Aging Tires

HudMotCarCo
HudMotCarCo Expert Adviser
edited November -1 in HUDSON
I suspect that most Hudson fans are aware of the danger tires over 6 years of age present, but just in case a reminder is needed paste the following address in your browser. A year ago the right front tire on my F-350 blew out at 70 mph. The truck veered to the right and it was all I could do to keep it going straight .... straight through a couple of highway signs as it ground to a stop a hundred feet from a railroad track. :ohmy: Tread was very good, but tires were 9 years old. Most of us probably leave the tires on our HET cars far longer than is wise and drive faster than than we should.

Bill

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

Comments

  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    Six years? When I last replaced the tires on my Terraplane, they were 25 years old! (Guess I like to live dangerously!)
  • RonS
    RonS Senior Contributor
    Were the Fords tires radials? Bias ply tires should last longer if air pressure is maintained, albeit poorer handling. Radials can be touchy when they get over 6 years, especially when run under inflated. The steel belts shift and the integrity deteriorates causing a failure. Maybe some of our friends in the UK can report on that nations requirements for tires.
  • TwinH
    TwinH Senior Contributor
    Garbage in = Garbage out... Just my rant I know,but my belief is the raw materials
    used to manufacture tires has a huge influence on the lifespan of the finished
    product. Bring back my (real) "Gum Dipped" Firestones!...


    On a related note: Yes, I had one of the 13 year old Coker Classic radials suffer
    a belt failure late last year while heading to the airport to pick up the wife in our
    49 Hornodore. Fortunately it held air and didn't break any side glass during the violent shaking at speed. I was able to make it to a tire store,replace it with a used blackwall for $50(including generous tip)and was less than 15 minutes late
    picking up the dear misses. Oh,I replaced them all with new Diamondback radials
    with which I hope to get at least ten years of life from...(crossing fingers):whistle:
  • StillOutThere
    StillOutThere Expert Adviser
    I side with anyone who says it is really primarily about the quality of the tire to begin with and secondarily (but about as importantly) about continually maintaining proper inflation. Age is very unimportant. Three of my collector cars have tires of 20, 25 and 45 years of age. The 20 and 25 are driven at highway speeds without concern. Cheap tires fail like cheap parts fail
  • HudMotCarCo
    HudMotCarCo Expert Adviser
    Tires were radial. Interesting and informative comments regarding this matter.
  • 51Hudson
    51Hudson Senior Contributor
    The bias ply tires on my Hudson are over 20 years old and still hold air great. I hate to get rid of them because they have great tread left on them.
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    Sunlight and heat are the main factors in deterioration. I bought a "New" tyre at a swap meet for my Jet, 18 years ago. I know for a fact that the brand had not been available for at least 30 years. It had been stored in a cool, dark basement all that time, and was offered for sale by the son of the man who had bought it for his trailer, and never used it, and had since died. I put it on my Jet, and did 20,000 miles on it, and have recently had it re-capped (yes we can still that done here in the antipodes). Conversely, I bought two NOS 600/18's when I rebuilt my first '29 Hudson, and they had bee stored up in a loft, under the iron roof. Even though they were still in the brown paper wrappers, I only got around 1,000 miles before the tread was cracking away and you could see the canvas. Other tyres I have had have been on cars that have been outside for over 10 years, and they are cracked and perished beyond any idea of being used. Realistically, few of us ever drive our old cars long enough to wear the tyres out, but if you want them to last, ensure that they don't get direct sunlight, and preferably jack all wheels up if you are leaving the car for more than a few weeks.
  • hornet53
    hornet53 Senior Contributor
    I just ran 2500 miles on my 17 year old Sears Allstate Bias-plys. Touched 90-95mph at one point running through the mountians north of Grants Pass OR. Was a little nervous about it at first, but I've never had problems other than a slow leak on one. That said, this is the last year I'll be running them. Starting to get some light checking, and bad wear on a few.
    DiamondBack is the local bias tire of choice around here, isn't it?
  • StillOutThere
    StillOutThere Expert Adviser
    hornet53 wrote:
    SNIP
    DiamondBack is the local bias tire of choice around here, isn't it?

    DiamondBack sells nothing but radial tires. However, they are certainly my choice in radials. I would not purchase anything from Coker.
  • Club Coupe
    Club Coupe Expert Adviser
    Geoff C., N.Z. wrote:
    Sunlight and heat are the main factors in deterioration. I bought a "New" tyre at a swap meet for my Jet, 18 years ago. I know for a fact that the brand had not been available for at least 30 years. It had been stored in a cool, dark basement all that time, and was offered for sale by the son of the man who had bought it for his trailer, and never used it, and had since died. I put it on my Jet, and did 20,000 miles on it, and have recently had it re-capped (yes we can still that done here in the antipodes). Conversely, I bought two NOS 600/18's when I rebuilt my first '29 Hudson, and they had bee stored up in a loft, under the iron roof. Even though they were still in the brown paper wrappers, I only got around 1,000 miles before the tread was cracking away and you could see the canvas. Other tyres I have had have been on cars that have been outside for over 10 years, and they are cracked and perished beyond any idea of being used. Realistically, few of us ever drive our old cars long enough to wear the tyres out, but if you want them to last, ensure that they don't get direct sunlight, and preferably jack all wheels up if you are leaving the car for more than a few weeks.

    I have had the same experiences as Geoff. I have a 1975 model that has always been garaged and has the original radials with no cracks on sidewalls or treads. About 10 or 12 years ago I bought a car to restore and put a new set of radials on it in order to get it home. The car sat outside waiting for me to "get around to it" and within 5 years all 4 tires were flat, cracked and useless with the steel belts exposed.

    All new tires now have date of manufacture numbers on them near the DOT numbers. They tell the week and year of manufacture. 1010 would be the 10th week of 2010, for example.
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