Just on a tyre safety matter. Tyres age.
Tyres have a manufacturing date. Usually a 4 digits number (first 2 digits are the week, second 2 digits are the year).
If you do not check sometimes you buy new tyres that are already 2-3 years old or more.
With cars that don't get used much you could easily have a 10 years old tyre before you need to replace it for wear.
I came across a caravan (probably only used once or twice a year) with 11 years old tyres (light truck tyres) with still 90% tread and still looking really good (no cracking rubber at all).
Do you guys replace tyres after 6 tears as some people recommend even if the tread is still good?
Tyre Safety Matter - Tyres Age
Mad Max on 13/09/2016 - 17:36
Last edited 13/09/2016 - 17:48 by 1 other user
Last edited 13/09/2016 - 17:48 by 1 other user
Comments
I've only ever read the recommendation of replacing after 6 years from tyre manufacturers. Though it's obvious they have an incentive to put a time frame as short as possible to sell you tyres more often.
Up to you to decide, tyres that start to degrade will start to crack, and even with cracking I've driven many years with cracks. ( that was before I was old enough to care about tyre safety).
@Oscargamer
Exactly my argument with the guy from the caravan.
He replied that he had them looked at in a tyre place and they told him they were good.
Tyres were 11 years old (almost 12) and he never had a problem other than inflate them before using the caravan. So my 6 years rule was really blown out of the water!@Cloudy
Strange enough it seems that tyre manufacturers do not want a legal maximum age for tyres to be road worthy.
It may have to do with the fact that often tyres sit in the warehouse or tyre shop for years before being installed.
If there was a legal maximum age people would be more aware and old stock would not get sold.Its a good rule, most tyres will egg, bubble or seperate when they come of age anyway
What about spare tyres?
My spare is 10 years old and Jax said they would keep the best of my last four tyres to replace the 10 year old spare but when I eventually checked the spare, it's still the 10 year old one.
Check for cracks otherwise the spare is really just to get you so a tyre shop.
I only came across this at my last service (on a 21 year old car). I'm not sure how old the tyres are (certainly not as old as the car), but the mechanic said they were past the recommended age. The tread is still fine, as the car doesn't get used much, and I let it pass.
Easy to check how old they are.
Look on the side wall. There should be a oval shaped area with 4 digit number in it and the letters DOT in front..
If it is post year 2000 the first 2 digits are the week and second 2 digits are the year.
4408 for example is 44th week (about October) of 2008.OK, thanks. I'll have a look.
I had a set of tyres with good tread depth and they lost their grip with age, especially in the wet. Anyone else had a similar experience?
I had a short wheel base Pajaro that would do four wheel drifts around corners because the tyres were old and hard.. It was especially 'interesting' in the wet.
Drift like a boss!
Do you think it would be weird to ask the tyre manufacture date before purchasing, or do other factors (e.g sun exposure) play a more significant role in the hardening/degrading process?
No harm in asking, I always do.
I always ask to inspect the tyres I am buying (especially the date) before they install them.
I do this since once in KTAS we agreed on a brand and a final installed price. It was a good deal! They installed another brand and told me that they did not have the agreed brand in stock but the ones installed were the same price. The RRP of the installed tyres was much less, so the actual discount was minimal. Not a good deal at all.
After a lot of arguing I accepted the tyres, but with the same % discount on RRP as the agreed deal.
The alternative I gave them was that I wanted them to put back my old tyres…
Great car safety topic!
My wife borrowed her work pool car (~2006 Falcon) a little while ago. Going around a dry 90 degree corner at approx 20km/h she skidded straight on and nearly had a crash. She's always a granny driver, so I was surprised to hear this story and assumed she misjudged the corner.
She reported the incident to her work who had the car inspected by a mechanic who advised the tyres, although having plenty of tread left, were still the original tyres and were 10 years old as the car had only done 30,000 km. The car had been regularly serviced before but clearly the tyre condition/age was not thoroughly inspected.
The rubber being so old had seized up and gone hard as a rock, so it was a bit like driving on concrete wheels. She was lucky she didn't actually crash and was only doing low speeds, and also lucky she reported it. Should have had a major crash in that deathtrap car.
"Should have had a major crash in that deathtrap car."
You must have a fairly good insurance policy on her ;)
I'm a fast mountain driver who has written off two cars in the rain. I start hunting for tyre bargains at the 5 year mark.
I think it depends on how fast a driver you are and the tyres everyone else is using. Lets say all other drivers are sticking to the 5-6 year rule, they are tossing the tyres and buy the latest in new technology tyres. That means you'll be in a car with the least grip (assuming you are driving as fast as everybody else and have same driver reactions). Its smarter to upgrade your tyres inline with the other cars to be able to cope with emergency stops.
The speed limit is set for the driving speed of 80% of road users. If you're driving faster or have a worse car (eg. tyres, brakes, suspension, electronic aids) that will make your car a higher risk than the surrounding cars.
If living in a populous area I recommend the 5-6 year rule cause that's what everyone has and I need to be able to stop as quick as these modern luxury SUV's with ABS. If living in a remote area with lots of straight roads then go nuts with the age of the tyres till the side walls begin to crack and split.
"If living in a remote area with lots of straight roads then go nuts with the age of the tyres till the side walls begin to crack and split"
But in this case you would often travel at 100Km/h or more. A front tyre blowout at speed is no fun…
for the cost of a tyre vs. the cost of the tyre failing while being used, i replace tyres at the 5 year mark (on trailers)
my car tyres never make it to the 5 yr age