what are the oldest tires you've used?

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Jan 4, 2023
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2012 michelin LTX a/t2, this is my car. these tires are only on the rear and im in the market for new ones. they don't seem to wear anymore, just chunk off. and they haven't popped after some 30 mph ditch crossings (similar to hitting a curb) so I doubt a pothole will hurt them, unless it's the Maryland variety.

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I have some Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s on my S4 that were installed in either 2009 or 2010. I don't drive the car though. Plenty of tread left though uneven wear since I have the car lowered a little and without the adjustable control arms, you can't align properly.
 
2012 michelin LTX a/t2, this is my car. these tires are only on the rear and im in the market for new ones. they don't seem to wear anymore, just chunk off. and they haven't popped after some 30 mph ditch crossings (similar to hitting a curb) so I doubt a pothole will hurt them, unless it's the Maryland variety.

View attachment 137498
That tire looks like it it'll breakdown to rubber mulch by itself (self shredding).
 
That tire looks like it it'll breakdown to rubber mulch by itself (self shredding).
one of them did after I impaled it on a root and drove another 2-3 miles, i was in sand so i didn't notice the flat immediately. this was over a year ago.image-20211009_170628.jpg
 
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2005 nokian hakkas retired in 2021. Winter set for the van. worn down but no cracks, etc. Calgary, even with cold winters, is super easy on tire aging.
 
I've seen trailer tires so bad that you could see the belt through 3/16" gaps in the tread. And they still rode just fine, just wouldn't want it behind my vehicle.

Oldest I probably used was the spare on my '85 F-250 I used to own. I had a belt separation on the regular tire and had to mount the spare, which I later discovered was made in 1993. This was in 2013-ish, so twenty years old. Oddly enough it exhibited very little signs of cracking (probably from being mounted underneath the bed all that time away from sun), but it was definitely hard rubber. I had no money then, so drove on it a couple months till I could afford a new set of tires. It was a P235/85/16 IIRC.

These days I don't really go by date, but when the cracking gets bad enough, it's time to go.
 
Out here in the desert, the tire dealers tell you four year. Well, they sell tires. I don't mind going six years or so, but much more can get pretty dangerous. I do not buy cheap tires, so that may make a little difference.
 
We have tires on our van from 2007. Tires on the Beetle are dated 1997 and the spare 2001. As soon as it’s road ready again new tires will be put on.
 
I drove on the 23-year old spare in my volvo wagon. It sounded like an aeroplane but it was the simple tread pattern. Volvo probably liked it because it was annoying in order to shame the operator into fixing it promptly.

My project town car came with Sam's Club BFGs from 2004. They sucked-- were cone shaped and one had a bad belt/ bubble/ vibration.

My 26 year old tow dolly tires held air and worked "fine" but were cracked to smithereens when I dismounted them.
 
the spare on my car is from 2001, still has the little strings on it from when I was made. it's the next tire i plan to replace, because it's a size smaller than the other tires.
 
put a new looking Dougnut on my 2001 TT when i had a flat last month, drove 25 miles under 50 mph to my house! been thinking although it looks good + prolly the first time is was used its over 20 YO!!!! prolly look to replace it just because. tyres in the dark last longer + my aunts rarely driven 99 cherokee setting outside had its cheapo tyres replaced often for visual cracking!!
 
The fullsized spare on my Trailblazer is the original from 2007, I used it once in 2020, I drove home with it a few miles, then a few miles to the tire store, wouldn't trust it for more than that, on a Muncie street, a few potholes or manholes they haven't brung up to the surface and it may go boom.
 
The original spare on the 95GMC in my sig was remounted from the rusted rim to a later year rim and is in excellent visible condition. Would only use it very briefly.
 
Oldest for me were the 7 year old GT Radials on my '07 Sonata I bought in October. Wet traction was bad but they were quiet and smooth. Got some new Kumho's installed though.

I also don't let spares get over 10 years old. Need to figure something out for the Sonata's spare.

Well, when I bought the Camry in 2015 it had the original 15 year old full sized spare on the car and the matching tire for the rest in the trunk for some reason. I wanted to keep a couple old tires for my brother's car when I got new ones right after buying it and I told Discount Tire to just put the old ones in the car. The car reeked afterwards from that old spare
 
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