Do tyres go 'off'

After a certain amount of time just sitting around (say 5 years or so) will a tyre go off and not perform as it should? does the rubber get hard etc?

Reason i ask is i bought some michelin pilot sports off ebay, from research on the net they must be quite a good few years old, they have reasonable tread around 4.5mm.

On both occasions at the drag strip i have had no traction what so ever, not just on the launch but even going into second and third (this is on an N/A), yesterday when going into second my car was very much sideways with all the wheel spin. pressure has ranged from around 40PSI (don't ask) down to 23PSI, i have had 2 sets of rear suspension and also use an LSD.

I honestly don't think its me being a bad driver but the 60fts range from 2.4 - 2.8, every other N/A seems to be able to do 2.1s.

So would i be right in thinking this is likely to be down to the tyres being off if their is such a thing.

No one would admit to being a bad driver. If it were me in that position I would almost definately say it's the tyres.

Wheelspin on an NA is such a rarity, please get a vid next time.

H.

Tyres do have a 'use by' date, it is written on them somewhere.

Have a look in the Tyre Bible, this info will be found there.

Tyres do have a 'use by' date, it is written on them somewhere.

Really? Well David, 2695 posts and you have tought me something at last.

There is only now Josh who at over 10K posts is yet to tell me anything or slight mirth or interest.

H.

Really? Well David, 2695 posts and you have tought me something at last.

 

H.

22,204 and still waiting.

Yes, they also dont perform well if you overheat them at all, i find once i do a dyno run the tyres are shot.

DOT Codes and the 6-year shelf life

As part of the DOT code (G in the tyre marking above), there is a tyre manufacture date stamped on the sidewall. Oddly this code is sometimes only one one sidewall so you might need to get under your car and look at the inward-facing side of the tyre. Take a look at yours - there will be a three- or four-digit code. This code denotes when the tyre was manufactured, and as a rule-of-thumb, you should never use tyres more than 6 years old. The rubber in tyres degrades over time, irrespective of whether the tyre is being used or not. When you get a tyre change, if you can, see if the tyre place will allow you to inspect the new tyres first. It's not uncommon for these shops to have stuff in stock which is more than 6 years old. The tyre might look brand new, but it will delaminate or have some other failure within weeks of being put on a vehicle.

Reading the code. The code is pretty simple. The three-digit code was used for tyres manufactured before 2000. So for example 1 7 6 means it was manufactured in the 17th week of 6th year of the decade. In this case it means 1986. For tyres manufactured in the 90's, the same code holds true but there is a little triangle after the DOT code. So for this example, a tyre manufactured in the 17th week of 1996 would have the code 176

After 2000, the code was switched to a 4-digit code. Same rules apply, so for example 3 0 0 3 means the tyre was manufactured in the 30th week of 2003.

Read more: http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html#ixzz1avq4EYsW

Yes, they also dont perform well if you overheat them at all, i find once i do a dyno run the tyres are shot.

You have more power than the sun though

I always drive round the water box and don't do burnouts before, i will be on slicks next year but just want to make sure its not me being crap first.

22,204 and still waiting.

You should have been around in 2006/2007, some great posts there. These days I can't be arsed or most of my jokes would be classed as a repost.

Interesting thread. In 5 years of being here I can't remember this being discussed. With so many members having their cars laid up for serious amounts of time it can be a consideration for costs.

H.

You have more power than the sun though

 

I always drive round the water box and don't do burnouts before, i will be on slicks next year but just want to make sure its not me being crap first.

Burnout cleans the tyres up and gets some heat in them, well worth doing, get a second diff mount in the car would be my advice before you start on the big burnouts.

You should have been around in 2006/2007, some great posts there. These days I can't be arsed or most of my jokes would be classed as a repost.

 

Interesting thread. In 5 years of being here I can't remember this being discussed. With so many members having their cars laid up for serious amounts of time it can be a consideration for costs.

 

H.

No one ever makes you aware of things like this, i am going to see if i can find any dates stamped on later, quite an interesting thing if they do have a use by date and surely from a safety point of view its something that should be mentioned.

Burnout cleans the tyres up and gets some heat in them, well worth doing, get a second diff mount in the car would be my advice before you start on the big burnouts.

Aye Martin was saying to do the 2nd diff mount, do you even think road tyres need a small burnout?

Take the age code seriously : a tale of caution

A reader contacted me in 2010 with a tale of caution regarding the manufacturing age code on old tyres.

In August 2010, I bought a classic 1976 Mercedes with only 30,000 miles on it. The seller (who was only the second owner) warned me that he thought that the Michelin XVS tyres were pretty old (the spare was unused). I was aware of the dangers of old tyres from reading your tyre bible, but it was a Sunday and the tyres are an unusual size (205/70R14) and were not readily available. I thought that I'd risk the trip back home (250 miles), but that I'd need to get new tyres ASAP. Unfortunately, one of the tyres didn't last that long, and failed at 70 MPH (see photo, note my skidmarks). It turned out that the tyres were date-stamped from week 30, 1986(!), so the advice about old tyres is indeed true!

For the record, I ordered new tyres and had the minor body damage repaired, and all is well with the car now. Stephen W, Dublin, Ireland.

Read more: http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html#ixzz1avstJtEN

Aye Martin was saying to do the 2nd diff mount, do you even think road tyres need a small burnout?

wont do any harm.

No one ever makes you aware of things like this, i am going to see if i can find any dates stamped on later, quite an interesting thing if they do have a use by date and surely from a safety point of view its something that should be mentioned.

Defo big guy. I wonder if the police know about this type of thing. You can pass an MOT with 4mm of tread but the car would ne next to useless when you jam on the brakes or lose traction going round a bend. I suppose they do test for brake power in current MOT's but if that fails, it could actually be down to the tyres?

H.

Take the age code seriously : a tale of caution

 

A reader contacted me in 2010 with a tale of caution regarding the manufacturing age code on old tyres.

 

 

In August 2010, I bought a classic 1976 Mercedes with only 30,000 miles on it. The seller (who was only the second owner) warned me that he thought that the Michelin XVS tyres were pretty old (the spare was unused). I was aware of the dangers of old tyres from reading your tyre bible, but it was a Sunday and the tyres are an unusual size (205/70R14) and were not readily available. I thought that I'd risk the trip back home (250 miles), but that I'd need to get new tyres ASAP. Unfortunately, one of the tyres didn't last that long, and failed at 70 MPH (see photo, note my skidmarks). It turned out that the tyres were date-stamped from week 30, 1986(!), so the advice about old tyres is indeed true!

For the record, I ordered new tyres and had the minor body damage repaired, and all is well with the car now. Stephen W, Dublin, Ireland.

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html#ixzz1avstJtEN

Tire age has been discussed on here before

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?174567-Had-a-small-puncture-today

Ahh thanks Wez.

Fail on my part for not doing a search first

More on old tyres.

http://www.confused.com/car-insurance/articles/2011-11/second-hand-tyre-warning-after-garage-fined-thousands?MediaCode=806&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_source=Newsletter21Nov&utm_content=Newsletter

My n/a can and does wheel spin when I want it to even with 265's on the back!!