Young people today are clueless about the great depression, but my Dad delivered groceries when he was 12 during the depression on his bicycle. He couldn't afford tires so he would cut an old garden hose , run a wire through it held on the rim by twisting wire ends with pliers. He said when he delivered beer we would have to wait while people chugged it down so they weren't charged a bottle deposit. [emoji3]
Seems to me like maybe the quality of rubber has gone down too in recent years, like everything else.
It doesn't really matter whether you live in a mild climate or garage keep your car. Old radials are definitely dangerous. I had the BFG radials on my 1970 Challenger mounted in the late 1990's. They still had great tread and looked good, but two months ago I decided to replace them simply because they're old. I warmed the car up and was on my way to the tire shop when the left rear just went flat on me. A fissure opened up between the treads around the cir***ference of the tire. The tire was so old that it just let go. That car is garage kept 99.5% of the time. It's always been kept clean since I bought her as a kid back in 1985. If I had been on the freeway when that tire let go like that, i'd likely have wound up with at least some scratches in her pretty paint...or worse. If your rubber is older than 10 years, you should look at replacing them...unless your machine just sits in the garage like a museum piece.
I don't know that I agree with this. Many of the cars I bought back in the 1980's had Mayblow tires on them from the 1970's. There have been incredible advancements in the science of elastomers in the 20 years....but when you get right down to it, rubber is rubber and it just doesn't age well.
I knew a guy bought about 50 NOS Bandag recap semi tires. They where radials. And on hot day's when loaded the recap would let loose and flap around and beat the bejabbers out of his truck. Tore off mudflaps & quarter fenders. Beat the exhaust stacks pretty good also. But he was determined and would just mount another thinking it would be good.
I replaced the tires on my old beater this year, they looked perfect and the car stays inside if I'm not driving it but a conversation on the hamb got me to thinking and I had really not thought to much about the age of my tires, they were high performance Michelin tires and didn't show any wear. I got to thinking about it and realized I had never changed them, those tires were 30 years old and I was going on the Deuce Run in a couple of days, I pushed my luck way to long but I feel a lot more confident with new tires. HRP
Well sure, there's been incredible advancements in the science of everything in the last 20 years. That doesn't necessarily mean manufacturers don't cheapen their products to keep costs down. Heck, a "pound" of coffee is now 11.3478 ounces now, if the grocery store is any guide. Bahstids. Rubber is weird stuff, antique or vintage items are usually fossilized, though not always. Military or war stockage if stored correctly is usually in pretty good shape. Leather is sort of similar, have an old sling - I mean old and it's supple and strong. Storage conditions matter, but I think they are shorting the plasticizers or waxes in tires or whatever the stuff is that adds to the longetivity. I see this with even simple items like carburetor vacuum plugs. They are imported now, naturally. Have seen them fail in weeks or months, when they used to last for years.
If the car is outside all the time i do 5 yr changes if stored in side i do 7 yrs but i keep an eye on them.
Bot new tires for my low-mileage OT 1981 motorcycle recently. Read some tire brochures while I waited for mounting and balancing. It seems that mc tires have a "liquid" in the rubber matrix that BY DESIGN migrates to the surface when the tire is flexed by use and is meant to preserve the tire. If the tire is unused, and especially unused while exposed to sunlight, for too long, the rubber "liquid" will not migrate and the rubber surface will "dry out" and check and crack and be deemed unsafe. Use it or lose it!
I noticed my Coker bias-ply Firestones are showing some cracking after about 4 years and maybe 5k miles. I run fairly slow on the HI-Way but keeping my eye on these guys.
plus, can not just rely on outside visible condition - had interior belts on radial tire separate - had a t******* sound - pulled off road, no visible problem - called for flatbed tow - driver wanted truck rolled forward a little - would not budge - bottom of tire was flat but, sidewall looked fine - raise truck up and tire looked like one on a store display rack where you can not see bottom of tire
If your driving on radials after ten years I don't care how old you are your gambling more than average with You and everyone around you's life...Age does not necessarily dictate cluelessness...I think we're talking Hotrods/Customs and we shouldn't be running deathtrap tires period...everyone should check their state and or provincial laws regarding Radial Tire life expectancy it obviously varies and check their tires. I choose not to live in a bubble...so I hope not to meet those that use the visual tire condition gauge method on their radials and unfortunately that ain't going away...but if this thread saves a life or a families life it was worth it...
I’ve only had one tire fail from age, and that was on a motorhome. Just checked for pressure, not 50 miles on the freeway. Whole tread came off. But I’ve had 3 sets of tires get slick from age. All OT cars and radials, all stored inside in the Seattle area. Cars just started moving around way to early in the corners. New tires, even direct replacements, problem went away. I don’t think most of our rods ever do full on cornering or braking on a regular basis, and I’d rather not wait for an emergency to find out the traction’s gone.
It alarms me just a wee tad when I hear it still holds air as some kind of a gauge of roadworthness if its a radial and its ten years old it's a roller holding air or not...get it off the road...
When I was a teen If my tires where round and black & holding Air I considered them good tires. Eventually I bought some new recaps and was really tickled. If you had a good solid casing you could leave it at the country store and a truck would come by and pick them up and a few weeks later bring them back with new recaps. cost about $10 to get a retread.
Times have changed from those days...now we have the disintegrating radial era and when they s****e the bodies up off the ground it will be to late for the holding air and it looked good stories.
I used to think all the concern over old tires was bunk. Then I bought a Wells Cargo trailer to haul my Mysterion clone around. The trailer is a 1998 vintage and had a spare tire bolted to the wall. Tire was obviously brand new and had never been outside the trailer. I was happy I got that gem 'for free'. I took the wheel out of the trailer so I could paint the trailer walls. I set the tire in the Bakersfield sun (first daylight it probably had ever seen!). Got up the next morning and found the tire like this. Believe the recommended life cast in the side of the tire. You CANNOT tell the condition by looking at it.
Here another thing to consider all. When you purchase tires make sure your getting new tires by DOT date because the six years starts from that date...So if a tires been sitting around for a couple of years new its still got 2 years on it and it leaves you 4...get it ask for new stock... its your right...
I remember buying a new OT car for a DD in '85, 40K later in '92 the tread was still good, but the tire shredded off. I play the 5 year rule myself or keep them around for project/rollers.
I know on my car hauler I can only get about 3 maybe 4 years at the most! Then again they sit a lot and it's always overloaded. Plus, you can't find a USA made tire anymore and they're made of inferior plastic-like material. There's nothing I hate worse than changing a flat along side the Interstate at 100*. Once I get one flat, I always buy a new set.
In the movie The Fastest Indian. Burt Munro filled the weather cracks in his tires with paste wax to get his motorcycle thru tech at Bonniville.
Must have been Avons…. Those ****ers 'back in the day' would weather-check like crazy inside of two years, and that was here in Washington!
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