Do not run old tires!

[1LowLeSabre]

This is what can happen.


I 44 crash victims - THE H.A.M.B.

Hi you all Shirley and I are doing fine after our accident on I 44 returning from Springfield. The 40 was totaled and we both are lucky to be alive. Shirley spent 3 weeks in the hospital in Joplin with a broken right clavical 2 broken ribs, and a cancer operation while she was there. At 9am on the 25th of May after having a fun filled weekend at Springfield the left rear tire on our 40 blew sending us on the ride of our life. Your many prayers have brought us through with flying colors they were very much appreciated.
Tires did you know you should not run tires over 6 years old? Even if they have 0 miles on them. Check the dates on your tires. Find the DOT and just after it you will find a series of numbers 1106 would mean your tire was manfactured November of 2006. Please check your life depends on it.
Thanks Again for the many prayers Joe & Shirley Joseph

 

[SS_Sean]

 

[Phatman]

I learned the hard way as well.....
I check the manufactures date on all tire purchases now. My wife has plans to order a set for her SUV tomorrow from Tire Rack and we just had this discussion tonight. Always ask when ordering, just to save yourself any problems.

 

["Turbo-T"]

I don't know if this is true or not but supposidly tires have a shelf life yet most new tire stores have tires on their shelves that were manufactured anywhere from 6 to 15 years ago.

See the detailed story here: ABC News

 

[scot w.]

First of all I'm glad to hear everyone is okay! And thats a bummer about the 40. But OLD or NEW wouldn't that have happened if ANY TIRE blew? I know as a rule that it's not good to run on old tires, But even good tires can have blowouts too. I guess what i'm trying to express here is Always be carefull of blowouts with tires NEW or OLD!

Scot W.

 

[robk46]

I had this happen on my '71 Lemans while I was on I-95. Rear tire tread flew right off. Turns out my Dunlop Radial GT was 10 years old. Luckily, I was able to limp it to the side of the road and put on the spare. Pretty scary

 

[GNRick]

Do you think I should remove the original tires on my 86 GN?:biggrin:

 

[INEEDAGN]

I replaced mine for this very reason.

When we were on the power tour, we had a 60's impala blow a rear tire right in front of us. He was pretty squirrely but he got it stopped ok. We stopped to help and when I rolled the tire away I noticed that it was very old. it was a bfg TA that had the old tread pattern they heven't made for several years. He said it gave him no warning. Nothing was hurt in the end but it could have been worse in all that traffic. Awhile back I watched a tv show (probably dateline or some other crappy show like it) that discussed old tires, and a guy with a british car of some sort rolled it because of an old tire blowout, and he was suing the tire company for all related expenses. People don't take responsibility for their own actions anymore.

 

[Otto J]

Alot of guys wonder why their cars dont hook as well as others on slicks,They are dated too and you may end up
with a few year old pair that will not hook well.

 

[Joe Kelsch]

I don't know if this is true or not but supposidly tires have a shelf life yet most new tire stores have tires on their shelves that were manufactured anywhere from 6 to 15 years ago.

See the detailed story here: ABC News

I've seen this before. I don't really care how they showed retread from big truck tires on the road at the end, those are not the same kind of tire failure. Or the garage full of Explorers with their Firestone Wilderness tires which failed by something other than age.

 

[turbofish38]

did you know you should not run tires over 6 years old

And where the heck did they find this ? Sounds like BS to me, if you know me. Yes I said BS. Sounds like the tire industry is trying to sell tires that you don't need. But than who other than maybe a StreetRod owner has 6 YO tires own their cars?

Here's a tip to you namby pambys. Electric motors cause more harm and damage to a tires life than age. If you store your car or tires in the garage and you have an air compressor or a washer and dryer like most of FL than those are slowly eating away the tires. Ain't science and chemistry neat?

I wouldn't have a problem running ancient tires. Have you seen what's available in 15 inch sizes lately? It's almost impossible to find anything in a 275. And I used to run 315-325 wide rubber and those have all but disappeared off the face of the Earth. Pretty soon a 235 will be the widest thing you'll be able to buy.

 

[Phatman]

And where the heck did they find this ? Sounds like BS to me, if you know me. Yes I said BS. Sounds like the tire industry is trying to sell tires that you don't need. But than who other than maybe a StreetRod owner has 6 YO tires own their cars?

Here's a tip to you namby pambys. Electric motors cause more harm and damage to a tires life than age. If you store your car or tires in the garage and you have an air compressor or a washer and dryer like most of FL than those are slowly eating away the tires. Ain't science and chemistry neat?

I wouldn't have a problem running ancient tires. Have you seen what's available in 15 inch sizes lately? It's almost impossible to find anything in a 275. And I used to run 315-325 wide rubber and those have all but disappeared off the face of the Earth. Pretty soon a 235 will be the widest thing you'll be able to buy.

I agree, what's available now isn't what it was. Even if you find a tire width that suits you, unless you run short sidewalls, the width just isn't there.

I don't mind running tires to the end, I just hate buying new one's that have been in a warehouse for a year or two...

 

[Blown&Injected]

I had a Firestone ATX, with the VDHL code blow out on my Explorer. Tire was only 2 weeks old.

I just pulled over and changed it

 

[INEEDAGN]

I will agree that there's no magic cutoff number for tire expiration, but they will eventually age/dryrot to the point of being unsafe. Exactly how long depends on the environment they are stored in. Mine were ten+ years old and vibrated as if they were square, from sitting in one spot for winter after winter. They were also cracking between the treads and just a bit on the sidewalls. My new ones get the luxury of hanging in the air for the winters. I'd run 6 year old tires if they passed a good visual inspection, but probably not anything much older.

 

[GregInAtl]

Do you think I should remove the original tires on my 86 GN?:biggrin:

Haha, yeah, me too. I am on 16" Goodyear gatorbacks from 87 I believe...I'll have to check. Everytime I get on it the tires are on my mind. Also lets be honest here, new tires are built with higher technology and products, so they in most cases will be superior to old tires anyway.

 

[Joe Kelsch]

But than who other than maybe a StreetRod owner has 6 YO tires own their cars?

Here's a tip to you namby pambys. Electric motors cause more harm and damage to a tires life than age. If you store your car or tires in the garage and you have an air compressor or a washer and dryer like most of FL than those are slowly eating away the tires. Ain't science and chemistry neat?

The rear tires on my GS were put on in 1974, but they may be even older than that. I guess I'm in big trouble...

It's true that electric motors are horrible for rubber products. Anything that's rubber on your car will be affected. That included rubber brake lines, engine seals, etc. Electric motors make ozone. That's what is destroying your rubber. When you run an older electric motor (like from the 40's or 50's) that funny odor you smell is ozone.

 

[GNRick]

I had a Firestone ATX, with the VDHL code blow out on my Explorer. Tire was only 2 weeks old.

I just pulled over and changed it

I had a Firestone blow out on the rear of my GN on the expressway. It was under a year old.

Haha, yeah, me too. I am on 16" Goodyear gatorbacks from 87 I believe...I'll have to check. Everytime I get on it the tires are on my mind. Also lets be honest here, new tires are built with higher technology and products, so they in most cases will be superior to old tires anyway.

I just drive the GN with original tires to car shows. I try not to go over 45 mph. Sucks to get passed by minivans while driving a GN. Will take off the tires soon and store them for the next owner who I hope is willing to pay big bucks for a GN with original tires. I'll probably put Goodyears back on, for nostalgia.

 

[S2V6RACER]

I wonder if maybe the air in the tires was over 6 years old causing them to blow?

 

[Pablo]

there are so many conditions that can lead to the deterioration of a tire that its stupid to impose some arbitrary age limit on them.

If you want to be careful how about just inspecting them periodically for dry rot, bubbles, etc?

No matter what you do, none of that is going to make up for a panicky and unskilled driver behind the wheel. New tires can blow out from road debris just like old ones. I think a lot of these accidents are just started by a tire failure. The reaction of the driver is what causes the accident.