Do tires get old?

[bastille10]

Howdy - My Festy has a set of Arizonan 155/12's. My question - The tread is still really good on all 4 tires, but can the rubber compound actually get
old and harden up with age? I sure I need new shocks and struts (173K miles -originals still on), but just wonder if the tires could be responsible for a rough ride?
PS What's reasonable for shock/strut install - I know 99% of the folks on this site will do this themselves

[JPT]

Yes they do get old. You can find out just how old they are by the date code on the sidewall.

It will be a 4 digit number that looks like this --> "5107"

In this code, the first 2 numbers will indicate the week the tires were made. In this case, the 51st week. The last 2 digits indicate the year of manufacture. In this case, 2007. So the above code would read "the 51st week of 2007"

Tires that are more than 6 years old will start to deteriorate and should be replaced.

[Aspire]

but can the rubber compound actually get
old and harden up with age?

Yes. They can get old & harden up. Down here in south FL, it usually takes ~2 years.

It'll cause handling & acceleration problems since the rubber won't grip anymore. And they can also cause ride harshness & vibrations since if their lasting that long, it means the car has been sitting.

[boydg1]

.... The "NATIONAL WHAT EVER" says you should NOT run tires more then 6-7 years at most. It becomes a SAFETY issue, especially the SIDEWALLS which contain REAL rubber. I personally hold to this STANDARD, I DON'T want any BLOW OUTS because of degenerative rubber compounds nor the responsibility of other peoples lives.

.

[200KGPGTP]

Two words.... "Dry Rot"

[Safety Guy]

If your tires are made before 2000 they may have a three digit number.

Exposure to heat, sun, temperature changes and of course, wear, will all affect how long your tires are safe to use.

I tend to want tires less than six years old. If they've been stored in cool, dry conditions out of the sun, they might get a bit older and still be safe, but even if they've never been used the rubber compounds still age and won't be "as good as new."

I would consign tires over eight years old to spares and "yard rollers."

The newer and "fresher" the better.

Karl

[denguy]

Festys are so light that tire tread and brakes last a long time. I've had my 92 since 95 and have put 120k on it. Park it in the shade and wax it once in a while and it holds up pretty well. Down here in the Keys my tires turn to wood way before the tread is gone. I put armorall on the sidewalls but you can't put it on the tread.

[Mike McKown]

.... The "NATIONAL WHAT EVER" says you should NOT run tires more then 6-7 years at most. It becomes a SAFETY issue, especially the SIDEWALLS which contain REAL rubber. I personally hold to this STANDARD, I DON'T want any BLOW OUTS because of degenerative rubber compounds nor the responsibility of other peoples lives.

.

I never seen any proof anywhere and neither has anyone else that I know of that says age is the determining factor in the safety of a tire. In fact, underinflation, poor repairs, impact abuse and other causes have been shown to be the greatest factors in tire safety.

If you have any scientific material that says otherwise, I'd like to see it.

[getnpsi]

If its been out of the sun it can last much longer than expected. My mustang tires are 6 years old with great tread an ill put the car on the road as is. I have another car that's been in the sun who knows how long and im driving it straight to firestone when its running.

[boydg1]

.... For starters you can start here:

Tire Safety Warning – Don’t Use Tires Over Six Years Old!


http://www.tiresnotes.com/car-tires/...warning-62.php
.

I never seen any proof anywhere and neither has anyone else that I know of that says age is the determining factor in the safety of a tire. In fact, underinflation, poor repairs, impact abuse and other causes have been shown to be the greatest factors in tire safety.

If you have any scientific material that says otherwise, I'd like to see it.

[Pu241]

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/download/2010/0512/23529107.pdf

I didn't read it all, I read enough to know they did some good testing!
I also know that rubber is more susceptible to thermo oxidative degradation than many other polymers. Yes, if keep them in a high humidity, low oxygen environment this degradation is slowed, but do you really want to be driving on 10 year old tires.
In particular ozone is known to accelerate rubber degradation, and is found at ground level in rather unhealthy concentrations for both man and tire in heavily congested city areas.

[Safety Guy]

Boyd, both of those links go to the same article. To be fair, the info mentioned in said article was somewhat contradictory, but it does bring up the possibility of the tire degrading "from the inside out." Without seeing an actual study that we can see was done properly, we still don't have really good evidence of exactly when a tire should be taken out of service.

However, if you do think that your tires have become more "hardened" with use over the years, I would say it's time to think about replacing them. Obviously, those who go on long freeway trips with heavy loads in warm weather are risking more than those who just use their cars for a short city commute. I would act accordingly.

One thing to think about: All of our Festiva spare "doughnuts" are now 18 or more years old. Think about that kind of age! Not good.

Karl

[boydg1]

..... I'll bet your An advocate of democratic principles!! He He. Read Pu241's POST #11 and see what you think.

.

Boyd, both of those links go to the same article. To be fair, the info mentioned in said article was somewhat contradictory, but it does bring up the possibility of the tire degrading "from the inside out." Without seeing an actual study that we can see was done properly, we still don't have really good evidence of exactly when a tire should be taken out of service.

However, if you do think that your tires have become more "hardened" with use over the years, I would say it's time to think about replacing them. Obviously, those who go on long freeway trips with heavy loads in warm weather are risking more than those who just use their cars for a short city commute. I would act accordingly.

One thing to think about: All of our Festiva spare "doughnuts" are now 18 or more years old. Think about that kind of age! Not good.

Karl

[blkfordsedan]

In the world of Industrial rubber products, every rubber (and most plastic) components have a shelf life and "life span". This includes all material handling hose, v-belts, oil seals, conveyor belting, etc.. I have seen numerous failures of such components simply due to age, even after only being in service for a very short time. This is why all good distributors rotate inventory religously and manufacturers like Goodyear & Gates put date codes on everything.
My father didn't have a lot of income after he retired, so he used to collect all the old used tires with good tread he could salvage. He would then run them on his trailers as long as he could. It was pretty common for him to go through 8-10 tires in the first 50 miles before he found 4 that would last the rest of the trip.

[Mike McKown]

.... For starters you can start here:

Tire Safety Warning – Don’t Use Tires Over Six Years Old!


http://www.tiresnotes.com/car-tires/...warning-62.php
.

Those links took me to Ebay. I have no idea what you're trying to show me.

Sure, everything has a shelf life, but there still is no conclusive proof that age alone is a reason to remove tires from service. There is plenty of proof that other factors I mentioned are good reason. One I left out was defects in material and/or workmanship.

There's been one US manufacturer that's had about 95% of the high visibility tire problems in the last 50 years. That would be Firestone.

If you're old enough, you can remember riding on bias ply tires as that's all there was. Those tires never gave the problems that radials do when they got a little age on them. And that didn't have anything to do with aging rubber, it had to do with the design of the tire.