I bought my TA about 5 years ago. The Bridgestone tires that are on it look perfect--the tread is nearly new and there are no cracks in the sidewalls, the tread blocks, or tread. The thing is, the date code indicates they were made in 2004, so they are now 10 years old. All manufacturers, Continental, BF Goodrich, Michelin, Goodyear, and Bridgestone recommend replacing tires after 10 years regardless of appearance. I store the car in winters, and only drive it about 2000 miles a summer. My drives are usually no more than 1 hour in length, and a country drive will consist of 60 MPH sustained driving with some 80+ acceleration runs with an occasional smokey burnout. My wife thinks I'm nuts for replacing tires that look new...but I've seen a lot of info where 10+ year old tires have tread separation and catastrophic failure. I really don't want to get hurt, nor do I want to damage the car which is in great shape with only 69K on it. What makes me hesitate is that I store the car in winter so it sees no salt, and I only drive it a couple days a weeks.

So what would you guys do? What are your thoughts on replacing tires in this situation? I appreciate any input! T

 

The main enemies to tires are sitting and sun. If there are no cracking or dry rot in the tires I would be more comfortable running them a little longer. If it is in a controlled atmosphere that would also lengthen the life of the tire. There really is no chance of a complete blow out due to the age of the tire. They are more likely to separate than anything else.

 

My buddy's 2000 ss had mid 20k miles on it with original tires and the tires literally came apart one by one over the span of about a month because they were so old. Still had decent tread, didn't even "look" that bad, and the car was garaged and well cared for as well.

Don't chance it IMO

 

First thing I would do, is probably replace the tires. It's a lot cheaper than replacing quarter panels and/or busted suspension parts, if a 10 year old tire lets go. Then, I'd find some "cheapo" wheels off e-bay or the junk yard, and put the 10 year old Bridgestones on them, and use them to sit the car on during the winter, while the "good" tires spend the winter in your toasty, dry basement....

 

First off, 10 years is NOT the recommended replacement time. It is 6 years. IMO 10 years would only be acceptable for attending local car shows and never exceeding 50 mph. You already indicated that isn't the case, and you have been darn lucky. Your wife needs to get educated unless she wants you gone. Here are some excerpts from various sites:

1)Replace the tires at least every 6 years. If you're not sure, the minimum replacement time that is recommended by the NHTSA is six years regardless of use, with 10 years being the maximum service life for tires. Check your owner's manual for specific recommendations related to your car. And always err on the side of caution if you suspect your vehicle has tires that are over six years of age.
2) While tire life will ultimately depend on the tires’ service conditions and the environment in which they operate, there are some general guidelines. Some vehicle manufacturers recommend that tires be replaced every six years regardless of use. In addition, a number of tire manufacturers cite 10 years as the maximum service life for tires. Check the owner’s manual for specific recommendations for your vehicle. Remember, it is always wise to err on the side of caution if you suspect your vehicle has tires that are over six years of age.
3)Even if there are no signs of rot, the industry standard is to swap out tires before they hit 10 years old, and some tire companies recommend replacement as early as six years after manufacture.

You have no idea how many stories I can relate to accidents and old tires. Yes, it absolutely kills you to get rid of tires with lots of tread left but it must be done unless you like taking chances. On my T/A alone I have had to replace some sweet Goodyear tires two times now. My first and original set of GS-C tires had only 13,000 miles on them in 2007 and my 2nd set, an expensive GS-D3 set had plenty of tread left too but I took them off just a few months ago and now on my 3rd set. No more Goodyears in stock size so I went with the BFG G-Force SS A/S this time. After a recent 2,200 trip to the Keys last month I am pleased with them. I didn't need to worry about anything. How much is that worth every time you feel like a jaunt up to 80+ mph or need to pass a semi??
Lay out the $$ and get a decent set of tires for your car. It's time!!

 

This is a damn good idea to avoid flat spots on the new ones!

 

Thanks for the info...I am sold. There is a good deal on a set of BFG G-Force SS A/S's for me too, so I am going to jump on them and mount em up in the spring. Thanks for all the info guys. I flipped a car going 90 once and lived to talk about it...I don't want to do it again. I don't have 9 lives.

 

How do people make it longer than two years on tires?

 

This ^

 

Ty what A great idea. I just bought rims & tires so I will use my current peeling rims & garbage tires for the Winter storage. A steel belt popped out of the sidewall so it was time. Just like the op they work but your on borrowed time.

 

They don't drive the car daily or drive it like they stole it everytime they take it out. Even so I got 4 years out of the 1st set of tires I bought and I drive pretty aggressively. I don't do burnouts (well maybe a few lol) and keep the traction control on so that increases tire life. This is my only car but I do have a bike so that helps to cut down on the miles driven.

 

 

Wait, you're telling me that tires can last 2 years?! Wish mine lasted that long.

 

For those who watched the video.....


Not that I'm defending the sale of "old" tires, but did you notice what was in that warehouse (of death) they were in, in the middle of the video? If you didn't, it was full of Ford Explorers, the SUV that came from the factory with possibly questionable Firestone tires, that the consumers were told to inflate to 26 lbs. of air pressure, in order to ride "more comfortably". Those weren't cases of old tires, but cases of questionable inflation.


HOWEVER, it can't be denied that old tires do get in the marketplace, and even the best of us can be "suckered". In 2005 I bought a brand new GMC Canyon 4x4. It was intended to be my winter vehicle, so I wanted to put snow tires on it right away. It came with P265/75/15 tires, which aren't the most common size, so I had to call around to a number of tire shops before finding some Bridgestone Winter Duelers.

Silly me, I didn't think to check the date code on the tires, first of all, and secondly, I didn't put more than 3500-4000 miles on the truck each year. Last year, I happened to look at the DOT code on the tires, and just about crapped my pants! The tires were almost 13 years old....meaning they were 4.5 years old when I bought them. And last year, they still had PLENTY of tread, and not a sign of any cracks or checking. Nonetheless, I replaced them....

 

There has been a lot of talk about this issue in recent years, especially after the Firestone/Explorer issues of the 2000s.

It is in the best interest of the tire industry to convince people to replace tires after a certain amount of years, both for liability reasons and to sell more product. As an individual consumer though, I don't necessarily agree with the concept of a certain age for all cases (such as 6 or even 10 years). Tires, much like engine oil or any other wear item on a car, see greatly different exposures depending on the car/driver in question. Everything from weather and driving conditions to storage conditions, inflation maintenance and the original composition of the tire (such as the fact that Z-rated tires can handle more heat/speed related wear over their lifespan than lower speed rated tires) will play a role in how long the tire will last.

Personally, I would never replace a tire (especially a Z-rated tire) when it was 6 years old simply because of age alone. I have two garage queens that are rarely driven, usually well under 1,000 miles per year and never in any sort of harsh racing environment, nor are they ever stored in the sun, so 6 year old non-competition tires are still just fine IMO. Frankly, even under harsh conditions (such as clipping a curb at speed, or doing burnouts) I've never had a Z-rated tire fail that was less than 10 years old and that still had proper tread....so I guess I would consider 10 years to be the absolute minimum at which I would consider replacement due to age alone.

Having said that, the tires on my '98 are from 2005, so they are coming up on that 10 year mark next year. I've only put about 3,000 miles on them since buying them new, and they have never been stored in the sun nor used in any sort of harsh conditions. I have no plans to replace them next year, and will probably wait several more years since I rarely drive this car and never push it hard at any sort of high speeds.

I saw someone mention, "why take the chance".... my answer is two fold:

1) For my particular situation, and based on my personal experience, I don't really feel that I'm taking any sort of significant chance. Again, all kinds of failures of all kinds of components are reported if you do the research, but there are so many variables that I don't buy the idea of a single, preset age for self-destruction.

2) These are tires that have since been discontinued, and I don't care as much for the appearance of any of the replacement options. Perhaps something new will be introduced in my size that looks better (to me) before I actually need new ones.

This is all just my opinion based on my experiences and specific situation. I wouldn't suggest that it's the correct route for everyone though.

 

I understand your point.....I have about 78,000 miles on my '96 Z-28. Not a lot of miles for a car that is approaching 19 years of age. (I bought it in Oct. 1995) I put new wheels and tires on it in 2008, as sort of a retirement present to myself. I think I may have put 3000 miles on the car in the last 5 years, I store the car in the winter, and have a set of old wheels and tires that I put on the car on during the storage.


By any chance are the "discontinued tires" you refer to, Fuzion ZRi tires?

 

Like most one-size-fits-all safety recommendations, the worst case scenario (but that still falls within "normal/intended" operating conditions) is always the primary consideration, after which you may or may not be in any sort of danger depending on the actual specifics of the situation. So a figure such as 6 years for replacement gets published because under the most severe (but normal) conditions, the tire should still be "safe" up to this age. This, however, does not mean that comparable tires used in much less severe (up to and including ideal) conditions will suddenly become "unsafe" at the exact same moment. But again, for the sake of simplicity they look at worst case scenarios and then publish a recommendation that doesn't account for the variables of more ideal conditions. This is where personal experience and judgement come into play, and the "right move" becomes much more subjective.

No, they are the original KDW design from BF Goodrich, prior to the current KDW2. I don't particularly like the "flame" pattern that the modern KDW2 uses, and I'm also not willing to put any of the asian made tires on this car (I try to buy American whenever possible), so my tire options are limited for the 275/40/17 size. I guess I'd probably do the BFG Sport Comp 2 at this point, since it's closer in appearance to the old KDW and still very affordable.

 

I'm still rolling on my original rubber....12 years and counting.

 

I obliterate tires in 5-7k miles.

Even my daily driver only goes 20k miles.

Brakes and tires.

Cars in general.

I drive them like it's the end of the world.

 

We would recommend replacing 10 year old tires. The rubber dry's out and the tire can fail without any signs.