Tires

I wouldn't know the Subaru position and I doubt anyone here can answer the question as posed. Are they new? If so, under what conditions were they stored? If used, what is the mileage and general wear and under what conditions were they used? What is the intended use?

With something like tires, my position is, toss 'em if there is the slightest doubt - but they might be OK if all you intend to do is go back and forth down a 1/8 mile driveway to your mailbox every day at under 10mph.

Carl

Consumer Reports and NHTSA have begun investigations. See:

http://www.c> > What is the Subaru position regarding tires which are 6 years old? >

Don't know, but just yesterday I experienced a tire blowout at about 75 mph! Tires were BF Goodrich, visually in great shape, about 20-25k miles of use and exactly six years old (!).

Very scary experience; thread separation!

This was on an old Chevy Corsica, left front tire. The car behaved very well and stable. I didn't panic just let it lose momentum without touching the brakes or steering until it was going about

30-35mph when I slowly turned to the side and started braking delicately. It was a very dangerous experience as it happened in fast going and heavy California traffic.

Nearly 2 hours later I got towed to Les Schwab where another BF Goodrich just fell apart when I requsted the mechanic to rotate and put the slightly bent steel wheel on the back axle. When he was taking off the tire it just started chipping and cracking.

I ended up buying four new tires as obviously all of 'em BFGoodriches were dried and falling apart. I naively believed they were in great shape as they looked plain good with much thread left and absolutely no visible hairline cracks -at all!

The lesson here seems to be, throw away any "cheap" tires more than 5 years old, and specially so if you live in any sunny, warm, or dry climate.

Its not worth taking the risk yourself and also needlesly endangering others as well.

MN

Smart to replace all 4 tires. Heat accelerates oxidative decomposition of rubber. Antioxidants in rubber retard decomposition but when consumned rubber can degrade at an extremely rapid rate. I've had cheap bicycle tires dry rot in less than 2 years and the bike was never rode during the time. That is why it is hard to predict tire life as use conditions, temperature, exposure to solvents, and manufacturer all have effect. Hopefully, I think it is safe to assume tire manufacturers all know this and try to design their products not to degrade until tread is consumed. Car sitting for years in a hot garage may have tires degraded beyond those in daily use. Frank

Jim wrote in news:eXFkg.57$ snipped-for-privacy@fe12.lga:

If you want the official company position you'll have to talk to somebody authorized to represent the company on these questions. Have you talked to anyone at their customer service number?

For me, condition is everything. I've seen two year old tires I wouldn't take out of the driveway and twenty year old NOS rubber on an antique motorcycle I wouldn't hestitate to run at country road speeds. (Antiques really don't belong on the interstate. :-)

If you're talking NOS keep in mind that the volatile components tend to evaporate over time making the rubber harder. They'll wear faster, be harder to keep balanced, give less traction, (especially on wet surfaces). If you're talking tires that have been in service for six years inspect them the same as newer tires taking extra care to look for signs of road damage and weather checking. If you're planning a long trip you might want to replace them as a precaution. At the very least make sure a new set of tires is included in your travel budget.

Later, Joe

One reason to purchase your tires from a place that moves ALOT of tires. A small local garage may have tires 3-4 years in stock before you buy them. JMO Ed

Hi,

I don't know Subaru's position, but if you want to do some surfing, you'll find the TIRE INDUSTRY'S position is pretty much this: if it's six years old (or more) replace it, regardless of tread wear!

A friend, retired truck driver, blew a front tire on his motorhome a coupla summers ago, driving across Kansas. Tire had few miles, but was seven or eight years old. The RV had to be towed in because of both the lost tire and extensive body damage from the "explosion." As the fellow was replacing the tire, he told my friend the State of Kansas has (or would soon have? Story wasn't clear), a law that tires must be replaced at FIVE years on certain types of vehicles. Motorhomes were one of 'em!

My position? I can't remember the last time a set of tires lasted me more than three years, but I've bought a couple of cars that had older tires on them. It didn't matter what they looked like, first stop was the tire shop because I have no idea how they were cared for or what they hit, etc. And after a lady friend blew a five year old, only half worn, tire going across the desert from here in SoCal to Phoenix (fortunately it was winter--she had to go a lot further on the "donut" than is recommended), I think the "time in service" issue is worth considering. I don't make a lot of money, but still, my life's worth more than the cost of a set of tires!

Rick