16 year old tires

[Paul M.]

My vette is a 1996 C4 with the orginal tires on with 10,700 miles. Are they safe to drive? I was told not to take them off if I'm not going to put a lot of miles on the car. Just to shows etc. The car sits on carpet and not directly on concrete

[Terry D.]

Re: 16 year old tires

I would put new tires on it. The old ones may be good but why run that risk. I'm sure a tire expert will chime in but if I remember from a previous post tires are only good for about seven years. Just my old two cents.
Terry

[Tom H.]

Re: 16 year old tires

I am no tire expert, but they should be replaced if you are going to be doing any driving at highway speeds. New tires will make the car drive like new as well as preserve those hard to find GSC's !!!

[Paul M.]

Re: 16 year old tires

The car is being judged at Old Town,FL NCRS in Jan 2013. The orginals tires have to go back on correct?

[Rick A.]

Re: 16 year old tires

yepper, you want to use the originals for judging - but I sure as heck would have different tires for driving! those originals are DANGEROUS not only to you and your passenger, but to everyone around you.

[Michael J.]

Re: 16 year old tires

yepper, you want to use the originals for judging - but I sure as heck would have different tires for driving! those originals are DANGEROUS not only to you and your passenger, but to everyone around you.

+1, tires deteriorate in almost invisible ways, you can't tell by looking at them, the UV and ozone, especially in big cities in humid areas, do a number on them in just a few years.

[Duke W.]

Re: 16 year old tires

There is no arbitrary age life for tires. It depends on the quality of materials and manufacturing processes and the life the tire leads.

For Z-rated tires that spend most of their life inside a garage their useful life can be measured in decades, but they should be thoroughly inspected at least annually for any signs of deterioration. Minor sidewall cracking is usually not an issue, but obvious bulges are.

If your driving is all local including freeway jaunts, I wouldn't be concerned about high speed rated tires. I WOULD be concerned with cheap (not necessarily price wise, but in terms of design, materials, and manufacturing processes) low speed rated tires that lack a nylon cap belt, which is what most guys have on C1 through C3 Corvettes.

I still have the original front H-rated Bridgestone RE71s on my '91 MR2, but they probably spent ten years in my tire rack while I ran the Yokohama A-008 racing tires all around on a set up take-off OE wheels. The Deuce goes through two sets of rears for every set of fronts, and at the rate I'm driving they've probably got at least another five years to go. I'll replace all four when I "cord" the current rears. All my driving is local, but I did take a 1000 mile road trip three years ago on these tires. Other than tread wear, they look like new, and I'm not worried.

Beyond this I've got a stash of H-rated Yokohama A-509 (summer high performance) and A-008 (DOT legal racing) tucked away in a dark, cool downstairs closet that I bought about 15 years ago just before the rear 225/60R-14 size disappeared, so I've got a lifetime supply that I will use with confidence when they're needed.

Duke

[Russ S.]

Re: 16 year old tires

There is no arbitrary age life for tires. It depends on the quality of materials and manufacturing processes and the life the tire leads.

For Z-rated tires that spend most of their life inside a garage their useful life can be measured in decades, but they should be thoroughly inspected at least annually for any signs of deterioration. Minor sidewall cracking is usually not an issue, but obvious bulges are.

If your driving is all local including freeway jaunts, I wouldn't be concerned about high speed rated tires. I WOULD be concerned with cheap (not necessarily price wise, but in terms of design, materials, and manufacturing processes) low speed rated tires that lack a nylon cap belt, which is what most guys have on C1 through C3 Corvettes.

I still have the original front H-rated Bridgestone RE71s on my '91 MR2, but they probably spent ten years in my tire rack while I ran the Yokohama A-008 racing tires all around on a set up take-off OE wheels. The Deuce goes through two sets of rears for every set of fronts, and at the rate I'm driving they've probably got at least another five years to go. I'll replace all four when I "cord" the current rears. All my driving is local, but I did take a 1000 mile road trip three years ago on these tires. Other than tread wear, they look like new, and I'm not worried.

Beyond this I've got a stash of H-rated Yokohama A-509 (summer high performance) and A-008 (DOT legal racing) tucked away in a dark, cool downstairs closet that I bought about 15 years ago just before the rear 225/60R-14 size disappeared, so I've got a lifetime supply that I will use with confidence when they're needed.

Duke

I completely agree with Duke. This fear that is being spread around about tires that are 10-15 years old being bad is ridiculous. If they have been outside or improperly stored all those years then of course they would be bad.

[Jack H.]

Re: 16 year old tires

I completely agree with Duke. This fear that is being spread around about tires that are 10-15 years old being bad is ridiculous. If they have been outside or improperly stored all those years then of course they would be bad.

Ridiculous or not, the fact is that it has become reality in the tire industry.

I recently got a nail in one of the tires on my Chevy truck and had a heck of a time even finding a tire shop that would repair it. "Sir, our policy is that we won't repair tires that are older than 10 years" was what I got at a handful of places even though my tires were only just over 10 yrs and in very good shape. I finally found an older Mom&Pop place that didn't even notice and I was on my way.

Unfortunately, I think this new policy is more due to crappy tires on the market that should be replaced more often. However, the new policy does not take tire quality, speed rating, etc. into consideration.

[Richard M.]

Re: 16 year old tires

The tire manufacturers say 6 years, but its probably a CYA thing, you might consider buying a set of wheels and tires as " Drivers"to eliminate the chance of road hazard damage to your original GSC's.Richard

[John D.]

Re: 16 year old tires

Old tires on our heavily traveled roads are a danger to you and to others. UV rays kills our old tires you know. My vendor trailer tires looked brand new until you got up close and saw the tread and sidewalls were cracked. Why kill yourselves and others just because of a set of tires.
Yes I read the above posts and respect our members opinion. But why take a chance. If you don't have the bucks go to a Good Year store. Open up a charge card and then you can take 6 months or so to pay the tires off at zero interest.

[Joe L.]

Re: 16 year old tires

My vette is a 1996 C4 with the orginal tires on with 10,700 miles. Are they safe to drive? I was told not to take them off if I'm not going to put a lot of miles on the car. Just to shows etc. The car sits on carpet and not directly on concrete

paul------


Keep this in mind: if you keep driving on them you will eventually wear them out. They they're gone and you can't replace them with the exact originals. Also, if you keep driving on them there's the risk of an irreparable puncture or other irreparable damage. Lose just ONE and your set is DONE. So, the best plan is to remove the tires and wheels and store them for judging purposes. Purchase another set of original wheels and new tires and use them for the road. Wheels America can restore a set of used but beat up original wheels to AS-NEW condition or they can usually sell you a set of reconditioned, AS-NEW original wheels.

[Clem Z.]

Re: 16 year old tires

Ridiculous or not, the fact is that it has become reality in the tire industry.

I recently got a nail in one of the tires on my Chevy truck and had a heck of a time even finding a tire shop that would repair it. "Sir, our policy is that we won't repair tires that are older than 10 years" was what I got at a handful of places even though my tires were only just over 10 yrs and in very good shape. I finally found an older Mom&Pop place that didn't even notice and I was on my way.

Unfortunately, I think this new policy is more due to crappy tires on the market that should be replaced more often. However, the new policy does not take tire quality, speed rating, etc. into consideration.

some states that have yearly safety inspection will not pass tire more than 7 years old

[Tom D.]

Re: 16 year old tires

I still use this one to hold up project cars. Now, I think it's time to retire it (pun intended.)

[James W.]

Re: 16 year old tires

What about a set of new in the wrappers gold line radial tires that have been stored in my cool, dark basement for the last two years?

Thanks,

James West