Snow Tire Questions

[SMB]

Hey all,

I bought my 1st set of snow tires and it's the best money I spent on my Camry. I got a set of 4 used Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 off Craigslist for $125 including Camry wheels.

I just have a few questions about these snow tires:

1. I checked the date code on these tires and there were manufactured in 2001. Is it still OK to drive with these tires? I am planning to replace them before next winter if I find a good deal on snow tires.

2. I sometimes smell rubber burning coming from the front tires. Now the snow is melting and for the past week, it has been getting warmer here in Ohio. Is that normal for snow tires?

Thanks

 

[Carbon]

Any burning smell is more likely from the brakes than the tires, I would think.

 

[willix]

Snow rubber can wear quickly in dry or warm conditions. Consider summer rubber set and you may get a more than two seasons use out of the set.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: SMB

1. I checked the date code on these tires and there were manufactured in 2001. Is it still OK to drive with these tires?

It's probably ok to drive, however, their winter handling capabilities must be severely diminished by now. Rubber tends to harden over time, and hard rubber doesn't work as well on snow and ice. Personally, I'd replace them ASAP.

 

[JHZR2]

Id be looking for cracking and degradation of the rubber - if youre not seeing that, and the tires are properly stored when not in use, Id run them.

 

[ryan2022]

Yeah I wouldnt run them for over 12 years. I've heard from B.F.G and thats the lifespan they give. I'd say youve got at least 1 winter, probably two on them for sure. At that price, including wheels, you did great!

The wheels themselves were probably worth that. I'd run them for two winters as long as theres NO cracking or dryness, and toss them after that.

You could probably sell them for at least the cost of install of new rubber in a year or two. Just let the buyer know there getting on in age!

Good steal!

 

[Bror Jace]

"I bought my 1st set of snow tires and it's the best money I spent on my Camry."

I try to convince people of this around here ... but so few take my advice.

Tires less than 10 years old? I'd run them as well as long as the rubber is not too dry or cracked (they hold air and there are no visible cracks in the tread or sidewall.

Even older, well-used snow tires are better than 'no-season' tires when the white stuff flies. Run them the rest of this year and next ... then junk the tires and get new snows for the rims.

I don't think that rubber smell has anything to do with the tires. You can run winter tires in the summer ... but the softer rubber wears out at least twice as fast.

 

[SMB]

Thank you all for your replies.

The tires are performing very well in the snow compared to my Pirelli P4 all season set.

There are no cracks on the sidewall, granted I took a quick look at them. But the good thing is my daily commute is less than 2 miles one way and the speed limit is 40 MPH.

Now the smell is completely gone. The burning smells like when a car is stuck in the snow and the driver is spinning the wheels in their place.



Originally Posted By: Bror Jace
"I bought my 1st set of snow tires and it's the best money I spent on my Camry."

I try to convince people of this around here ... but so few take my advice.


I let my friend test drive my car with snow tires and he was amazed!

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: SMB
Now the smell is completely gone. The burning smells like when a car is stuck in the snow and the driver is spinning the wheels in their place.

Is this a manual trans? If so, maybe someone burned up the clutch while trying to get out of snow?

 

[SMB]

No it's an auto.


Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: SMB
Now the smell is completely gone. The burning smells like when a car is stuck in the snow and the driver is spinning the wheels in their place.

Is this a manual trans? If so, maybe someone burned up the clutch while trying to get out of snow?

 

[WishIhadatruck]

I also own a set of Blizzak WS-50 winter tires. I keep them on an extra set of rims just for winter. I bought them the first year I owned my car (2001 Grand Prix bought new) and they are just now needing replacement. They are 9 year old tires with 40k+ miles on them. I'm amazed they are still pretty good in snow and ice. I think the newer Blizzaks on my wagon are better but they still have nearly full tread depth. I was afraid they would get a lot worse when I transitioned from the soft spongy multicell compound to the standard winter compound beneath but they did not. Not as good on ice as when they had more tread but still as good or better than all season tires in my opinion. I drive them in snow and on ice with good confidence. As with others, if they aren't rotting or cracking keep driving them. I normally limit my tires to 8 years but these look so good still I decided to drive on them one more winter.

 

[ridgerunner]

I've always run a good winter tread tire all year round on my Subaru. Got fed up with "all season tires" which are really a summer tread/highway tire in my opinion. They always seem to let me down when I needed traction the most! With the winter tires I usually get 3 years or so on them and they still have decent tread before I change them out. I run a lot of nasty dirt roads and even off road a lot and need a good treaded car tire. The only ones available for cars are winter treads. I Mostly run Cooper tires. They have always worn evenly and performed well for me.

 

[jje]

This is a great question. I got a seconhand set of Hercules Polar Trax about 3 years ago and just got to looknig at the date code, since they seem very hard, and I get a lot of ABS and more sliding than I think there should be. They're loud as [censored] on the highway ([censored] is very loud).

2203. They're 7 years old. Rubber doesn't look cracked anywhere, and there's still 3/16" tread.

So I wonder - replace them now, or keep on trucking?


edit: Bob censors that? It's the same word for Ale in German! Why do you hate Ale?