Bad thing about generalities like this is that people don't care to understand these numbers are any of a number of reasons why they classified those 11000 crashes. Was it damage to a tire or tires, underinflation, overinflation, wrong size tire/rim for the designed vehicle, worn out tire weather vs speed for the conditions???? Just keep the correct amount of air in the tire and check it often (especially during wide temperature swings). If you install larger or smaller tires and don't know what the inflation should be, ask an expert. The maximum pressure rating on the sidewall should never be used in most situations. All cars (in the USA) have an inflation sticker located usually in the drivers door sill/frame. Those recommended pressures are for OEM sized tires/rims, and only when loaded to its recommended weight limits. If you want to insure the best defense from a tire related problem, just pay attention to how you monitor/maintain your vehicle. Take care of your car, and your car will take care of you.

 

I tend to go on a car by car basis, My '86 Daytona still has the original tires but, it only has 7500 miles and it has always been garaged in a dark garage and covered. They look like new and show no signs of dry rot or cracking. I drive the car very conservatively and I like to keep the car as factory original as possible but, I have been thinking of replacing them.

I just purchased a new set of Mud Terrain tires for my Jeep even though the old tires probably had another 5 to 7 thousand miles left on them. They were 7 years old and were showing signs of cracking and being the daily driver and always outside I thought it was time.

The Crossfire has decent tread all around and show no signs of cracking or dry rot but, I have no idea how old they are. I am hoping to get another two years out of them. I have had several flat tires over the years and every one of them was caused by nails or screws they picked up and I have never heard of someone I know having a tire failure because of age. Part of me thinks this is a marketing scam much like the oil industry's 3000 mile oil changes even, with today's manufacturers 7 or 8 thousand mile oil change intervals.

 

Captain Obvious here...low profile tires and I want the smoothest ride possible (SRT suspension). The PS2's on my graphite are around five years old with not many miles on them. I don't notice any degradation in pliancy, but the car is the proverbial garage queen. I drive it often enough to take flat spots out of the equation even if those flat spots are a figment of my imagination. I definitely notice when I change out tires on the DD black one. I'm on Pilot Super Sports now and like them just as much as the PS2. I'm thinking about going back to the oem PS2 on the black one next time around just to thoroughly A/B everything. I've only experienced the Conti's as oem and didn't like them at all. Like I say, I'll take two with Michelins.

 

Think I should break down and buy some new tires soon, lol?

 

Rob, I wouldn't even stand too close to those tires.


Jeff K

 

Not even sure I want to be that close to the picture.

 

LOL, I like that you strategically took the pic of the warning label.

Warning THIS tire will cause injury....

But, nah, you still got 2/32" left why change out so soon?

 

I wasn't even paying attention to the label, LOL. I was contemplating whether to add some tire dressing but thought it would be a waste since most of it would just soak into those cracks. The cracks in the tread behave like sipes and have actually increased my traction in light snow. Just kidding... not about the traction, but about actually driving in the snow.

I probably have more like 5/32". Only 23K miles on them. The tires were born 8/2003. The one in the picture was plugged from the outside on my first day of ownership 12+ years ago.

Not to worry. I seriously do plan to replace them in the next few weeks.

I would make the argument that tires, in particular high quality performance tires like the PS2, are so highly engineered that the looks can be quite deceiving. The vast majority of all the attention on tire failures, even those related to tire age, are probably the result of driver errors and simple lack of attention to tire pressures, tread wear, and structural damage, not how crazed and cracked, often only cosmetically, the surface of the tire may be. Obviously, my tires are a bit extreme looking, and I would not trust them on the track or in a high speed corner, but I'm not really worried about driving around town until I order new ones.

 

Just as a point of reference. These tires are only 3 1/2 yrs old (L4611). Going to replace them soon. Sidewalls look fine, treads are cracked like mad.

Were on the car (2004 GX470) when I bought it couple years ago. BF Goodrich Long Trail TA Touring.

I thought they were 10 yrs old from the look...

IMG_7894sm.jpg
IMG_7896sm.jpg

 

Hey Greg and Rob-


Wow...those aren't tires, they're grenades. lol.

 

I have had treads seperate on a 2 year old tire. Have had tires chunk, and melt to the pavement. On my Sunbird I had to check the front wheels for cracks after every run & was having to replace two tires every weekend (OTOH was running fronts at 50 psi when the sidewall said "36") Never had a tire failure while autocrossing though. Anyone ever hear of the "Firestone 500 radial" ? Were OEM on the Sunbird but used A60x13 "Power Cats" for autocrossing. Was the biggest tire that would fit.

Point is that all of the ones that went, gave pleanty of warning in the form of vibration, losing air, and/or "thumping". Only tires that surprised me were on trailers.

 

In my almost 40 years of car ownership, I only had 1 catastrophic tire failure. Right front tire on a set of 13" tires on a Subaru GL-10 exploded at approximately 85mph (back in the early 90's). Was traveling on I-10 in Florida heading eastbound. Have had many flats from running over things in the road and according to where the damage was, mostly was able to fix it and move on. That was with regular tires. I had one set (yes both) of snow tire 'retreads' back in the early mid 70's that had sidewall failures due to being stored over the summer months right next to an electric motor. I had asked the landlord to let me put them in his basement, he agreed, I put them in the corner of the basement against a wall, and later on he moved them next to his building water circulation pump. I found this out later on after the tires both failed (for the exact same reason). The ozone generated from the electric motor attacked the rubber and degraded it. After mounting them on the car for the cold weather/snow/ice season, they failed within a couple of days. Both the inside and outside sidewalls cracked from center to the tread along their entire radius'. Luckily, they didn't instantly collapse, they leaked slow enough to feel it and pull over (slow enough time to feel the sway and react to it by pulling over off the highway that at that time was a 75mph interstate).


In my opinion, tire inspections should be done once a month or when something either gets hit or run over. Cracks in the rubber actually isn't an indication the tires are no good. Yes, I said that and stand by it. I see way too many people replacing things (anything, the list is incomprehensible sometimes) before its service life is to the point of it being a requirement. I just disagree with a whole litany of people who (for their own reasons many which are self serving) replace or are coerced to replace something that does not need replacing. Tires may have cracks in the rubber, it depends on quite a lot of different things if the tire is made unserviceable because of them. To err on the side of safety is totally understandable but many times a retailer who replaces perfectly good tires usually makes a good profit (all profit) off those tires he gets from you.


One defining indication that a tire needs replacing is if it is losing air and it is not leaking from the stem or rim bead. A bead should not suddenly start leaking, and unless something hit the base of a stem or Schrader valve, that stem or Schrader valve should not leak. If you just put air in or had taken air out you can suspect something lodging onto the seal of the stem/Schrader valve seat, allowing air to slowly leak out. That bead, once seated/sealed, would have to have had quite an impact to move (break) the seal made when assembled. If a tire is internally damaged where air is being lost, and you have ruled out a crack in the rim, a broken seal at the stem/Schrader valve assembly, or debris in the cap depressing the valve to allow air to leak (old trick to talk people into buying a set of tires, or malicious pranks from idiots who think flattening tires (or having someone lose control when a tire is dangerously low on air), then the tire itself has a path through its construction requiring replacement. Depending on the age and condition of the matching tire on its axle, you might have to think about buying two. It is not required to buy tires in pairs, or a whole set. The rule is you must use the same spec tire that is on the opposing side axle. Even the tread pattern isn't any more of a consideration except in the minor influences it has in the actual handling of the car, and its individual harmonic of the 'noise' it generates. Anything else is marketing, personal preferences, or aesthetics driving those decisions.


I just cannot tell you how many times I see and hear people spending monies on things they do not need to spend it on, only to later lament it didn't fix the problem (or perceived problem), and in the process they broke or damaged something during the unnecessary repair (if you could call it that). If you've ever wondered why a repair bill had a bunch of other parts listed (if they supplied a detailed parts list) then imagine taking something apart that has been locked in place for many years, and couple that with the fact others are doing the 'work' because you feel incapable of doing it yourself (yeah I know its getting harder and harder to DIY but this forum does quite an outstanding job of reassuring most, as evidenced by the refreshingly giddy feedbacks posted after someone tackles a project or job someone quotes them an ungodly amount to have done to have them do).




Finally, many 'experts' sum up 'this' reasoning or 'that' reasoning (time to replace and why, ect ect) that you can just throw hands up when it comes to 'expert' opinions. Thankfully, this member just does it when he needs them based on his expertise derived from a lifetime of actual experiences. No I do not run them past the approximately 2/32" wear, but knowing they are that worn I behave differently behind the wheel. One of the driving factors when replacing a set is the UTQG, after that the price with influences perceived on the reviews and ratings of the actual performances realized. I've been looking for a set since the original conti's are still on her. Yes the ride is hard, yes they are noisy, I don't mind it! They still have tread, they still hold air commensurate with the weather (meaning both sets test to the same pressures as a pair based on the weather conditions, tested cold, or after a drive without one side 'sitting' in the sun). I wonder if when I do settle on a price of the set I get, if the ride will so much different as to sway me into thinking the tires are 'bad'? Bad or good, they'll stay on the car until they need replacing (if they don't get recalled or fail prematurely).




HAPPY MOTORING!

 

So if the car lives in a cool dark garage even in a hot weather state, then the tires will last longer. Further super low profile tires are usually found on lighter cars so last longer.