[Cammer-6]

Sons truck has had 2 fall apart in 2 wks
both front tires on a Ranger
This one happened yesterday
Any ideas why they decided to go at the same time,
and what caused it?
I asked if hes run them low on air and he said he checks them weekly

[Dr. Drivability]

Get the DOT number off the sidewall and decode it, it will tell you the manuf. date. Probably old and dry rotted or they were run low at one time and that started the separation process. If they are newer, I'd take'm back to where I bought them ask some questions. Have the alignment checked as well, an out of aligned vehicle can still track straight but wreak havoc on tires. Looks like it maybe heat related???

[Cammer-6]

they show no signs of dry rot
I did check the date and they were 5 yrs old
I have much older tires still in service on cars that arent daily driver without any problems

[77 TRASHCAN]

The tire manufacture date is on one side of the tire only. The numbers are against the rim, run parallel w/ rim edge.
When you look at numbers in this area, the date code is usually in the last group of numbers, sometimes there will be 2 or 3 small groups of numbers, but every tire co. does it a little different.

Example 3207 this tire would be made the 32nd week of 2007

If the date code is only 3 digits, it means the tire was made before first week of 2000,
327 would be 32nd week of 1997, TOO OLD....

Companies that recap tires will generally not cap tires over 4 years old, because the body of the tire would probably fail before the tread wore out.

The failed tire looks old in picture...

This age issue applies to car tires also. It's a rule of thumb that car tires over 5 years old are not very safe, regardless of what they look like...beware

[Deadhead]

Many tires sold as new are recaps. Major manufacturers do this. I had a brand that will remain nameless (one of top 3 names) completely separate on me not long after purchased. Jeep Cherokee not carrying load or anything. Hot day spontaneous failure. When I finally got it changed, I could see the whitewall underneath where it had been recapped.

The major retailer where purchased tried to charge me for a (another) new tire until I said that I wanted the old tire and was going to take it to my Attys office b/c I had almost been killed by the failure and it was clearly not the tire it was represented to be. They sent me on my way for free and kept the tire. I had detailed Pics etc.

Caveat Emptor.

I know a guy who built tires for a living for 13 years. The only tire he will buy is Michelin. Proprietary process no other manuf. can match the rate of 'true' tires they produce.

[stimpy]

Originally Posted by Deadhead

Many tires sold as new are recaps. Major manufacturers do this. I had a brand that will remain nameless (one of top 3 names) completely separate on me not long after purchased. Jeep Cherokee not carrying load or anything. Hot day spontaneous failure. When I finally got it changed, I could see the whitewall underneath where it had been recapped.

The major retailer where purchased tried to charge me for a (another) new tire until I said that I wanted the old tire and was going to take it to my Attys office b/c I had almost been killed by the failure and it was clearly not the tire it was represented to be. They sent me on my way for free and kept the tire. I had detailed Pics etc.

Caveat Emptor.

I know a guy who built tires for a living for 13 years. The only tire he will buy is Michelin. Proprietary process no other manuf. can match the rate of 'true' tires they produce.

recaps are not Illegal but selling a recapped tire must be disclosed by the manufactuer as being recapped not new , also a white wall tire has a layer of white rubber under it with a thin outer wrap of black on top on the sidewalls and the tread portion is often made then applied to the tire on cheaper brands not molded like the majors ( like a recap ) . , I often saw tires where the outer tread cap has pulled from the tire from driving the tire with too low a air pressure on the tire (towing or loading the vehicle and not bringing the tire up to max pressure ) and the tire was riding on the sidewalls thus cutting it apart or overheating it . or from people curbing there vehicle.

[Deadhead]

Originally Posted by stimpy

recaps are not Illegal but selling a recapped tire must be disclosed by the manufactuer as being recapped not new , also a white wall tire has a layer of white rubber under it with a thin outer wrap of black on top on the sidewalls and the tread portion is often made then applied to the tire on cheaper brands not molded like the majors ( like a recap ) . , I often saw tires where the outer tread cap has pulled from the tire from driving the tire with too low a air pressure on the tire (towing or loading the vehicle and not bringing the tire up to max pressure ) and the tire was riding on the sidewalls thus cutting it apart or overheating it . or from people curbing there vehicle.

Sold as new tires - no disclosure. RWL tire wall over a white stripe underneath. Top brand not cheap tire. Not Michelin though. Really could not see any evidence until tire was shredded. I guess when K-Mart is in your corporate family tree...

Excellent info on dating, wear etc. You guys rock.

[Lightfoot]

Originally Posted by 77 TRASHCAN

The failed tire looks old in picture...

......... It's a rule of thumb that car tires over 5 years old are not very safe, regardless of what they look like...beware

How can you tell???? Just because it came apart? It doesn't look any different than an average tire to me.
The only way to tell if a tire is aged, outside of the D.O.T. code, is the presenence of weather checking on the sidewall or in the grooves of the tread.

That 'rule of thumb' was 6 years, last I heard. Not that I let consumer group scare tactics influence when I replace my tires.
Bjorn's comment is accurate: It mostly depends on the quality of the tire manufacturing process.

Last year all four of the Douglas tires on my sisters '98 Taurus suffered age related failure. She had replaced two of them before I was present to advise her. Then, upon a weekend visit, I discovered that she had been driving around with broken belts in both front tires, one of them severely enough to have a bald patch with steel cords showing. These were the two remaining tires of the original set that was on the wagon when she aquired it the previous year.
When I checked the date codes (AFTER FAILURE), I found that the tires, if memory serves, were about 6-8 years old. They were severely age cracked in the tread grooves, especially on the shoulder.
This car was a former salesman's car with low miles and apparently sat for lengthy periods in the later stages of it's life.
The tires had 80-90 percent tread when she started driving the car, and were aprox 40-50 percent when they went to chit.
She had put about 24K on the last two tires that failed, in about a year's time. According to the receits for the first two replacement tires, I calculated the failed tires lasted 12K-15K from when she took over the car.
I'll never put a Douglas tire on one of my cars.

Anyhow I've had a pair of Michelins on my '90 LeSabre that are at least six years old (on the car when I purchased it in 2005) and still holding their own.
I've used a number of hand-me-down tires on the car and have had only minor broken belt issues in a few of them. Usually when the said tire was nearly worn out anyway.
I make a habit of visually inspecting each tire for problems a couple times a week.

[stimpy]

what air pressure was he running, those low pros have to be run at a high pressure ( around 55 pounds ) otherwise the side walls fail , also do not use tireshine on the sidewalls as it traps heat and causes sidwall failure and uneven heating to the tire as one side has the material on it the inside don't , the tire is supposed to be dull this is how a tire removes the heat from flexing , and alot of manufactuers will not warentee a tire that has been coated with this material . another thing too look at the max imum rate of weight on the tire sidewall , I have seen alot of tires on vehicles that where being exceeded . Low pros have a low weight rating and if he loaded the bed of the truck it could damage the belts by exceeding the weight rating for a few miles . ( IE car tires belong on cars ,trucks ( even rangers ) need Lt's )

[Cammer-6]

highly unlikely that the tire was overloaded since its a 4 cyl man trans.
has about 50 # of junk in bed thats all.
Spec tire was a 195 75 14 what do you think the load rating is of that?
You wont find anyone inflate these to 55psi
tire shine? its lucky to get washed
Im going to guess that 50% of the tires in use today are at least as old as this.

[stimpy]

Originally Posted by Cammer-6

highly unlikely that the tire was overloaded since its a 4 cyl man trans.
has about 50 # of junk in bed thats all.
Spec tire was a 195 75 14 what do you think the load rating is of that?
You wont find anyone inflate these to 55psi
tire shine? its lucky to get washed
Im going to guess that 50% of the tires in use today are at least as old as this.

from the photo it looks like a low pro , you should have listed the size , and some tires of that size take up to 45 psi ( michelins do for that size, I have same size on kids sunbird )

load rating of 12-1300 per tire average ( cheeted looked in the tire books here at shop )

looks like it but it must be the water ,

50%?? hell more than that had a set of sear sno tires come in today they had to be over 40 years old on a newer car .. ( People in Chicago are cheap !) . and whats even more strange its a continental which is a premium tire . and both did it . that peeled like a gator on a semi from the looks( belt failure from impact look around the outside of the sidewall to see if you find any marks ( narrow or triangular line ) , could of hit a board or piece of angle iron in the street and not known it from the tire blowing out ) , I would contact conti to see if they had any problems , they are pretty good at fixing stuff ( might pro rate them for you ) , I know they are good on the motorcycles , got a new steer on my BMW K bike when it peeled for no apartent reason ( it had 30K on it and was 2 years old )

[sleepy]

Picture 1, looks like more wear on the bottom of the tread than the top. whether this is the inside or outside of the tire can't tell by the pic. But it looks like misalignment and a buildup of heat on one side more than the other, These are not the stock tires are they? Pot holes will damage the low profile (short sidewall) tires MUCH more than tall profile(tall sidewall) tires, Once the damage is done(even if you can't see it) they WILL eventually come apart.

[Bjorn]

I`ve always heard that 10 yrs is the recommended "stop to drive on" date....but I always use Michelins on my daily drivers...

picture of these look like re treads coming off...if they are or are not , I dont know , but sure look like it!

[screamingchief]

Would really help to know what year Ranger and whether it's 2wd or 4wd.

But that said,if it's a Ranger with the twin I beam FE,it probably needs shocks really bad,those twin I beam fords eat shocks up,they need to be replaced like every 30-40k miles or so (pretty much everytime you replace the tires),and yeah likely the alignment is not perfect either,most places wont even mess with trying to adjust the caster or camber on a twin I beam FE,so those mostly just get "toe & go" alignments @ the most.

Also check that the front steering linkage is'nt worn either,that too can lead to tire wear related problems as well.

The twin I beam FE is hard on that steering linkage too.

If it's a 4wd Ranger,front hub/bearing problems can lead to tire wear related issues too.

FWIW

Bret P.

[68lemansman]

I had these same brand tires but 17 inch rims and tires. I didnt find out until later on that it didnt take long for these tires to wear down. Had a bad strut and tie rod!

[GT182]

I've always found that Continentals don't last long, and Pirellies are even worse. Both due to soft compounds used.

[Bjorn]

Originally Posted by GT182

I've always found that Continentals don't last long, and Pirellies are even worse. Both due to soft compounds used.

when I bought my first car in 63, my mini cooper , it came with Dunlop tires...being a small tire and front wheel drive , I used up a set of fronts in 3500 miles...bought a new set of Good Years for the front....another 3500 miles they were gone...(rears still originals)...bought Michelins ....after 7,000 miles those were only used up 50% , driving the same way....tires arent tires...there is a difference in durability

[DOC]

I had 4 tires do the same exact thing 2001 timeframe. They were the 4 tires for 99.99 from PEPBOYS. I had one fly a chunk off going down the highway when it was raining and when I pulled over because of the vibration, I inspected the others they had severe tread cracks and I could push water out of them. Replaced them all that night. Never again will I buy the cheapest I can find. That could have gotten real ugly real quick if I would not have caught that.

[77 TRASHCAN]

I have zero experience w/ continental tires, yee ha. Had a friend run a set of pirelli's on a small car, a few years ago...10,000 miles and they were completely wore out...another friend put some on a car... same deal.

I'm not an expert on anything... but, all tires that are recapped have to be identified by the retreader, a stamp on the side wall does this. You can find that number and look up the retreader....the penalties for not following these laws can be extreme.

ALL tires have ratings for wear, traction, rubber hardness...etc. Michelin tires have always been a good tire. The quality of tires (different brands) for some goofy reason has gone up and down. The tire in post one looks old...some tires look like that at 5 years, some 10 years...they all age differently. Tires CAN be like everything else we buy, "you get what yo pay for", but not always. I purchase tires as part of my job. The guy I buy most from keeps me informed, I can and DO trust him, he really helps me out...It's hard to find someone you trust to buy things (like tires) that will tell you the truth, and not, just try to hose you on a sale...

Dealing w/ tires too often @ my job, my rule of thumb is safe to 5 years, run them to 7, then only use them on a clunker, or to hold one of my non running future projects...LOL

5 years on a tire shouldn't be a problem but, the environment you live in contributes greatly, hotter climates are a beach on tires, even if it's for one or two months a year...

The guy I buy my tires from, tells me to steer away form places the sell tires that are sold mostly because of their cheaper price, regardless of brand...

One of the better quality tires you can buy for the money right now, is Firestone, NO I don't drink or do any of those other mind altering things...15 years ago tires w/ the "F" brand were not highly thought of...

[66Post]

Take them to a lawyer, they are always looking for this type of stuff. Looking at picture #1, it's possible that it was an impact break from running over something at speed or a belt separation. Unlikely two tire could fail that close together, but it's possible if both hit something at the same time. Have the tires been plugged? If so water can get into the belt package alowing them to "rust" and lose adheasion and then the tread can separate. Ever wonder why No Age Limits on Aircraft Tires? No Steel Belts, just all nylon or Kevlar belt packages.