I just bought some tires at a swapmeet that are 20 years old +. They have a 3 digit date code which means they were made before 2000. They are 295/50/15 tires and I got them for 30 bucks each. They have never been mounted and are brand new. They have been in a shop the entire time and look and feel great. But, are they simply too old to safely be on the road?
I just went through the same thing. had a set of rwl tires with 7000 mile on them. went to discount tire and they informed we that they would not touch them for any reason. read an article in Hemmings mag about this same problem, their answer is:: dump the old tires. don't risk your life or your loved ones for a set of old tires. Ken
My GF bought a 2001 car that had ultra low miles and 12-year-old tyres on it. They looked as new, heaps of tread. She could not brake safely and in the wet this small car became a death trap. She changed the tyres. Problem instantly solved. I think everyone who has read this topic will agree with Kenny. Toss them.
I would use a 20 year old made in USA tire over a week old made in China tire. This 5 year rule came about because of the import tires we are stuck with. Most Coopers are still made in USA. Shop wisely.
I would say it depends on how and where they were stored. I'd probably run them on the back. If there is an issue it will be de- lamination.
Ditch the old tires. Just replaced my 25ish year old tires. All still had a lot of tread, and looked okay...just didn't realize how bad they really were. Had gotten used to the poor handling. New tires made the car handle like a completely different car.
If the car is stored inside, then 10 years is the limit. They may look fine, but why would you risk your car and your life for a few hundred dollars?
well I was going to recommend that you switch to the Remington xt-120 that I still run from 1986 on the trans am but i better hold off and take a good look at them
Add me to the "Do Not Use Them" list. I had a BFG that looked like new but was older than I thought come apart on the highway at 70mph. I maintained control, but there was damage to the left front fender on our '68 Impala.
Definitely get rid of them. I've had the 25 year old Tiempos with 80% tread left on the car, and it was like night and day when I finally got rid of them. The car felt and rode 100 times better. On my 46 Buick I had one ancient balloon explode on me once on the highway. Shrapnel everywhere. So I put the spare on, it was only 60 years old at that point. It had never been on the ground, it was the factory original spare tire. Still had the nubs on it, and it was regularly cleaned. It started to come apart after 5 miles, and the tube was porous and didn't really hold air anymore. It had probably hit its "best before" date back during the Eisenhower administration, but of course, it still looked new so why not keep it. I just noticed that my Wildcat has tires on it that I bought when I first owned the car; - 20 years ago. So they're going to come off, and I'll find me some nice new red-walls.
I know this is a fairly new idea, but, really, tires are like oil... you can't just leave it original if you want to drive the car.
There is nothing better than the smell of burning back tires!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A few good burnouts??? Light them up, and show us the pics..............
I wish I could have got somebody to video my 74 olds 98 when I lit up the 35 year old bias plys it was history going up in smoke to me but I thought I was alone in this celebration so glad to see all my close friends are crazy lol
Dang! Ya figure? :laugh: All kidding aside, it's been claimed that any tire older than 5 years is potential trouble; - the scarier ones are the ones that have been languishing on the shelf for 5 or more years and then are being put on as "new" with a substantial discount! Of course, no one knows how to read date-codes, so there is a good chance that "discount" tire is potentially older than the ones being replaced.
