I have a truck that does not excede 60mph that has tires built in 1996. The tread is 99% and there are very minor cracks near the tread. The truck will never have anywhere near the rated GVW load on it. I questioned my tire guy and he said that for local driving and limited highway driving they would be OK. He stated that the fact that they are bias tube type, is a plus. Any comments other than the infamious "6 year rule"?
In my opinion they would be fine... I put 2500 miles on my model a last year with some seriously dry, weather checked tires and I never had a problem. Most Poeple say its crazy and dangerous but if your not going far or fast.... It would t bother me any.... But that's just me
The key is they're bias ply. Even better they're tube type. Run em. Make it part of your routine to visually check them every time you buy gas. Old radials are a different story!
Bias tires due to their design do not have the aging issues radials do. A radial's sidewall strenght is mostly due to the rubber bond between the cords,a bias tire's cords over lapping each other provides the strenght. When I was collecting and playing with big trucks [semi tractors/trailers] I regulary used 20-30 year old bias tires with no issues, never had more than 20K load on the trailer though. If the tires in question have nylon cords don't sweat it,old time cotton or rayon cords would rot nylon doesn't.
When I bought the 51 Chevrolet Business Coupe, it arrived with radial tires that looked to have about 50% tread left. The tires were soft and pliable. I removed them, and left then sitting in the sun, still mounted on the rims. In just a couple of months they started to crack, then delaminate, and finally EXPLODED (three out of four). I'd never seen anything like it, and glad they were't used on the car. I did plan on keeping them for spares, so much for that idea. I never looked at the manufacturers date to see how old they might have been. These were tubeless tires, and yours are a tube type tire. Tubes go flat fast, and can explode when punctured; that's the real safely concern with tube tires, it's almost an all or nothing situation. Just be sure you have a good spare on hand. Butch/56sedandelivery.
I don't think you will have a problem as long as you don't decide to take long highway trips in hot weather. As the others said, bias don't seem to deteriorate the way radials do over time. I've got a pair of radials out here the exact size I want for my 48 with 75% tread on them that bought for my wife's old 76 Caddy Seville about 13 years ago that I wouldn't trust on the freeway though. They will do as rollers until the truck is finished and then the truck gets wide whites.
The steel belts will oxidize (rust) over time in a radial tire. No steel in a bias ply tire to rust and fail If they don't have any visible physical damage I'd run them like they were new LJ
My '36 "special Construction" roadster has 31 year old bias tube type tires that have about 80% tread life left. They hold air and have not leaked in two years. The tires have gone 70 mph w/out issue. Doubt I will ever go faster until new tires are mounted.
old tires are perfectly safe to use up to the point where they explode. bought an OT car that was an insurance total and sat for a good 10 years waiting for the owner to fix it. (he never did) tires were low/flat when I got it, and 3 of them blew up sitting in the driveway while I was fiddling with other projects in the shop the day after I brought it home. if not for the fact that the car was not registered yet I could very well have been cruising around when they blew.
The brand new bias plies on my rpu project will be 6 years old before I ever get the car on the road. Every so often I move the car to alter the flat spots that might be happening. You should be fine with the kind of driving you are describing. Don
Don't matter what tire construction is sitting flat for more than a few weeks is just asking for failure.
ALL rubber ages over time, on the road, in the garage, or on the shelf. Rubber does not know what construction method was used to make the tire. It is rubber. It doesn't know anything. Some formulations age faster than others, but they all age over time.
I'm firmly convected had it not been for the Firestone Tire fiasco NHTSA would have never implemented the idea of tires being 6 years old needed replacing. I know these were radials and not bias ply. HRP
I was going to be the guy that disproved the 6 year radial trailer tire "rule". I always kept the trailer parked out of the mud, never ran them low on air or hot. I always check my trailer tires at every fuel stop. I had two of them go bad in 8 miles. Hadn't hit or run over anything. They just started separating. That convinced me. I bought 2 replacement radials to get home. Couldn't find any bias ply tires in that emergency situation. A few months later my radial spare that had zero miles on it exploded. That trailer will get bias ply tires soon. I have another trailer that has bias ply tires that are close to 30 years old. They are starting to get weather checked so I'll be replacing them soon as well. A buddy drove his 56 Crown Vic 80 mph at Charlotte Motor Speedway on 35 year old bias ply tires without any problems.
So here is a bit of an update, the said tires are Dunlop Gold Seal 78 series sport bias ply WW L78 15s. The tires have no miles, most likely less than a few hunnert, they were on a 56 Caddy Coupe Deville, and it was inside all the time, and in a museum for a few years too. the car is heavy, wonder how much effect it had on sidewalls of these 4 ply passenger tires. They look mint inside and out except for some light blemishes on the whites. My truck has new shocks, king pins in good condition, steering box small amount of play, pitman shaft tie rod assembly tight and in very good condition, outer tie rod ends have play, just waiting on parts. Current toe-in 1/8, caster and camber, unknown and have no idea if both sides the same, did not notice any uneven wear on old tires. Driving on smooth flat surface no issues, ride is quite smooth. Driving on rutted or loose gravel or uneven pavement cause some major drifting if you don't really watch it. The same issues was evident on the 56 Caddy, which was supposed to have a good tight front end. I did not drive the car, but Buddy did not like the handling with the tires. I at first thought he was so used to radials and modern cars, that he was being fussy. I am waiting to see how they handle gravel roads and pavement inconsistencies, before I make some more decisions. My research has discovered cars with suspect front ends, and/or old bias tires that have been in service a lot of miles can cause all of the negative symptoms and driving/handling issues.i have owner a few vehicles in my youth, with bias ply tires, none handled as poorly as my truck does on gravel. Yes they handled not as well as radials or modern vehicles but very good nonetheless. So will find out, and if these tires look great, but have time in service issues, will make ornaments out of them.....thanx This afternoon adjusted the steering box, just a bit, made a difference, once outer tie rod ends are replaced, will be a good and tight front end. 2 things that also add into the mix,tires have not been balanced yet, and the rear wheels track a bit wider than the front, as my 1980s Mopar 8 1/4 diff is wider than stock I suppose. 1 rear rim is also a 1/2 wider, not sure that makes a big hooey or not. Just came back from a ride, on a rutted gravel road, with loose gravel not bad if you stay under 35-40 mph, but you really got watch, on the highway not bad again but nothing like my old radials that were beat -up. On wet pavement could be interesting, I am not crazy about the feel of this over 40 mph, am I chicken or is there more going on here. I have driven other bias ply tire cars,but this feels dicey and like I could lose control. Not going to "eat crow yet", but this may be a short lived thing, but man they do look sweet on my truck..
I purchased a new Ford Fusion that was manufactured in Mexico and was transported to NY by train. I had the car a week and noticed the new Michelin tires were cracking around the aluminum rim they were replaced. The heat from the rims sitting on the train in the sun cooked them. Go figure.
I have a teardrop trailer that has been sitting for dozen years and it had bias plys on it and the trailer only weighs less than 800 pounds. The tires look ok to run,any opinions on that?
As long as the sidewall cracking doesn't appear life threatening I say keep using em until you can't use em no more.
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