[Tony_D]

Just wondering what your experience or practice is on replacing tires.

I put Coker Classic redline radials on my 1966 GTO in June of 2004. I've read somewhere that you 'should' replace tires at 9 years old, which means I should have replaced them in 2013, so I'm actually coming up on twice that age (well, in 2 years).

I've only put 5000 miles on them and they still look good. The car is garaged and covered and I can't see any dry rot cracks in the sidewalls.

By the way, I have a 1985 Monte Carlo SS with Goodyear Eagle GT's that were installed in 1991! They also look good (no dry rot cracks) but I am planning to get new tires for this car.

When do you guys replace tires if you're not wearing them out?

[OCMDGTO]

Same as you, if they still have tread and no dry rotting I'll drive it. I did have an old one once with lots of tread that had a bulge on the inside of the sidewall, so look them over good. Fronts always seem to last longer than rears for some reason.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by Tony_D

Just wondering what your experience or practice is on replacing tires.

I put Coker Classic redline radials on my 1966 GTO in June of 2004. I've read somewhere that you 'should' replace tires at 9 years old, which means I should have replaced them in 2013, so I'm actually coming up on twice that age (well, in 2 years).

I've only put 5000 miles on them and they still look good. The car is garaged and covered and I can't see any dry rot cracks in the sidewalls.

By the way, I have a 1985 Monte Carlo SS with Goodyear Eagle GT's that were installed in 1991! They also look good (no dry rot cracks) but I am planning to get new tires for this car.

When do you guys replace tires if you're not wearing them out?

That is because you "read it somewhere" and it was put out by people and companies that "sell" tires. Have you ever gone to a repair shop or a doctor's office and them say, "you don't need anything"?

Like you, I put a set of Goodyear Eagle GT's on my '88 GT back in 1991. Two weeks ago I went down the I-90 with the cruise set at 76mph and drove for 2 hours each way. No issues what so ever and I wouldn't have a problem doing it again and again until the tires wear out.

By the way, I would be interested in your Eagle GT's if you are taking them off.

[Tony_D]

Thanks, Chief. You're probably right about that (tire sales)!

Hmmm, maybe I'll put off replacing those Eagles. They only have 15K miles on them. I see they reproduce Goodrich TA radials, but not Goodyears. But I'll let you know if I change my mind.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by Tony_D

Thanks, Chief. You're probably right about that (tire sales)!

Hmmm, maybe I'll put off replacing those Eagles. They only have 15K miles on them. I see they reproduce Goodrich TA radials, but not Goodyears. But I'll let you know if I change my mind.

I think I'm kicking myself now.

[ZeGermanHam]

Personally, if the tires are older than 10 years, I'd replace them regardless of mileage. Dry rot or not, tires harden with age and your ability to brake and turn is diminished.

[242177P]

Loads of UV, and expansion joints on the highway makes for short tire lives. The difference between
Northern California and the South is really quite noticeable. Plastic interior parts are another example.
And consider the difference in body panels from places like AZ and the rust belt.

"Your mileage may vary".

[camerjeff]

I was running some BF Goodrich T/A's that were around 14 years old on my 69 Firebird, They had about 5000 miles on them. Until I had to do a sudden stop due to a kid running into the street on a section of road that was wet from lawn sprinklers. The car almost swapped ends on me. Tried the same stop a short while later on dry pavement without issues.

I was basicly rolling on rubber that had hardened to Hockey pucks. Swapped them out shortly after. Luckly no one was injured, including the Firebird. I won't run anything over 9 or 10 years old after that experiance.

[Gator67]

Tires do get hard over time, and once that happens, performance in the rain & cold deteriorates. Also, hard tires can crack when it's cold and come apart at speed...a blowout like this can do a lot of damage. I recognize that the probability of this happening is low, and some tires are more susceptible to this than others, but sill not worth the risk to me, and I live in AZ where it hasn't rained since February and 35 degrees F is cold! Also, chances are that if the tires look good after 10-15 years, there are flat spots from the car sitting. The answer is to drive a car as much as possible so that the tires wear out long before they have a chance to get hard and deteriorate!

[Sirrotica]

The problem is the rubber that causes the tread to separate from the belts/cords can't be seen as it's on the inside of the tire.

I used to not pay any attention to tire dating until I had a tread separate from the casing destroying the rocker panel and fender flare on my K3500. That tire was about 13 years old. If the tread peels off of the casing at highway speed it's like a baseball bat hitting the body, it does a ton of damage before you can get stopped.

If you don't believe that rubber exposed to the atmosphere deteriorates, try stretching a 10 year old rubber band and look at all the cracks in it when stretched out if it doesn't break when you stretch it. Looking at the rubber band doesn't show any defects, until you stress it. Most rubber bands are kept in a drawer away from UV light, not stressed, they still deteriorate.

One other thing, slicks over a year old have no where near the grip that a new tire does. They get hard the longer the solvents are allowed to evaporate. I've had older slicks that were really hard compared to a new tire of the same compound, no where near 10 years old. When the elasticity of rubber is gone it just doesn't work the same as fresher rubber does.

I'm not going to put any dates for replacement because every tire has a different formula for rubber composition. Weather and heat are different in all parts of the country. Storage, in each case is different.

There is no tire that doesn't deteriorate with age, they all do. The damage a old tire can do if the tread peels off is much greater than what a set of 4 new shoes cost. Ignoring that rubber deteriorates isn't the answer.

Not all tires fail in the same way, some have tread separation, others just fly apart. Some do body damage, some don't. Some drivers can wheel a car with a flat tire safely to the side of the road, without hitting another car, or roadside obstacle, some can't.

The question is:

[Chief of the 60's]

FRIENDS.....

ROMANS.....

COUNTRYMEN.....

SEND ME YOUR "LIKE NEW" OLD TIRES

[Dadspackard]

My experience
http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=841304

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by Dadspackard

My experience
http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=841304

Hmmm.....

Sounds like just 1 more to add to the numerous complaints on Cooper Cobras. People shouldn't blame age on defects.

https://www.vehicletire.com/Consumer...bra-Radial-G-T

https://www.ncconsumer.org/news-arti...eparation.html

https://www.rubbernews.com/article/2...elt-separation

[389]

Trouble is the rubber gets hard and when you need to make a panic stop your tires act like crayons..

[geeteeohguy]

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

The problem is the rubber that causes the tread to separate from the belts/cords can't be seen as it's on the inside of the tire.

I used to not pay any attention to tire dating until I had a tread separate from the casing destroying the rocker panel and fender flare on my K3500. That tire was about 13 years old. If the tread peels off of the casing at highway speed it's like a baseball bat hitting the body, it does a ton of damage before you can get stopped.

If you don't believe that rubber exposed to the atmosphere deteriorates, try stretching a 10 year old rubber band and look at all the cracks in it when stretched out if it doesn't break when you stretch it. Looking at the rubber band doesn't show any defects, until you stress it. Most rubber bands are kept in a drawer away from UV light, not stressed, they still deteriorate.

One other thing, slicks over a year old have no where near the grip that a new tire does. They get hard the longer the solvents are allowed to evaporate. I've had older slicks that were really hard compared to a new tire of the same compound, no where near 10 years old. When the elasticity of rubber is gone it just doesn't work the same as fresher rubber does.

I'm not going to put any dates for replacement because every tire has a different formula for rubber composition. Weather and heat are different in all parts of the country. Storage, in each case is different.

There is no tire that doesn't deteriorate with age, they all do. The damage a old tire can do if the tread peels off is much greater than what a set of 4 new shoes cost. Ignoring that rubber deteriorates isn't the answer.

Not all tires fail in the same way, some have tread separation, others just fly apart. Some do body damage, some don't. Some drivers can wheel a car with a flat tire safely to the side of the road, without hitting another car, or roadside obstacle, some can't.

The question is:

This pretty much sums it up. I ran a set of Goodyear Eagle ST's on my '67 GTO from 1992 or 1994 until 2018....and the only reason I replaced them was because I saw a crack on one tire under the trim ring when I did a wheel alignment. I went with Cooper Cobras and have no issue with them. I hate BFG's. Had a steel belted radial let go and go from a 31" tire to about a 42" tire on the back of my old pickup and it tore the hell out of the truck. Exhaust, quarter panel, etc. I had bought the tires used to save money. Didn't save money in the long run. I have had good results with old bias ply nylon belted tires, as they don't explode like the steel belted radials do. They do get hard with age, though. I have also noticed that tires today are made from inferior rubber compared to tires made 15-25 years ago. They crack and harden much sooner. I would be ok if there were NO cracks, but if the tire has serious age on it, I would always worry about it tearing up my car when it grenaded. That said, I have run 45 year old tires with no issues on an old Model T....but that's a 35 mph car and those tires were clincher bias plies. Have a friend running 70 year old tires on his T, with no issues. Tires are not cracked but are pretty hard!
On a muscle car at high speed, you need rubber you can count on.....and that means fresh tires.