Your Tires..Are They Safe ??

[Paps]

Please view this news reel on tires. It may save your life. Other lives as well !! Paps

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

[bobdo]

Thanks Paps,
You have me thinking. Just this summer traveling through North Carolina an SUV directly in front of me had a blow out. The treads flew back & hit my car. The SUV slid sideways across three lanes, hit a guard rail & rolled while another car hit it upside down. Kinda shook me up to watch. I've got a pair of new Avons I've been storing in a dry dark basement. I've been planning on putting them on my build, but now maybe not. They're way over six years old.
I've considered the Coker Firestone replica's, but questioned whether they were good for serious riding or just good for museums & show bikes. I've seen a lot of old bikes out there with original old tires, I always thought they were good as long as the sidewalls weren't splitting. I've never had a blowout, just fairly fast leaks from picking up nails & such. I'm interested to see what others say about this post.
Happy trails, Bob

[Paps]

I think your antique tires will be just as safe as they were years before, as long as they are not rotted out and lack any tread. The tire date code is relatively new. One tire dealer today told me that in 2000, date coding became mandatory. The compounds now used, as bonding agents, in todays tire manufacturing, seems to be behind this shelf life situation. I sure do notice a lot more tread laying on the road since I first viewed this article. They are not all heavy truck tread either. Paps

[AFJ]

There are several different issues here.

A good part of the car/truck/SUV tire problem arises from under-inflation coupled with high speed driving in hot weather being worsened by older tires. Hence the move by the car companies to fit tire pressure monitoring systems.

A good part of the shredded tire problem on the thruways results from re-treaded truck tires shedding their caps.

Use of some tirewall dressing compounds actually promotes tire sidewall checking and cracking.

Fresh motorcycle tires are a fairly cheap part of any antique or classic motorcycle restoration. I can pay dividends if the bike is used on the road, not only in keeping that expensive paint job from road rash. It might also help keep the rider, "On the right side of the grass."

[Paps]

GOOD POINTS....BUT....TELL ME WHEN I BUY TIRES THE FACTS !! Don't let nme learn after the fact. Pa[ps

[AFJ]

In addition, tire code dating is not a recent requirement. A few years ago I changed the clincher tires on a 1927 motorcycle. One Dunlop tire had been made in 1960, the other in 1940. The replacement Dunlops, exact copies of of the original as to tread pattern and sidewall markings, but made with modern rubber compounds, had been made only 3 months before I fitted them on the bike.

I have been checking codes on tires fitted to my bikes and cars for 20+ years.

[Paps]

How did you personally learn about the date codes ? Did your dealer explain it to you ? Was it in your warranty ? Paps

[D.Mac]

I had a tread let loose on my ol' pick-up a couple years ago. Although the tire looked good and had plenty of tread wear left, the tire guy looked at the date code and pointed out that it was 8 years old. Fortunately it held air untill I got stopped- I was pulling a camp trailer at freeway speed- but it sure tore up the back fender of the 'ol '49. Also some years back I restored a bike that had good looking original rear tire, so I put it back on and it blew at about 35 or 40 mph. Made it to a stop on the side of the road, still upright, but much older and wiser! Now, if it's a rider it gets new tires.
Are the date codes universal among different manufacturers? Can anyone here give a short course on how to read them? Messing around with old vehicles you end up with all kinds of tires of unknown origin.
Doug McLaughlin, #6607

[AFJ]

How did you personally learn about the date codes ? Did your dealer explain it to you ? Was it in your warranty ? Paps

I probably went and looked it up in the library, it's a long time ago. About 8 years ago it changed from a 3 digit (2 for the week of the year, the 3rd digit for the year. I remember the govt. regulation of 2000 where he code changed to 4 digits, the last two being the year.

AFJ

[Paps]

Thanks AFJ. That is pecisely the point though. You are rare compared to most consumers though. Most don't even have a clue to look. IMO....the consumer shouldn't have to look. The data ought to be in their face, before purchase. Billboard on the walls, what ever it takes to inform them. Paps

[*JU]

I recently had a brand new fire truck in transit toss a thread and hit the windshield of my vehicle! I guess even the new ones can fail!
JU

[Somer]

I have to say I really take tires seriously.Spend thousands on your bike and cheap out on a few bucks on a tire.I slid down an Interstate after a blow out once.
After tires are a few years old,I take em off.
Its the only thing between you *ss and the ground.

[RSmith]

Tire dates

Happily, we bought a new set of Dunlop K70's,
from Magic Motorsport, in Waterford, Michigan
last week.

AND the dates of production stamped on the
sidewalls were March 08 and April 08.

So, the good news is, that "fresh" tires
are available.

[Coolbreeze]

Maybe I have been lucky with my motorcycle tires. My Chief's Firestone front tire was damaged in a fire; so, I just hung more weight on it to compensate for the lost rubber and keep it in balance. It was well over 40 years old (probably 50+) when I replaced it with a Coker. The rear tire (Goodyear) has been going great since it was installed in the '60s. This bike runs at highway speeds of 60-70 mph; so, the tires are not pampered. I recently replaced the original tires on my '64 Honda 150 Touring Benly because the tread rubber was so dry that it left a powder residue when the tire slipped on the pavement.

I have had tires delaminate on cars due to excessive (not by my standards!) speed. I have also had a car tire shred due, I believe, to under inflation. I do not blame either of these problems with age: poor workmanship in the first instance and poor maintenance in the second.

Although it may be possible for age to be a factor in tire performance and safety, a far greater cause of tire failure would be poor inflation, followed by road hazards, followed by excessive speeds.

All that being said, I do agree with Paps that the consumer should know when the tire was made. Only with that information can a buyer make an intelligent selection of which tire to buy.

[Coolbreeze]

Why tires fail, IMHO

Maybe I have been lucky with my motorcycle tires. My Chief's Firestone front tire was damaged in a fire; so, I just hung more weight on it to compensate for the lost rubber and keep it in balance. It was well over 40 years old (probably 50+) when I replaced it with a Coker. The rear tire (Goodyear) has been going great since it was installed in the '60s. This bike runs at highway speeds of 60-70 mph; so, the tires are not pampered. I recently replaced the original tires on my '64 Honda 150 Touring Benly because the tread rubber was so dry that it left a powder residue when the tire slipped on the pavement.

I have had tires delaminate on cars due to excessive (not by my standards!) speed. I have also had a car tire shred due, I believe, to under inflation. I do not blame either of these problems with age: poor workmanship in the first instance and poor maintenance in the second.

Although it may be possible for age to be a factor in tire performance and safety, a far greater cause of tire failure would be poor inflation, followed by road hazards, followed by excessive speeds.

All that being said, I do agree with Paps that the consumer should know when the tire was made. Only with that information can a buyer make an intelligent selection of which tire to buy.