tires in storage

A friend of mine bought an old Studebaker with some new-looking but obviously at least 10 year old cheap radial tires on it. After a couple days in the sun, the carcasses all expanded and the tires all threw off their tread - without the car moving at all!

nate

the DOT number on the tire shows the production date. In pennsylvania state vehicle inspection mechanics are supposed to check all tirees nymbers and reject any that are too old. I will ask a inspection buddy but I beeve it 6 to 8 years. these rules started after some accidents caused by aged tires shredding and deaths.

by 10 years outdoors tires are junk, I replaced some trailer tires and a buddy has cars that get little use, like a few thousand miles a year.

He was forced to replace the tires at 10 years, and remarked the tires sun shined on were much worse.

On Jun 3, 1:16 am, "SJF" wrote: ...

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"Longer", maybe, yes. I can attest that tractor tires won't live "forever", however, from UV. They are very prone to developing deep cracks at the base of the tread bar and will fail under use. Takes a while, but more rubber and plies alone don't eliminate the problem, just extend it...

The best tire is a newly-made one, best safety factor too. Tires laying around attract varmints.

I use UV protectant on my tractor tires, and park the tractor under cover whenever possible. At $600 apiece, I want them to last as long as possible.

Depends on the tire. I had a set of 6-ply Goodrich All Terrain that ran for a decade, and were still on the pickup and looking good when I sold it. It's best to protect them from the sun.

Amen...although don't know how you can keep a spray-on protectant on the tire anyway unless the tractor isn't used...

Depending on where you are and what you use,

And as much or more than even the tire, all the other peripheral conditions that are too numerous and variable to control to be able to generalize.

My general feeling is that for local, low- to mid-speed driving, as long as the tire has been maintained at proper inflation, etc., and shows no visible signs of _extreme_ UV damage, etc., they're "safe enough". I would be somewhat nervous about taking that same tire and start cross-country on an interstate trip, especially in hot weather. Might be fine, but I'd far prefer to be safe than sorry. Before I started in a case like that, I'd put a new set on. Otherwise, I'd run them until something happened...

Obviously, ymmv... :)

On Jun 3, 2:45 pm, Larry Caldwell wrote: ...

Actually, it's not the tire cost as much as the $200+ per refueling that's the _real_ killer... :(