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This just happened to my friends collector car. Car was sitting in the parking lot when the tire exploded like a canon shot!
They were the original 40 year old, 1983 tires with only 400 documented miles on them, one owner car. He removed them back then, carefully stored them indoors for years, and just put them back on 2 weeks ago.
Imagine what kind of damage this could have done on a fiberglass Corvette.
Good thing it was a steel fendered Rolls Royce LOL!
And they were good tires too, Michelins.
Old tires just are not safe at any speed, not even parked! LOL
A picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks for sharing that photo.
I've heard that tires should last up to 10 years... I think I'll replace mine at the 8 year mark. It's a shame that tires with great tread remaining don't last but can rot from the inside.
funny this thread came up today. I took the spare out of my 73 today and its the original Firestone from 73.
Speed rated like a coffee table at this point
I checked it a few times with a gauge and it said 17 lbs then 11 lbs three times after that.
Point taken by the OP... there is nothing you can do to preserve tires
It's funny that. I've owned my Corvette for well over 30 years now. Heck, almost 35 years. And I've never worn out tire. Not a one. But I've certainly bought a few sets!
And I put the old ones up for sale, with near new tread. And someone always buys them!
It's funny that. I've owned my Corvette for well over 30 years now. Heck, almost 35 years. And I've never worn out tire. Not a one. But I've certainly bought a few sets!
And I put the old ones up for sale, with near new tread. And someone always buys them!
I give them away, with a warning of how old they are.
Thanks. This just helps me finally decide to replace my very old tires. They have low mileage but are probably over 25 years old (so old I don't remember).
Old Tires. Yuck.
I bought a used 15 or so year old PU once. Someone in its past purchased old tires and put on it. They looked near new but were older that the truck by a few years. I managed to get it to a shop one day after severe shaking in the truck. One of the tires looked more like an egg than a donut! I got lucky and learned a cheap lesson. No old tires on my rigs. Check date codes on any tires I did not personally purchase.
I'd rather continue to pay to dispose of them than have someone get hurt from a used tire I gave away.
How do you know they are not re-sold anyway? ..... But I totally agree with you.....
Most tire places around me re-sell used tires that have decent tread/ and not all cracked up, they scrap the ones that don't. The bigger places resell them to smaller shops that then sell to the public...
How do you know they are not re-sold anyway? ..... But I totally agree with you.....
Most tire places around me re-sell used tires that have decent tread/ and not all cracked up, they scrap the ones that don't. The bigger places resell them to smaller shops that then sell to the public...
60
Good point!
I doubt anyone is picking through this stuff at the county dump, but who knows. I'll cut the bead next time.
I am a chemist and tires continue to cross-link or vulcanize every single day. There is nothing you can do to stop it. You can speed it up by leaving your RV parked in the sun, etc, but you can not slow it down. Then they get hard and lose their "rubberiness".
And sometimes they are just not mixed together that well in the first place. Read the book on the Firestone 500s and you'll get some scary insights.
I had a 6 month old F*** tire steel belt come completely off at 70 mph on the NYC Veranzano Bridge. It took off the entire right rear steel quarter panel of my new 78 Impala company car. The steel belt was hanging 2-1/2 feet out from the tire!!!! Just beating on the fender.
Anything made out of rubber does not age very well.
I have a number of old military vehicles. and for many of them the tires are no longer manufactured so those in this collecting group are quite familiar with the issues of "really old" tires!
One of my trailers (M747) utilizes a tire of a dimension 445 x 65 x 19.5, which is not serviced in this country any longer, so many of them (16 tires to a trailer) are "old". Now, the "not even safe when parked" concern here is when the sidewall blows out on one of these (typical Michelin (in my experience), just sitting there) at 110 P.S.I. (cold) on a 20-ply tire of this size; it sounds like cannon fire, and rubber and steel shrapnel will fly a hundred feet with potentially injurious force!
The dangers of an exploding tire are hard to comprehend. Unless you have seen it.
My father in law almost never walked again after mounting a semi truck tire on the old truck split rims, way back in the day, before safety cages. 120psi.
I heard he broke both his legs, in about 128 places, and spent 9 months in the hospital. Must have been like a bomb.
120psi times 100 square inches or so, is Six Tons of force.
He always walked with a limp, but at least he was walking. He defied the Dr's odds.
In shorts, his legs were frightening.
Tough old bird that guy!
10 years for me. Can't control what the tire installer does with old tires. Old tires on trailers is also also something that needs attention. Many owners do not know how to read tire dates,
Read the book on the Firestone 500s and you'll get some scary insights.
When I ordered my '76 I checked the white letter option & was thrilled when it was delivered with 500's because I thought they looked the best.
Three years later on a 2-lane in eastern Colorado the right rear had a tread separation at speed & I thought heaven was coming sooner than later.
The only thing that saved our ***'s was it held air. About a foot of tread came loose & beat the flair down to bare glass before I got it pulled over.
Excellent thread, full of great examples. I have a few of my own, but as said one picture is worth... And I am going to refer this thread to forum members who carry on about how there is nothing wrong with a 10 year old ( or whatever year you want to put in there) tire. It's just a plot by the big tire companies to sell more tires. Been there, done that. to Leigh1322 I have used split rings and they are dangerous just looking at them. When I was younger, we even had 3 rings, even worse. Had a difficult time selling my father on the benefits of tubeless and a cage. Great write up. Maybe should be sticky!
11-12-2023, 11:29 PM
Old Tires Not even safe when Parked
