[MatthewKlein]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Always check the manufactured date, many tires are old, especially in areas that don't sell a lot of tires. They can sit on a shelf in a distribution center for years.

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What problems arise from the tire sitting in a warehouse?

[srmmmm]

Originally Posted by MatthewKlein

What problems arise from the tire sitting in a warehouse?

Ozone and UV exposure still occurs in storage that starts to breakdown the sidewall and tread compounds.

[MatthewKlein]

Originally Posted by srmmmm

Ozone and UV exposure still occurs in storage that starts to breakdown the sidewall and tread compounds.

I'm familiar with UV breaking tires down but incredulous that would take place in a warehouse. Years ago I saw a 1969 stock car at a car show with what were claimed to be period slicks. Was told the tires had not been in sunlight and were decent enough to drive on yet. He did say that he didn't trust them over 60mph.

I had a set of tires for my own car in the shed for over 10 years before using them last summer with no issues. Now that I'm thinking about it the front tires on that car have been on it since the early 2000's. They are fine.


Regarding the rest of the issues people are discussing we must be lucky.

I have a small auto shop. We sell tires. Unless a customer has a brand preference we sort the tires least to most expensive. Then go down the list to find a tire with a 600 or more treadwear rating. I can't remember having to add excessive weight a tire ever unless the rim is bent.

[HWYSTR455]

As a reminder, tires are really only good/safe for 5-7 years, and that's the upper limit. Homework it before you blast me.


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[72projectbird]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

As a reminder, tires are really only good/safe for 5-7 years, and that's the upper limit. Homework it before you blast me.


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Yeah, I'm not spending $1400 every 5 years.

[nas t eh]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

As a reminder, tires are really only good/safe for 5-7 years, and that's the upper limit. Homework it before you blast me.


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Some experts say 6-10years depending on storage conditions. All the experts are being a little conservative and while some of the tire’s aging goes unseen, if you are willing to check the tires visually for fitness you likely can push that time frame some.

[HWYSTR455]

I've been on 2 Hot Rod Power Tours, and you would be surprised at how many cars I passed between stops were on the side of the road with tires that failed.

Most if not all of those people were running old tires, which looked perfectly fine visually.

When you have a tire come apart on you on the highway, and it whips your quarter panel to death, THEN you will swear to yourself you will always replace tires at proper intervals.

Before you even mount tires, check the date on the tire. I've seen some tires come from a warehouse that are already 3-5 years old.

14, 15, and 16 inch tires are no longer very common, and have the greatest chance of sitting in a warehouse the longest. 17s are right up there too.

If you push the envelope on tire age, and accept the risks, I wish you luck. It costs a lot more than a set of tires to repair a quarter panel, or any panel for that matter.

In my experience(s), being cheap never ends well.

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[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

I've been on 2 Hot Rod Power Tours, and you would be surprised at how many cars I passed between stops were on the side of the road with tires that failed.

Most if not all of those people were running old tires, which looked perfectly fine visually.

When you have a tire come apart on you on the highway, and it whips your quarter panel to death, THEN you will swear to yourself you will always replace tires at proper intervals.

Before you even mount tires, check the date on the tire. I've seen some tires come from a warehouse that are already 3-5 years old.

14, 15, and 16 inch tires are no longer very common, and have the greatest chance of sitting in a warehouse the longest. 17s are right up there too.

If you push the envelope on tire age, and accept the risks, I wish you luck. It costs a lot more than a set of tires to repair a quarter panel, or any panel for that matter.

In my experience(s), being cheap never ends well.

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Yep I've had tire failure at 70 mph on my truck. $3500 damage. I've had them blow more than once on my trailers too. It's not fun.

It's a fairly common theme in Arizona during the summer. Seems to always happen most during the hot months.

Never once had that issue living in Ohio. I think the intense sunshine in AZ and the really hot blacktop is a factor. I've gotten to the point when tires get over 5 years old I start getting leery of them. I might run them longer if they still look good but I tend to keep the trips shorter lol.

[kingbuzzo]

Sage advice...

I had 19y/o BFG's on my old T/A that I was trying to sell and didn't want to soak $ into tires then had the blowout on the lone highway.

Then just trying to FIND a replacement 295/50R15 in 2022 was a costly nitemare in itself.

Like the commercial says, the only thing between you and the road is yer tyres...



If you push the envelope on tire age, and accept the risks, I wish you luck. It costs a lot more than a set of tires to repair a quarter panel, or any panel for that matter.

In my experience(s), being cheap never ends well.

.[/QUOTE]

[Shiny]

Yes... risk is a combination of consequence, probability of occurrence, and ease of avoidance.

In this case, the consequence of a failure is easy to imagine and so bad as to dominate the assessment.

But the variation in the other factors is the hard part.

This is why I was wondering if there were DOT standards/regulations around thermo-chemical longevity.

It would also be interesting to know if any specific tire manufacturers try to distinguish themselves by offering improved resistance to aging. If so, they might actually share data or at least make claims... ??

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by srmmmm

Ozone and UV exposure still occurs in storage that starts to breakdown the sidewall and tread compounds.

Non-popular sizes from smaller warehouses are often where the old/new tire issues come from. Especially trailer tires. Be sure to check those date codes! I bought 4 trailer tires years ago that were 9 years old when I received them. Sent them right back. After 10 years, your on borrowed time.

[Shiny]

I'm always curious about what makes stuff break. I found what I think is a decent summary of the tire aging topic with a lot of references to NHTSA and some interesting insurance industry data:

https://www.liveabout.com/the-scienc...-aging-3234377

My takeaways:

- Oxygen in the air permeates the tire and chemically degrades the rubber and/or interface adhesion. UV exposure is NOT the primary factor.

- Pressurized tires have more oxygen, so degrade significantly faster than those in storage.

- Heat accelerates the processes - both diffusion of the oxygen and the chemical reactions


One thing missing in this article are the probabilities - the consequences of tire failure are bad (life and property damage) but the probability distribution at any given age is going to be very wide.. especially across the huge range of brands and designs. This is why everyone's experience is going to be different and why so many get away with using old tires. Another real world failure risk summary that rivals cam failures.

The article links to one summary of accelerated test development, apparently driven by regulatory efforts:

https://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/...ac_SAE2010.pdf

In this summary, there is a chart that illustrates how much variation there is across a relatively small range of tested tires. I assume the markers are specific brands and/or tire designs:



The article doesn't touch on the material and design factors affecting the mechanisms but this chart certainly illustrates "not all tires are created equal".

Don't buy "Black X" tires, buy "Maroon Square" tires !!!

It would be interesting to know which brands put more R&D into this, but the bigger the company, the more liability exposure...

I'm now curious - are there DOT regulations regarding thermal aging of tires in service? Did the NHTSA efforts shared in the article result in testing standards that are now in use? If so, how did it all end up? What failure risk at what time at what temperature was determined acceptable?

[HWYSTR455]

Comment in one of the linked articles:

"Lower aspect ratios and higher speed ratings tend to correlate with longer life. This is probably due to less surface area in the air chamber and better construction, especially better inner liners."

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