I would think you have a few more years but would check with the manufacture of your tires. My understanding is in the past nearly all manufacturers recommended replacing at 5 years, but many have extended that to 10 years many years ago. I would anticipate the manufactures have an incentive to be conservative in their life span so I might add a few additional years. I would also taking to consideration the speed you drive. For example I purchased a 20 year old used vehicle that had very old tires. I had a 500 mile drive to get the vehicle home, so I selected the tires, the store, and checked local inventory before leaving home drove straight to the tire shop on surface streets.
How old is too old for tires?
- Thread starter Malo83
- Start date
I have almost 11 year old tires on my Cavalier (General RT43). Car has been sitting in the garage for a while, so they do look in pretty good shape.
But since I plan to take this car places later this year, new tires are going on very soon……
But since I plan to take this car places later this year, new tires are going on very soon……
6 years. If the car is never driven then it doesn’t matter but a car you actually drive yes 6 years from DOT date on tire. There are no actual laws but DOT recommends 6 years
Is what it is. Still good tread doesn’t matter still old tire
Is what it is. Still good tread doesn’t matter still old tire
This exactly. It's a bit ridiculous when people insist on replacing perfectly fine tires after 5-6 years under the guise of safety. There is wayyyy more safety factor in tires then we give them credit for.
Some people don’t pay any attention to tire age. They simply don’t know or don’t care it can become an issue. I have a family member with 15-16 year old tires on their convertible. 6 YEARS ago I told her to replace them due to age. She argued they had plenty of tread and were only a few years old. She didn’t know I can read apparently because I had checked the date on them. 2008 or 2009. Those tires are still on that car today in 2024. And again, I pointed out last fall that it was quite dangerous to be driving that car. I was told the exact same thing as before. They have plenty of tread and are not that old. Whatever.
http://www.barrystiretech.com/TireAging.html
6 years for hot climates, up to 10 years for cold climates
6 years for hot climates, up to 10 years for cold climates
Yep, as long as I can remember the places that sell tires insisted 10 years was ok (probably so they could continue selling old inventory without rotation)
Hot weather and agressive driving change it up fast though.
Just changed the Pirelli's on my 2018 MB. Date code was late 2017, so I figured about 7 years old. The car only has 18,500 miles on it and the tires measured 9/32 of tread left.
The difference in ride is not dramatic, but noticeable. Much better in some situations, so I surmise the tire compounds were hard.
Got the chance to look at one of the unmounted tires and sure enough, there were small cracks in between the tread grooves.
I'm pretty sure this Florida heat had a negative effect on the tread compounds, so I don't regret the choice.
I'm also planning a possible trip to PA mostly on I95. Speeds during that trip will surely exceed 90 mph in some sections.
I hated spending the cash, but feel much safer for this trip.
The difference in ride is not dramatic, but noticeable. Much better in some situations, so I surmise the tire compounds were hard.
Got the chance to look at one of the unmounted tires and sure enough, there were small cracks in between the tread grooves.
I'm pretty sure this Florida heat had a negative effect on the tread compounds, so I don't regret the choice.
I'm also planning a possible trip to PA mostly on I95. Speeds during that trip will surely exceed 90 mph in some sections.
I hated spending the cash, but feel much safer for this trip.
I would drive on truck or car tires that were 10 if they didn’t show obvious signs of damage. I would roll trailer tires on the farm until they won’t hold air anymore. Trailer tires on the highway are what really worry me because most of them are so poorly made now. I’ve had almost new trailer tires spontaneously deconstruct themselves. My boat trailer tires will get replaced every six years from now on.
Loss of grip is very real, especially in the wet. I currently run 7-year old Continentals on one of my cars, no issues when dry but in the rain they're sketchy. My cars are mostly garaged. No visible dry rot, yet, and no bulging. I will run them until I see bulges or cracks. Reduced wet performance is not a big issue here in Texas where we get no rain for months at a time. When it does rain, I drive another car.
The blowout fear mongering is utter nonsense. I only had one blowout and the tire was just 4 years old. Unless you're on the Autobahn doing 155mph, non issue. Slowly pull over and fit spare.
My Jaguar has the original 21-year old Michelin spare. I got a flat last year and ran on the spare for a few days with no issues. It does have moderate dry rot but no bulges.
The blowout fear mongering is utter nonsense. I only had one blowout and the tire was just 4 years old. Unless you're on the Autobahn doing 155mph, non issue. Slowly pull over and fit spare.
My Jaguar has the original 21-year old Michelin spare. I got a flat last year and ran on the spare for a few days with no issues. It does have moderate dry rot but no bulges.
I struggle with this. Most of my fun cars see maybe 2k/year if that and are always garaged. I typically use 7-8 years in service, but it sill galls me to see tires tossed w/ ~15k on them if that and usually less, but its safety and fun. The Yoko's on my Lotus got scary in the wet at 6 or so, but I haven't noticed much of a difference with the Contis, Michelins or Vredesteins, but the latter do seem to lose pressure quicker than the others. The old Rovers get 10 years, but I'm not exactly corner carving with them.
Cost for playing I guess, but still irritating.
Cost for playing I guess, but still irritating.
The industry recommendation is no more than 8-10 years max. This is part of the reason that Paul Walker died in that Porsche Accident. The tires were ancient and high speed didn't help.
My ‘04 Park Ave was 12 years old with only 14k miles when I bought it from the estate of the original owner. It had been sitting in the garage and not driven for a long time. The flat spots (surprisingly) smoothed out after an hour or so on the highway. I kept to the right lane and took it easy for the 5 hour drive home. The tires looked great at first, but developed cracks between the treads after a few months, so I replaced them at only 15k miles. Otherwise they seemed fine, but I didn’t trust them.
I had a 10 year old tire blow out on a boat trailer going 70 mph on the interstate. It completely delaminated in an instant. I had stopped for gas about five miles before and it wasn’t going flat or even warm to the touch.
When it let go the delaminated cords whipped so violently it completely shattered the fender and threw it way up into the air. It also hit the 2” steel fender mounting stub so hard it tore free from the trailer frame and was barely hanging on. I had to weld it back into place.
Had this been my truck instead of the boat trailer it would have been thousands of dollars of body damage.
If they are Firestone, and the tread pattern is "NON SKID NON SKID" all the way around the tire, it is much too old.
Nah it's probably got less than 5000 miles on it. Time for a rotation, that's all
I'm curious if a modern radial tire with the non skid pattern would be any good.
Looking at these Continentals, anybody run these. 
https://www.lesschwab.com/tires/ext...7&prefmax4=500&source=tireVehicleFlow&start=1
https://www.lesschwab.com/tires/ext...7&prefmax4=500&source=tireVehicleFlow&start=1
Good friend of mine had these on his Audi Q5 in the mountains of Idaho. He said he was happy with the traction and performance in the winter weather but wore down quickly. Rear tires were almost down to nothing after 20k miles. No he didn't rotate them, but the fronts were worn down as well. He ended up getting new ones on warranty before trading in the vehicle.Looking at these Continentals, anybody run these.
https://www.lesschwab.com/tires/ext...7&prefmax4=500&source=tireVehicleFlow&start=1
I learned my lesson when I was in college. I had a 11 yr old Ford Torino with the infamous Firestone 721, which spent its early years in Florida, and EVERY tire blew out on the highway over a 6 mo period. Firestone would not replace the remaining ones, despite the recall and bad publicity. After that, it was 6 years or 5/32 (for snow). I have yet to have a tire failure, apart from a puncture or accident, from any major brand (I won't buy Firestone). Your safety is too important and good tires are the most important safety feature on your car.
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2022
- Messages
- 339
5 years is too old. If you're going to drive like you're on a race track, 9 years is definitely unacceptable.
I have winter tires on my Audi that are now over 10 years old and they work great. However, a replacement set is sitting in my garage at present. Never even got around to having them installed. I barely drove it and when I did, it was one of the uncharacteristically warm days the Midwest experienced this summer.
