Author Topic: Would you take a long trip with 10 yrs old tires ? (Read 2184 times)

tigerb · « **on:** June 21, 2005, 05:13:49 pm »

My car is 10 yrs old with 77,000km and still has the original Yokohama 195/60/R14 tires and the dealer which service my car told me the tires still have 50% remaining!

I'm planning a long trip from BC to California (about 6,000km trip) and what are the chances the tires would blow? thanks in advance for your feedback.

Regards.

tpl · « **Reply #1 on:** June 21, 2005, 06:29:43 pm »

Don't do it. They may not burst or appear to come to any harm, but their grip and heat resistance is already severely compromised.

I bet you can see micro cracks in the sidewalls and in the grooves in the tread.

After 77000km I am sure they have 50% tread left but it doesn't help if the tread detaches from the carcase at speed.

You don't say what car it is but with that tire size it probably isn't all that big...although Golf GTIs of 10 years ago used that size.

Just fyi, the US goverment is planning on banning the sale of tires greater than 6 years old.

tigerb · « **Reply #2 on:** June 21, 2005, 06:37:20 pm »

Thanks Tpl for the feedback.

It's 95 Acura Integra RS (195/60/14). Yes I can see "micro cracks" on the sides of all four tires!

Well, I guess I will just replace all the tires before the trip.

Regards.

tpl · « **Reply #3 on:** June 21, 2005, 07:05:23 pm »

You could wait until across the border and maybe save some money... or as you are in BC then go to Tiretrends, our sponsor, on your way!

ovr50 · « **Reply #4 on:** June 21, 2005, 07:55:53 pm »

Tpl is absolutely correct - go no further than Vancouver or Bellingham (and that's a gamble). I'd change them before I left town.

84im · « **Reply #5 on:** June 21, 2005, 08:32:24 pm »

When I purchased my V8 powered Miata it had nice tires on it. Only 30,000 kilometres, with a fair amount of tread left. Unfortunately, the tire had been on the car since 1994. I bought new tires and recycled the old ones. A tire failure on the freeway or highway can kill you....is it worth the risk?

bmorton · « **Reply #6 on:** June 22, 2005, 08:08:19 am »

My grandparents still had the original tires on their '94 Buick until last week. The car only has about 60k on it but the tires had visibly aged. They thought it was fine but my uncle and I convinced them to get new ones. Now my grandmother is raving about the new tires. The car rides better, turns better, this annoying whine the old tires made has gone away, etc. She had no idea how important tires were. So if my 85-year-old grandmother feels new tires really improved her car, you're going to notice a difference as well.

mrthompson · « **Reply #7 on:** June 22, 2005, 08:19:50 am »

For the sake of $400, why take a chance?

articsteve · « **Reply #8 on:** June 22, 2005, 12:17:29 pm »

I'm planning a long trip from BC to California (about 6,000km trip) and what are the chances the tires would blow? thanks in advance for your feedback

You have more of a change been shot in a 7-11 gas station in California than having your tires "blow out" on 10 year old tires. Now tread depth and how they handle rain are a different issue. But if your tires "blow" on your trip I'll buy you a set.

If you get new ones before you leave they are likely to get stolen.

mrthompson · « **Reply #9 on:** June 22, 2005, 01:27:57 pm »

Articsteve, you're terrible. (Never change.)

articsteve · « **Reply #10 on:** June 22, 2005, 01:58:10 pm »

I appreciate that.

Craig · « **Reply #11 on:** June 22, 2005, 02:26:02 pm »

LOL, I guess you're a "glass half empty" kinda guy, AS.

tpl · « **Reply #12 on:** June 22, 2005, 07:04:16 pm »

Artic you will of course have noticed that I did not suggest that a " blowout" was likely in my first reply and I agree about the shooting.

BUT I imagine that a lot of the 6000Km will be at highway speeds in hot weather and on the way there and back are two rainy states. So there is the heat resistance and the grip covered.

I have a firm belief that MY tires last 3 years only regardless of tread depth or milage. Winters lose their flexibility and the summers lose their rain performance.

tigerb · « **Reply #13 on:** June 22, 2005, 07:22:37 pm »

Ok, OK I'm getting Falken ZE 512 from Tiretrends this Friday!

I must admit, I'm NO good with tires and car, I guess I better learn more on this forum and listen less to the service advisor.

Regards.

ovr50 · « **Reply #14 on:** June 22, 2005, 08:20:02 pm »

You will benefit and notice the difference, Tigerb. Good for you.

84im · « **Reply #15 on:** June 22, 2005, 09:33:16 pm »

"You have more of a change been shot in a 7-11 gas station in California than having your tires "blow out" on 10 year old tires."

Statistics please

tenpenny · « **Reply #16 on:** June 22, 2005, 10:19:19 pm »

Are we talking specifically 7-11 chain, or convenience stores in general?

articsteve · « **Reply #17 on:** June 23, 2005, 12:14:46 am »

Artic you will of course have noticed that I did not suggest that a " blowout" was likely in my first reply and I agree about the shooting

You are correct. I have a reading deficiency.

I have a firm belief that MY tires last 3 years only regardless of tread depth or milage. Winters lose their flexibility and the summers lose their rain performance.

That may be true, but run 5 vehicles and your pov may change.

LOL, I guess you're a "glass half empty" kinda guy, AS.

Yes.

I must admit, I'm NO good with tires and car, I guess I better learn more on this forum and listen less to the service advisor.

It seems unlikey that a car with 77,000 km has only 50% tire wear left, but I would hang with this service advisor because most advisors try and sell you anything if they see an opportunity.

Statistics please

84im; I have assigned my best team to gather the stats ASAP. However, I will forward this information that could be of supreme importance to Tigerb on his vacation.

I would strongly advise him to buy some run flats when visiting our peace loving and non race bias neighbours to the south this JULY!

Everyone knows the terrorists are around and planning something big. What the FBI and CIA won't tell us is that there is a MAJOR conspiracy afoot which could affect us all here in the USA, THIS WEEK!
Everyone knows the 7-Eleven convenience store chain. They are EVERYWHERE, in every city and small town in the USA. In large metropolitan areas, they are sometimes only a few blocks apart. Anyone who has shopped in a 7-Eleven knows that they are owned predominantly by people of middle-eastern origin; in fact, the parent company of the franchise (7-Eleven Limited Partnership) is owned by a group with ties to Osama bin Laden.

On July 11th (7/11), every single 7-Eleven store has been instructed to unleash attacks on their surrounding neighborhoods. This includes blowing up the stores themselves, possibly using 'dirty' nuclear bombs as well as conventional explosives, as well as outright assaults on the American people. This will cause a major disruption in ALL major American cities. If you live near a 7-Eleven, please be aware of this danger.

You are urged to boycott all 7-Eleven stores on 7/11 to keep yourself and your families safe from the terrorists. You WILL read about this on 7/12 so please be forewarned.

Please pass this email on to any and every person you know, you may just save a life or two.

http://www.snopes.com/rumors/7eleven.htm

(Message edited by Articsteve on June 23, 2005)

ovr50 · « **Reply #18 on:** June 23, 2005, 01:05:29 am »

Ya gotta love the rumors that the snopes site deals with. If you go on to read the snopes response to the rumor, it's really quite good. Thankfully the wonderful world of the internet works to spread all these nut-ball stories around in record time. That is a good one -

What is scary tho, is that somewhere there are ppl that will swear that the story (rumor) is true and that snopes doesn't know what they are talking about. Yikes.

tpl · « **Reply #19 on:** June 23, 2005, 06:21:05 am »

Artic... right as usual..I only have one car and... when I retire the last set of tires will have to do at least 10 years! but until then compared to the cost of depreciation, insurance etc. 2 new sets every 3 years at $250/tire is only $14 per week which is a small price compared to stopping 2 feet too late in a BMW in summer rain or winter ice