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What caused this?

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Old Jul 24, 2019 | 07:43 PM
  #1  
6door74's Avatar
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What caused this?

Hey all,

Last year I bought new wheels and tires for my 2006 E350. On my way to the shop it was driving terrible! Something was wrong with the tires and it hadn't been like that before. I made it to the shop and they said my tire was about to blow out. Thankfully that didn't happen but I didn't pay much mind to it since i was putting the new wheels and tires and getting an alignment. I had only had the van for less than a year at this point. Today I was cleaning the garage and took a look at the tire. Wow is all I can say! Any idea what caused this?


 
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Old Jul 24, 2019 | 08:03 PM
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Wow. Is that the same spot on the van as the last one? How many miles are on it? The tire doesn't look worn and the cracks look almost like dry rot. Almost like its been sitting in the sun on that one side a lot. Hopefully someone with knowledge on tires will chime in here. I've had a couple of sets of Generals and while not great tires I've never seen anything like that.
 
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Old Jul 24, 2019 | 08:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Spaznaut
Wow. Is that the same spot on the van as the last one? How many miles are on it? The tire doesn't look worn and the cracks look almost like dry rot. Almost like its been sitting in the sun on that one side a lot. Hopefully someone with knowledge on tires will chime in here. I've had a couple of sets of Generals and while not great tires I've never seen anything like that.
Last one? Did i post here about it before? If so, i forgot

It's was the rear passenger tire i believe and was one of the tires that were on the van when i bought it almost 2 years ago.

Sidebar...I'll be in Chattanooga for a day next month. Any suggestions for a family of 11 (siblings, nieces, nephews, kids) that doesn't cost a lot of money. It was a last minute addition to the itinerary to visit a friend whol will also be in town. I'm already adding hotel costs i didn't plan for at first and don't want to pile onto that. But i would like to explore/sightsee a little bit. I see your profile says NE Tennessee but maybe you might still know a little bit.
 
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Old Jul 25, 2019 | 01:13 AM
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How old was that tire when it let go like that? Date code?
 
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Old Jul 25, 2019 | 07:54 AM
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Chattanooga

I believe the Lodge foundry is nearby and open for tours. Rock City is interesting, but could get pricy.

Lucas
 
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Old Jul 25, 2019 | 07:56 AM
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Originally Posted by jbwheels
How old was that tire when it let go like that? Date code?
That was my first thought. I can't see any way that a problem with the van caused that damage to the tire. It looks defective, to me.
 
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Old Jul 25, 2019 | 08:01 AM
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Originally Posted by jbwheels
How old was that tire when it let go like that? Date code?
Date code 2810 so about 8 years old when it happened
 
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Old Jul 25, 2019 | 08:02 AM
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Originally Posted by lhoward1134
I believe the Lodge foundry is nearby and open for tours. Rock City is interesting, but could get pricy.

Lucas
Thanks. I found ruby falls last night so well probably do one of those attractions on the mountain.
 
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Old Jul 25, 2019 | 06:35 PM
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If the tire was 8 years old and (no offense) but General is a kind of cheap tire to begin with, then that might be your answer. The law says tires must be replaced after 10 years. Of course, as a consumer, you are not penalized for running old tires (until they blow and you run over someone). As an installer you may not sell, or install tires that are 10 years old or older.
I would say, buy newer better tires and you'll be fine. Good luck.
 
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Old Jul 25, 2019 | 06:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Keystoner16
If the tire was 8 years old and (no offense) but General is a kind of cheap tire to begin with, then that might be your answer. The law says tires must be replaced after 10 years. Of course, as a consumer, you are not penalized for running old tires (until they blow and you run over someone). As an installer you may not sell, or install tires that are 10 years old or older.
I would say, buy newer better tires and you'll be fine. Good luck.
Thanks but as I said, I only had the van for less than a year when this happened. It had recently been inspected and they made no mention of tires needing to be replaced.
 
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Old Jul 25, 2019 | 07:07 PM
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Yeah, as long as the tire doesn't have any obvious problems, they pass inspection. They aren't looking at date codes.

I agree with Keystoner. Replace it and you'll be fine.
 
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Old Jul 25, 2019 | 07:20 PM
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Everything was changed last year. I only looked at this old tire (and took the pic) more closely while cleaning out the garage the other day. I was just curious if anyone had an idea what would have caused it to come apart like that as it seemed to go bad only a few weeks after it driving fine before. It isn't driven much as it's our road trip and tow vehicle for when we eventually get a travel trailer.
 
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Old Jul 26, 2019 | 12:06 AM
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Rock city and ruby falls are nice but a bit pricey for a big family. Also the aquarium but still pricey. The trains are cool to see especially if your into that kinda thing. I enjoyed walking across the glass bottom bridge and the big bridges. My cousin lived there for awhile and I visited and hung out a bit but not much was cheap.
 
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Old Jul 26, 2019 | 11:34 PM
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I've had that problem on many general tires. I refuse to run them on any of my vehicles any longer. I've had it happen to ones that were less then a month old or ones that were old and anywhere in between. So it's not just an age thing.

Here's that last one I ran. It still held air, but tore the crap out of my vans rear quarter and damaged my fuel line and rear gas tank by the time I got it pulled over. So now If I buy new tires I stick with either BFG AT's or Michelins.

 
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Old Jul 27, 2019 | 04:35 AM
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Relating to a tires age and its removal from sale or use---I thought the hard cut off date was 5 years after manufacture? Perhaps after that age they're not supposed to be sold as new---never heard it was 10 years.

In fact I've retired sets of Michelin LTX's when they reached 8+ years---they still had 25% usable dry road tread life but the age cracks were beginning to show.

And while a bit late to this thread the opening photo of the failed tire looked simply like a defective tire. Not sure if it was age related but that's sort of failure was certainly not caused by the vehicle on which it was installed. Also didn't know General Tires was so lowly regarded quality-wise but I've never owned or bought a set so this comes as a bit of a surprise.
 
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