Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[BigJohn]

I collected my 1976 Manta at the end of October and due to holidays/trip to paint shop/Xmas/New Year etc. I have only just started to go around it, today I changed the tyres, the fronts were Dunlop, the rear were Federal, 165/80/13's. Some new Uniroyals were fitted. The tyres on the car had nearly new tread and no obvious signs of age, other than they drove "hard". The date marks were on the inside so awkward to check until the wheels were off. The fronts were 1995, and the rears were 1986 and....




1982!

If I wasn't a bit pedantic about my tyres I could have been flying along the motorway at 70mph on a 34yr old tyre and the youngest being 20. Very Scary.

[Ellis]

I have a similar problem.

When my Mark 2 was restored in 1996 I bought a new set of Michelin XVS 185 HR 15 tyres for it and since then the car has only covered 1500 miles or so.
I measured the tread last week and they all have 6mm + and despite dry storage and correct pressures they will all have to be thrown away.
The reason? All the tyre walls have tiny cracks which render them potentially dangerous.
_________________
Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[47Jag]

[ukdave2002]

I think 10 years is the maximum recommended life for a radial?

There was an incident locally where the driver of an MGB lost his life as a direct result of an older (with very little wear) radial tyre collapsing , a sobering thought.

Dave

[baconsdozen]

I think a lot depends on the usage etc of the tyres. I have seen tyres twenty years old that have been on wheels with no weight on them stored in dry,dark conditions that have no cracks or signs of splitting etc but also seen tyres only a few years old that have been dangerous to use due to side wall damage.
I have old fashioned tubed radials on my Rover,they're old but I check them very carefully and they have no signs of age related damage anywhere. I remember my old man polishing tyres with boot polish,he reckoned it kept them supple,with the new rubber components being often inferior in durability to old ones I wonder if new tyres now last longer than the old or is it viceversa?.
_________________
Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).

[Rick]

I've read that modern tyres last much less well than their older counterparts. From what I've seen, this is often the case. Perhaps to do with the modern composition of rubber used in tyres?

RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop

[Ashley]

I think the best advice is to use them and change them of you see signs of trouble. Usually you don't, but occasionally......

[Bitumen Boy]

If you don't do many miles then I reckon cheapy tyres are a better buy. No point in spending ££'s on tyres that might last thousands of miles more if they get old and hard first.

[Dipster]

In my experience even tyres that appear fine and are quite recent can give problems.

I had two tyres blow out on the same day and within 20 kms of each other! Both were Avon Rangemasters that Land Rover had fitted as OE to my Defender. They were running unladen, were 5 years old, had done about 40,000 kms, were kept properly inflated and had no visible damage. But they popped.

All were immediately replaced with Goodyear G90s, the only 7.50x16 tyres I could get at that time. Within 4 years these were showing slight bulging in the sidewalls. I now run Michelin XZLs. These seem to be of superior quality and, after 4 years, have worn well and look good. But I am keeping an eye on them!

As has been said it does appear that quality has dropped. We may be losing longevity for performance. Or tyre manufacturers are diddling us.......

[Ashley]

Avons have form IMO

[BigJohn]

An analogy I could make is, remember when you were younger and on the pull, say back in the early 70's. You got lucky but were unprepared and a mate gave you a condom with the words "My dad carried this all through the war". Would you risk it?

[emmerson]

Caravanners are advised to change tyres after 5 years. I also apply this rule to my cars, but as the Range rover does around 10/12.000 a year, it's academic anyway, but i do change the caravan tyres regularly. I@ve never been that bothered about make either. I simply fit whatever the local tyre company has available when I need them.

[Rich5ltr]

Out of interest, I can find plenty of info on the net about dating a modern radial tyre but what about older cross-ply? My recently acquired Lagonda has Excelsior tyres that are probably no more than 7 or 8 years old (that's when the car was restored) but anyone know how can I be certain? Where are the markings?

[peter scott]

With tubed tyres the age of the tyre is much less important than the condition of the tube. I don't understand why all tubes are not heavy duty. Normal weight tubes are just an accident waiting to happen.

Peter
_________________
https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[Rich5ltr]

Ah right, good point Peter. So as i have plenty of tread and the tyres look good then perhaps I should just get the tubes replaced?