Posted By: Dave440
BEWARE old tires - Even if they still look good! - 10/04/12 03:46 AM
This should put to rest the question of should you trust old tires with hardly any mileage on them even if they don't appear dry rottted. YOU SHOULDN'T!
Ok...so here's the story....(as my project goes into its 2nd decade)...I had a set of Performer GT Radials (by Laramie) with maybe a year or so of use when the car came off the road in '90. Perhaps... 5 - 7k miles on em if that. One day around 4-5 years later I was pulling it out of the garage and the front right tread just PEELED away without warning and no cracks in the tire to even indicate dry rot. Tires were around 6 yrs old at the time. It spent one year in the driveway (covered with a tarp and a cover) and the next 4 in the garage so it wasn't from the sun! (maybe combination of ozone and POOR construction)!
The year the car sat outside the neighborhood cats ruined my nice 14" chrome rims. I purchased a new set of 15" rims and another set of Performer Laramie radials and they were waiting in the garage for the resto to get further along or completed (if I Only knew)!! After the front tire peeled. I installed the new (by then 4 year old) tires and rims.
Fast forward 15 years or so to today! A few months ago to be exact and I discover I've got a bulging front tire!! I might've missed it had the front right fender not been off. Check the photos. The tire is BULGING at the front and top while the tread facing the rear of the car is still near normal looking. The tread at the top actually has a wave going through it front to back! I've never seen a tire do this before no less one with hardly any mileage on it. The other 3 tires appear fine except for some discoloring of the white letters. (though I know theyre history too)
YEAH...the (new) tires are 18-20 years old now and mounted for around 15yrs ...and YES its MY FAULT for buying em way too early (it actually started as an engine replacement not a major resto project)!! Those (old/new) tires only have maybe 100 miles on them ...plus they've been garaged the entire time! I've seen ORIGINAL 60s tires on barn finds or tires from the 70s that were garaged that still look near new!! Now I wouldn't trust them to drive more than a few miles if that...but C'MON...you'd think rubber compounds and tire construction has gotten BETTER since the 60s and 70s...NOT WORSE! I've got tires peeling at 7k miles and bulging at 100 miles in my garage!! I can't even pull it out now for fear the tires gonna burst!! I'm thinkin this is brand specific...especially given what I've read about Laramie belt separation online. All I can say is at least it happened in my garage and NOT while I was driving!!
Sooo BE WARNED!! Inspect those tires on that project that's been sitting in your garage carefully for bulging or cracking BEFORE you take it out on the road! And know that just because they might LOOK new or have very few miles on them...hardly used older tires MIGHT fail without warning! I can't say how many years they'll ACTUALLY be good for and mine are admittedly very old...but low mile good looking tires DOESN'T = safe!
My advice ...If at all possible...DON'T BUY those new tires unless you can see light at the end of the tunnel where your project is concerned. The money might end up wasted! $350 down the toilet for me and at least $400-500 to replace now PLUS mount and balance! If you do plan to keep it tagged and on the road though...even for short trips or occasional weekend joy rides....don't chance old rubber. If it's time it's time and a few hundred (ok several hundred) bucks worth of tires are a lot less costly than risking your classic car...or your life! It's either on the road and safe...or OFF!
Stay safe all!
Ok...so here's the story....(as my project goes into its 2nd decade)...I had a set of Performer GT Radials (by Laramie) with maybe a year or so of use when the car came off the road in '90. Perhaps... 5 - 7k miles on em if that. One day around 4-5 years later I was pulling it out of the garage and the front right tread just PEELED away without warning and no cracks in the tire to even indicate dry rot. Tires were around 6 yrs old at the time. It spent one year in the driveway (covered with a tarp and a cover) and the next 4 in the garage so it wasn't from the sun! (maybe combination of ozone and POOR construction)!
The year the car sat outside the neighborhood cats ruined my nice 14" chrome rims. I purchased a new set of 15" rims and another set of Performer Laramie radials and they were waiting in the garage for the resto to get further along or completed (if I Only knew)!! After the front tire peeled. I installed the new (by then 4 year old) tires and rims.
Fast forward 15 years or so to today! A few months ago to be exact and I discover I've got a bulging front tire!! I might've missed it had the front right fender not been off. Check the photos. The tire is BULGING at the front and top while the tread facing the rear of the car is still near normal looking. The tread at the top actually has a wave going through it front to back! I've never seen a tire do this before no less one with hardly any mileage on it. The other 3 tires appear fine except for some discoloring of the white letters. (though I know theyre history too)
YEAH...the (new) tires are 18-20 years old now and mounted for around 15yrs ...and YES its MY FAULT for buying em way too early (it actually started as an engine replacement not a major resto project)!! Those (old/new) tires only have maybe 100 miles on them ...plus they've been garaged the entire time! I've seen ORIGINAL 60s tires on barn finds or tires from the 70s that were garaged that still look near new!! Now I wouldn't trust them to drive more than a few miles if that...but C'MON...you'd think rubber compounds and tire construction has gotten BETTER since the 60s and 70s...NOT WORSE! I've got tires peeling at 7k miles and bulging at 100 miles in my garage!! I can't even pull it out now for fear the tires gonna burst!! I'm thinkin this is brand specific...especially given what I've read about Laramie belt separation online. All I can say is at least it happened in my garage and NOT while I was driving!!
Sooo BE WARNED!! Inspect those tires on that project that's been sitting in your garage carefully for bulging or cracking BEFORE you take it out on the road! And know that just because they might LOOK new or have very few miles on them...hardly used older tires MIGHT fail without warning! I can't say how many years they'll ACTUALLY be good for and mine are admittedly very old...but low mile good looking tires DOESN'T = safe!
My advice ...If at all possible...DON'T BUY those new tires unless you can see light at the end of the tunnel where your project is concerned. The money might end up wasted! $350 down the toilet for me and at least $400-500 to replace now PLUS mount and balance! If you do plan to keep it tagged and on the road though...even for short trips or occasional weekend joy rides....don't chance old rubber. If it's time it's time and a few hundred (ok several hundred) bucks worth of tires are a lot less costly than risking your classic car...or your life! It's either on the road and safe...or OFF!
Stay safe all!