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When I got my Mustang I found out from the owner 2 owners ago that the tires on my 73 where 23 years old. Of course I changed them, but not knowing and driving for about 2 months on them. No problem, but it was in the back of my mind.
What about all of the "single vehicle rollovers" on the freeways cause by blow-outs?
Quite often they involve older overloaded vans with serious injuries and frequently many deaths.
Design and manufacturing defects would be the culprit in this case and also you said yourself, "overloaded". Going beyond the engineered capacity of anything is asking for trouble.
The way I look at it is that the tires are your first, last and only option of controlling a vehicle. A hundred dollars a year ($800) is a small price to pay to give you the Best chance at avoiding an accident.
Tires are the only safety feature of a vehicle that actually touches the road. Good suspension, braking and ABS/Traction control are useless with crappy tires.
Fwiw, tires aren't safety features, they are performance features, but I agree with you that they control 100% of the car's interaction on road surfaces and should not be taken for granted.
Like anything, age plays a part but it takes a trained eye and an informed mind to really know if they should be replaced or not. How they are used and how they are holding up factor in, just as with hoses, belts, etc, but there are general replacement guidelines for all other parts on a vehicle (5 years or 50k mi for spark plugs, 3 years for brake fluid, etc.) so it should not be a surprise that there is one for tires as well. Like those other parts, they can probably serve reliably beyond the stated age and mileage, but replacing on a service schedule ensures the best reliability of the vehicle.
As tires age they are effected by several things - wear is the most obvious, but they also heat-cycle and are exposed to the elements of nature and roads. You can most easily watch the tread depth shrink with miles, but a skilled observer can tell if the tires have heat-cycled to the point where they have lost their performance capability or if nature or environmental elements (UV, road salt) have damaged the tire components (tread, sidewall, etc).
When buying tires, you need to consider your typical annual mileage and driving behavior to get the correct tire. No sense in buying an 80k mi tire when you only drive 2k mi a year - the tire will likely rot out before you can use all its tread. As well, no sense buying a 20k mi performance tire if you are putting 20k highway miles on them - you'll wear out the tread without using any of the performance benefits of the softer compound.
What about all of the "single vehicle rollovers" on the freeways cause by blow-outs?
Quite often they involve older overloaded vans with serious injuries and frequently many deaths.
How many single vehicle rollovers actually occur? I haven't documented this but I can't remember one around here that wasn't caused by the driver or some other outside influence.
Does someone like Jay Leno put new tires on their collection every 6 years?
Tires are designed to slide before they grab enough to allow a vehicle to flip, but high center or gravity vehicles (SUVs, trucks) can tip regardless when they are sliding and hit an obstacle like a curb, other vehicle, etc.
Its is very hard for a car to actually roll over, but since ~50% of vehicles on the road are trucks and SUVs, rollover is now common. It is not the tires but the overall character of the vehicle at the time that can determine if it will roll over - its weight distribution, velocity, impact angle and height, etc... Usually it is like you stated - a single-car incident caused by driver error - usually driving off the road for some reason (distracted, drunk, etc).
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Quote:
Originally Posted by goldengrain
But here in Uncle Sam, we’re being kept in the dark.
The recommendation is to not use tires after they have aged for six years or more, certainly not 10 years or over. Chrysler, Ford, and Volkswagen are just a few of the companies that recommend removing tires older than six years.
We have had several threads on this. The 6 year mark is a thumb rule, no more no less. It is true that beyond 6 years you should at least drop down one speed rating in S, H, V etc. rated tires. I have run tires that were way older than 6 years, with no problems.
I would not want to buy a 12-year old tire new though.
Definitely depends on how the tire is used, and how it's stored. A tire that's used at least some, say once a month, and is stored out of direct sunlight and away from sources of ozone like electric motors, will age pretty gracefully. One that sits in the sun and is never driven may be toast before 6 years (think, motorhomes for example)
I was wondering why Subaru rotated my tires by using my spare. Now I know. They should, at least, have similar wear because the brand new tire in the back of my car, looking new even after years have past, can be dangerous.
Due to the fact I live "in town" as well as have two vehicles, I only put about 2k miles per year on each one, however, I always upgrade the tires once they reach the six years old mark . . . regardless how good they may appear.
Considering the relatively small "footprint" for a heavy vehicle (both steering and braking), it is just NOT WORTH THE RISK to be frugal with aging tires.
Yeah. I used to go to a local discount tire place. Now I am alerted to check the date. Sometimes a sale is not really a sale.
I was wondering why Subaru rotated my tires by using my spare. Now I know. They should, at least, have similar wear because the brand new tire in the back of my car
This is general practice for any spare that is full size and has a matching rim. However it is particularly important on a subaru (or any AWD). In the event that you need to use the spare it will have been worn down to the same diameter as the other 4 tires, this prevents damage to the AWD system.
Quote:
Originally Posted by goldengrain
Looking new even after years have past, can be dangerous.
If the rubber is pliable and free of cracks/splits and the tread is that of new, then it will behave as new. You have yet to provide any evidence as to the quantifiable dangers of an aged, but not worn, tire.
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