I agree with everything said above, tires are not made like they were years ago and tread condition has little or nothing to do with safety. I have had 2 set of BF Goodrich TA tires that failed, one set was just sitting in the garage not even mounted on a car. I walked into the garage one day and noticed the tread of 2 tires coming off the tire casings, one week later the same with the other two. The other set failed on the road, first one tire, then the another a few miles up the highway. Although I like the look of BG Goodrich TA tires, I will not purchase them again.

 

Tedster9 got the tire thing down. The bias ply tires still last forever. I have some friends who have a lot of old cars (Ts, a flathead V8, and a couple 50 cars) and they don't like spending a lot of money on tires for all their cars. They buy used take off bias ply tires, usually at least 20 years old, and run them. The bias still hold up. They won't touch a used radial tire at all. Radials are good for about 10 years, then they die.

 

11 years old?! That's all. The tires on the F-2 were 30+ before I got new ones for the trip to Truckstock in 2011. At the time I went through the entire truck and replaced almost everything I installed new 30 years ago. They were bad, worn tread and fine cracks on the side walls. I never realized how old the were until I started thinking of when I bought them, a couple of years out of high school. Man that was a long time ago!

 

Keeping them out of direct sunlight helps if possible. I've heard it said that tires last longer if they are not parked on dirt or mud. Don't know how true that is.

 

smart move... Any tire over 6 years old should be taken off the road. Most people don't know that ozone causes rubber to break down, not sunlight or anything else. unless they are stored in an area where there is no air they will deteriorate, and can fail with little or no notice.

 

Ozone is well known to deteriorate rubber. Sunlight is no good either. Trust Me.

 

Tires get hard and no longer "grip the road". I don't drive enough to wear the tread off of any tires that I have had. I always replace them after a couple of years no matter how good they look. I am afraid that my tires on my 52 won't be good by the time I am actually driving it since they have already been on it for two years. They have less than 2 miles on them...

 

Jimmy: You'll just have to redo the picture. This time smile!!

 

Always amazes me to see build pictures where folks have new tires and wheels on a build project that will obviously not see the road for years. All the while the tires are slowly going bad.
I saw the results of a not so old tire blowing on a motor home. Took half the fiberglass off one side.

 

No need to do that Grant, I'm glad we all can and should have a little fun with it, why not were all family here, the FTE family.

 

Another issue to keep in mind when purchasing new tires, don't let them unload their old out of date stuff on you. Good tires are expensive, get all of the life and performance you paid for.

The clock is ticking as soon as they are born. Tires have date codes on the sidewall. Find out what it is before purchase, mounting or balancing. Should be the same for all four tires. Three months or six months old is OK. Three years, no. You may have to find another shop when they make up BS lame excuses why they can't do that. It's understandable they want to rotate their stock and not be stuck with an unsaleable product but that's their problem, not mine.

As it stands now there has been some talk of a one-size-fits-all situations "expiration" date for tires, probably around six years. This will drive tire prices up even more would be my guess. Shops today mostly will not even touch tires that are ten years old. Reasonable enough in the ambulance chasing society we are forced to live in.

 

Amen ! In my old age, safety is top priority. Maybe because of countless, stupid, shenanigans when I was young and immortal..... Folks often take tires for granted if they hold air, and have some tread. When I got 'Ol Red on the road, in my glee to have it driving, I screwed around doing burn-outs and going 60mph. Then I looked closely at my tires, dry-rotted, and I totally puckered up....

Never measured my 9" width but it's a bit wider than centered in the wheel-well. So the outside wheel dish is deceiving. Tru-Spoke is only 15 miles from me so I had them weld me up some 15X10" Steelies with a back-space I specified. Was able to get an 11" section-width under the fenders with an inch on each side. Fronts are due next week, and it won't be driven again until it's sportin it's new Shoes.

 

Every thing ages, so it makes sense.
Rubber seals leak with age....gaskets get brittle....tires grow old to.
It has always happened, just not talked about all the time.
Many tire shops are out there selling old tires to.
I had a shop try to sell me tires already 2 years old, and calling them new.
I'm always shocked by people who cannot understand how their 10 year old truck has an oil leak or 2....me I am surprised it took 10 years to leak...that seal is just rubber.

 

I was overly optimistic and bought the tires two years ago. Then I got the largest job that I have ever had (have always been self employed cabinet maker) that lasted most of two years. Much more obvious to you than it was to me.

 

Heck I'm old and cracked too!
I keep telling my wife I'm like a fine wine - I get better with age. I just hope she doesn't see this thread and get any ideas