Minor Tire Rot or cause for concern?

[djb]

Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
The one in picture 4 is clearly into the wear bar.



I stand corrected.

I was looking at the middle wears bars and didn't notice the outside edges were heavily worn. That suggests that these tires were commonly run under-inflated. That causes them to run hot, which results in rapid aging of the rubber compound.

The heating probably hasn't weakened the belts, but the combination of wear down the wear bars and cracking means they are ready for replacement.

 

[jjcom]

They look ok for around town but I'd get new ones before winter. They appear to be all at or near the wear bars in the center and pretty well worn out on the edges. If it were me, I'd be tire shopping looking for good prices and sales, and jump on it when I see it. The alignment doesn't look to bad from the shots though, but it would be cheap insurance to be sure you get maximum tire life from the next set.

 

[stevejones]

New tire time. There's no trophy for squeezing an extra year outta them.

 

[CapriRacer]

Wow!! That's quite a variation in opinions! Anywhere from junk to perfectly OK. No wonder folks get confused.

I think those tires need to be replaced. They are headed for a failure. I base that on photo #4.

Notice that the cracks appear on the surface of the tread as well as in the groove. This has always been a clear indication of the state of the rubber underneath. It is cracking before it can be worn away. Very bad.

Now for practical mattters. The OP is in Illinois and the weather there is starting to turn cold. I'd recommend that those tires NOT be used for speeds exceeding 50 mph. At that speed a tire failure can result in a spin.

So if the vehicle NEVER sees the open road, one could use the tires until spring.

But since we know that new tires will give better snow traction than worn tires (all other things being equal), perhaps now is the time to take care of the situation.

 

[zzyzzx]

I'm using tires much older than that that look way better, as in mine look perfectly fine. I wonder what happened to those!

 

[hattaresguy]

IMHO they are pretty much done. If we were going into nice weather I'd say run them to the fall, but the snow will be flying before we know it.

I'd look for a good sale and replace them in the next couple of months.

 

[BBuzecky]

I contacted Michelin via their website, and will call them if I do not get a response. I am asking for their help on a new set of tires as a goodwill gesture, since the tires are 6.5 years old but from what I've read their warranty only covers 6 years. I will update the thread if I get anywhere with them.

 

[bullwinkle]

Those are BAD! I retired a set of Mastercrafts on the Ram for cracking, and they weren't 1/4 as bad as those!

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Those are BAD! I retired a set of Mastercrafts on the Ram for cracking, and they weren't 1/4 as bad as those!


I think he did something by now since the last post was oct 2012.

 

[BBuzecky]

Actually still have the same tires. I will be replacing them this summer when the Michelin Sport 3 A/S's get released. They got through winter without any drama, I believe the opinions that while the outside of the tire is bad with up close shots, its the inside that counts. I dont believe another few months is gonna make or break them, but it's my skull in the car so you deal with any consquences, like most things in life. I will update the thread when the fresh Michelin's are on.

 

[USAFANGWINGNUT]

Personally from what I've seen/experienced with tires that have dry-rot like this is that they are a ticking time bomb.
They are especially dangerous when you are driving highway speeds where greater tire temperatures are experienced.
Where ever you bought them ask for a replacement and or contact the tire manufacture.

 

[Brons2]

Mine look worse than that and are only 3 years old and have about 35,000 on them. Primacy MXV4 on my Rondo. Don't have any intention of replacing them till I am down to the wear bar, unless the deterioration gets to the point that I see fibers.

Michelins have problems with dry rot, not the first time I have seen this.