[ssj71]

Well, the 'old tire' scenario bit me in the ass yesterday as I was headed home form a show in Auburndale, FL.

My old (dated 2000, yes 16 years old) Radial T/As finally gave out on me as I was heading back to Tampa. What started as a light shake, like an out-of-balance wheel, progressively got worse in a 2-mile span as the ol' SSJ was shaking very badly.

Another driver in a truck rode past me as I was down to about 45mph and yelled for me to pull off the road as he saw my RR tire violently shaking the entire rear axle. During that same small strecth of road, my steering wheel started wobbling violently and I knew the car was in trouble.

Turns out my RF and my RR tires bulged, cupped and had a few contortions I've never seen a tire do before. With 2 tires down, mounting the spare was pointless.

Got the car flatbedded home by AAA from about 20 miles away. Thank goodness for AAA!

Just this week as I was prepping the car for the show, I told my brother about the worries I had over those tires, and sure enough, the 2 failed.

Now, between the 2 of us, we're changing out 12 of our T/As this week. His are 2004/2005 vintage on his SSJs, and now he's really uncomfortable with his old tires after what he witnessed yesterday.

Watch those old tires!

Harvey