bajaman

My tires are still in great shape, having only maybe 20K on them but they're like...10 years old.


I've read a lot of articles talking about rubber degradation and that you shouldn't use tires more than 6 years old.
However, my car has been climate-controlled garage-kept since Day One and there is zero age damage apparent on the tires, they looks like new.


Opinions?

12abridgeport

The last FB I purchased last year had good but old tires on it. The thread was good but it showed some crackling on the side walls, have no idea on the exact age. Anyways, driving it home on the highway going about 75-80 mph, one of the rear tires completely shredded off. The car felt like driving on ice! Good thing I was going in a straight line when that happened.

That really changed my opinion on driving with old but good tires. And to think about it, I've even raced my ~500 hp DSM on old tires...makes me shrivel.

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

Old people don't drive fast, so you probably have nothing to worry about.

Seriously though, in addition the compound likely being a lot harder, I'm with Bridgeport. I'd be a little concerned on a hot summer day at highway speeds...especially the front tires. Come spring I'd look at replacing them. And if that's all the mileage you do in 10 yrs, wear-rating be damned. I'd get the stickiest set of DOT's I could find and really enjoy those miles.

cewrx7r1

iTrader: (2)

My previous set of ADVAN AD08 tires starting losing it at about 2.5 years.

It first could be realized as they started to make more noise when driving. Flexibility reduction due to the rubber drying out and getting harder.
Second was reduced traction under maximum acceleration in 1st and 2nd gears.

Before retiring, a set of tires only lasted me about 2 years. Because I drove my FD for work from 1992 through 2003.
Being retired, the car is driven way less so the tires do not wear out now.

Age is the silent killer of tires that gives one a false sense of safety because appearance lies.

90TII rx7

I bought a fd with three of the four tires being original. It was purchased out of town and we trailered it back home straight to a tire shop. Two of the Three original tires disintegrated (sidewall) when they put them on the machine to break them down. The car had under 24k miles on it, granted at the time the tires, except 1 were 22 years old. Which 22 years old and 10 years old aren't the same, that is still old.
They were as described above, also. Looked fine no cracking plenty of tread. I believe they took such good care of the car by keeping it inside, not seeing extreme temp changes and not being in the elements help made them look so good even though they weren't. I am just glad I didnt drive it back home.

bajaman

They're Bridgestone Potenza RE750, 245/45-16. Not the stickiest (treadwear rating 340, traction AA, temperature A) but not bad at all. I've never even heard them squawl in corners, and I drive this car HARD at times.


I keep thinking about going up to 17" or 18" rims and tires but the ones I want are stupid expensive and I really like having things look 'stock'.

eslai

The car I bought this summer with 13,000 miles on it still had the original tires on it. They looked fine, no cracking, felt pliable. I drove them for about 900 miles. The only scare I had was one time when it was pretty cold in the evening (yeah, for san diego, so like in the 50's :P ) and I got a little sideways with just barely any boost at all.

I didn't find out about the tires' age until after that incident. Then I got scared. I replaced the tires last week!

Ten years is definitely too old!

IRPerformance

iTrader: (41)

Most tires are rated for 10 years. There should be a date stamped on the sidewall unless the tire is very old. Multiple heat cycles and UV damage can weaken the tires, even if the damage is not visible to the eye. The result is less traction and a greater chance of failure. I would replace it. Tires are not a place you want to chance it.

quichedem

iTrader: (4)

Yeah, tires really lose pliability over time - check manufacturer's recommendations. Please get new tires. While they look fine, they are far from it.
Jalopnik had an article about this very subject where it was even determined that this is exactly what caused Paul Walker's untimely departure. The tires on that Carrera GT were original to the car, and should have been replaced long before they took it for a drive (especially on public roads at those speeds).

HiWire

Chuck the tires. My previous set of Pirelli P Zero Rosso tires were 9 years old (they came with the car) and I should have replaced them sooner. The tread looked fine but performance tires, particularly, aren't designed to be kept that long.

I'm happy with my new Michelin Pilot Super Sports.

adam c

iTrader: (2)

I wouldnt drive those tires hard. They are really old!!! I just checked my records. I put a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE750's on my car in October of 2003. I only kept them on the car for about 1 1/2 years as they had lost a lot of their stickiness after only 5000 miles. Get rid of them and get something better

armans

iTrader: (2)

Was driving my car pretty hard until I checked the age of the tires (after reading the jalopnik article mentioned above). They (nitto invo) were from 2008, so pulled the trigger and replaced them with new re11s.

Marf

That article made me check on the Bridgestone Potenzas on my Rex. Turns out they are from March '07

Will definitely be replacing them when the car goes back on the road in the spring!

borisf

Seems sketchy. The Tires are the only things connecting your car to the road.

The damage to your car if you have multiple blowouts will be far more than buying a good set of new tires.

Marf

Amen, I always tell people don't cheap out on tyres for a sports car, never thought to factor in the age of a tyre until reading that article.

bajaman

Yeah, the age of a tire is what a lot of people never think of...especially with say...RV or boat trailer tires. Often times these tires can be 10, 15, or even 20 years or more old but still LOOK great and have plenty of tread...but be shot.
The tires on MY boat trailer were a perfect example of this. Once I'd moved the boat to Table Rock lake, I only had to trailer it a few miles to the launch ramps instead of several hundred when I kept it at home. So a few years go by and then...18, lol!
The tires LOOKED great, tread was almost perfect, deep, nice looking.
But when I had new tires put on it, the tire dealer called me to witness something.
The carcass of the old tires was SO shot, the mechanic could stand on one of the dismounted ones and literally tear it apart by hand. Two of the tires had shredded on the tire machine. It was crazy.


I keep going back to these SSR Spectrum Silver wheels...but I can't make up my mind between 17" or 18" rims if I pull the trigger.

Valkyrie

Keep in mind that Paul Walker died in a car with the original nine year-old tires.

HiWire

My vote is for the 17" rims. I'm running 18" RX-8 wheels (235/40R18) and you're going to lose a bit of sidewall, therefore ride quality... 18" would be ok if you're a track freak, because of less flex at the sidewalls with the lower profile.

Also, 18" wheels look too big unless you've got some serious body kit/aero stuff going on... you end up looking like one of those "stanced" cars. Check out my picture album for reference.

bajaman

^ Thanks!


I've seen several FDs with 18" wheels and some look great, some look a bit odd. As you note, you have to go so low on the profile it ends up having no rubber on the sidewall.

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

FWIW I went with 17 x 9 +48 on my car a few years ago. The car is slightly lower than stock but I can still run 255 tires at all 4 corners without rubbing or rolling fender nonsense. I'm with Hiwire on all points. Also fwiw IMO Enkeis are decent wheels for not stupid money.

Kbug

iTrader: (3)

My FD has stock body and looks good on my Volk 18s

eslai

I agree, glad to hear other people think this too! 17" wheels are the sweet spot--I've been looking at wheel pictures a lot here lately and the cars on 18's all look like they're riding on wagon wheels. The body is just too slender on the RX-7 to support 18" wheels--the wheel almost looks taller than the body!

Unless you like looking like a donk, go 17"!

eslai

I notice 18" can look good if the wheels are the type where the spokes don't go all the way out to the rim of the wheel, like the Enkei RPF1.

caredden

iTrader: (148)

This thread made me think pretty hard about old tires...I picked up a set of rims from Japan and they had rubber on them. Rubber looked great, and had ample tread left, BUT the rubber was 13 years old! I could just imagine the tire disintegrating on our lovely roads here in Hawaii (insert Sarcasm) and causing way too much damage to my FD...not to mention the safety aspect of me hitting something or someone should an incident occur.

I had the rubber removed, inspected it, but couldn't overcome my conscious to sell the tires locally. I couldn't do it...to the dump they went.

Kbug

iTrader: (3)

Eh, I've had 16s, 17, and 18s on my FD, 18s have been my favorite size. All the others just looked too small.

For the OP's question on tires, I drift my missile car primarily on used free tires. I've had tires that looked horrible last me a while, and I've had tires that looked brand new blow out after one lap. Just play it safe and get new tires once they've got some age.