# Tires.... rotted away and cracked



## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

The only vehicle I have that actually "wears out" its tires is my motorcycle, since I drive it 80%-90% of the time. I also have a car in nice condition for nice events, and my ol' Cummins diesel Ford F-250.

What can I do to keep the tires on the vehicles from dying due to age? I never wear them out (going bald)... they just get "old". Armor All is worthless. It just destroys the rubber, turning it into goo. I have also tried covering them to keep them out of the sun, but that does not help much, either. (Due to ozone in the air??) and the covers don't like to stay on, and also deteriorate (and are not cheap).

Any other options? If things go really bad, I think finding good tires that don't cost $1000 each will be a challenge.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Even tires stored in a "perfect" storage container only have about a 6 year shelf-life, that is why there is a manufacture-date-stamp on the tires. There is a whole thread about it on ADVRider.com where a whole discussion takes place. I first heard about a tires "expiry-date" a few years back when a father bought "brand-new" tires for his kid's vehicle. Turned out that the "brand-new" tires had sat in a warehouse for about 6 years, the kids went for a vacation-trip and the tires blew-out and caused a very bad wreck.

The only tires that I know of that are rated for a very long shelf-life are trailer-rated tires that see very little use, but, need to be in top-shape when they are used.


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## BasecampUSA (Dec 26, 2010)

Enemies of rubber:

Oil and solvents
UV Light, x-rays and gamma rays
Oxygen and ozone
Higher temperatures


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Maybe I need to buy a spare set and store them in a nitrogen-purged environment. And old HMMWV 6.2 liter engine shipping crate would hold quite a few, and can be sealed. I am not sure there are many other good options.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

"Good" used tires have all dried up... availability, I mean.
It used to be people would change tires pretty often because they drove so much. With no weather cracking, they made great trailer tires. 

People are driving less now, so tires are getting old due to age rather than tread wear. I used to be able to buy pretty decent 50%+ tread tires for $10 each (those were the days!) now anything that holds air and has only 25% tread sells for $25-$30! 

Used 15" rim tires for the trailer are getting tough to find, too. Seems all new vehicles run 16" or larger.


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## FrankW (Mar 10, 2012)

Its not just the rubber its the condtion of the tire carcass inside as well.

Tires dont usually wear out by going bald (even though they can ) they wear out by losing strenght and losing thier shape.

The dry rot you mentioned is one of those factors.
But the tire carcass is usually less long living than thew rubber.

Example a cheapo tire w/ 80,000 mile rated

All that means is the rubber in contious irivng would likely take about 80000 miles until it wears down.
But the tire carcass would wear out _much_ sooner.

I usually try to stay away from tires that are rated for many miles, as I dont like a hard compound (less braking, less control) and a tire that wears its rubber down in 30000 miles will wear its rubber down in the same amount of miles most carcass usually last.

High end tires ironically have a stronger carcass and softer rubber. the rubber will wear out at 30000- 40000 miles maybe and the carcass will last as long as well.

When you have a cheap tire no matter what the mile rating, the carcass may lose strenght much sooner.
You can tell when the tires are losing their balance too easily.

I replace mine every 30000 miles (less on the sports car)

For a BOV you want to have STRONG tires since a SHTF situation will not always be perfect pavement.

Michelin are among the best. EVERY tire that leaves the Michelin factory gets X rayed for defects.

For my daily driver I use Firestones but try to not buy the cheapest ones.

Also avoid Chinese made tires which have a history of shoddy carcass and glue ( tho the rubber is ok)


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

I used to always buy retreads on Michelin cases. I did it for years, but they aren't available anymore. I really liked the compound... yes, quite soft and wore easily - but worked beautifully for traction on ice and snow.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Funny about tire makers for different applications.

Harley-Davidsons come from the factory with Dunlop tires...the most worthless pieces of rubber crap ever to grace a wheel.

My "go to" brands for tires (after trying many in over 100,000 miles of motorcycle experience) is Kenda on the rear (Taiwan) and Metzeler (German) on the front. The only other ones I would consider on the front is a Pirelli (Italian) or Bridgestone (Japanese).

The Kenda tires do wear fast, but the traction on wet surfaces is second to none. I would rather replace tires twice as often than go sliding!

For truck tires, shoot me - but Kumho (Korean) for the win.


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## IlliniWarrior (Nov 30, 2010)

not only your tires but everything "rubber" oriented ... need to check that main surpentine belt and the hoses


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

I check the manufacture date before I buy (last set was about a year old) and I replace them before the tread wears out. I could have used my last set for another year but I was noticing a slight decrease in handling. Not only does this mean that I could take a long roadtrip on a moments notice but it increases the safety of my vehicle.


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

I just got new tires (recaps) on my truck ('03 Dodge Dakota). 3 of the tires were leaking because they were just shot-bald, patched holes, etc. but the front left was still holding air. That tire always looked low even with 35PSI in it. I wonder if it was the sidewalls giving it up. I never knew about the carcasses wearing out that fast.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

The crazy thing is how long some tires last compared to others. Our old "3 ton" trucks with big bias ply tires seem to last forever. We don't put many miles on them but one set in particular is 30 years old and has virtually no signs of degradation, no problem loading it up with 15000 pounds of grain and going on the highway. Car tires seem to fair the worst for us, and tractor front tires. 
I was just thinking though, trailer tires and these old truck tires are usually run at like 80 psi and spend most of their life virtually round, that might help?


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

IlliniWarrior said:


> not only your tires but everything "rubber" oriented ... need to check that main surpentine belt and the hoses


Napa Balkamp stuff..... never any issues, ever. I have belts and hoses 20 years old that are still good.... if you keep OIL off of them! That is what kills rubber under the hood. I think Gates made them for Napa.


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