere and no telling with what consequences. Replacement of tires because of age is just as important as replacement because of tread depth. PLEASE don't drive them till the air is sticking out of them, and please don't drive old weather cracked tires that have lost much of their expected elasticity to to dry rot. Trust me, I have seen these two things be the cause of many bad and tragic crashes on the road! Same thing applies to belts and hoses, they also deteriorate with time. Replace them while they are still together and you'll never be parked along side the hot pavement in summertime waiting on a service truck while on vacation!!!
When buying tires, I always look at the mfg date on the sidewall of the tire that is mentioned above. A tire can be "new" but due to slow sales, etc, may have been stored for several years since manufacture. If you buy an old tire, it's service life is compromised even though it's never been on the ground or outside. This was especially important when buying motorcycle tires!
I tried very hard to buy tires that were less than a year old since build date, absolutely no more than two years old. FWIW, I routinely check pressure in my spare. I owned a 96 Expedition whose full sized spare was only ever on the ground one time and then for a very short trip to the store to get the flat fixed that was on the ground. That tire was stored underneath the vehicle out of the sun. Somewhere just past ten years of age, while checking pressure, I noticed a large and deep crack all around the tire where the tread met the sidewall area. When I let down the spare to further check it, I found cracks in the tread groove that looks similar to the pictures above. That tire was toast!!!! I sure wouldn't have felt comfortable driving any distance with it to get to someplace where I could get a flat fixed. Tire tip = check your spare tire as well as those on the ground. Know it's age. Forget about how much tread it has. You can tell by looking whether or not the integrity of that tire is still good. Tires are the cheapest and most important insurance you can have for your vehicles. Yeah, you can get more years out of 'em than seven, but at that age, it's just good common sense to replace them if you value your own and your family's life! Why wait till it blows out miles from nowhere and no telling with what consequences. Replacement of tires because of age is just as important as replacement because of tread depth. PLEASE don't drive them till the air is sticking out of them, and please don't drive old weather cracked tires that have lost much of their expected elasticity to to dry rot. Trust me, I have seen these two things be the cause of many bad and tragic crashes on the road! Same thing applies to belts and hoses, they also deteriorate with time. Replace them while they are still together and you'll never be parked along side the hot pavement in summertime waiting on a service truck while on vacation!!!
