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Tire Report

It has been three years since you installed a set of Yokohama Y356 LT195/75-14.

> I wonder how they are holding up?

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Dear Someone (and the Group)

(He's referring to my 'How Not To Buy Tires' posted back in 2003.)

Originally, it wasn't a full set, just a pair. I squeezed the piggy bank for the other pair that fall.

They appear to be holding up just fine, although I haven't put many miles on them (about 20k). I haven't had any flats nor blow-outs and they've seen a fair number of miles off-pavement. I made a couple of trips along old Highway 66 from Ludlow to Fenner, and down the road alongside the tracks between Cadiz and Goffs. I also did a trip up Milpitas Wash looking for an old mining site I'd seen from the air but got stuck and thought I'd have to homestead the place before I could dig myself out. Wasn't the tires fault; I went nosing up a dry wash toward the Chocolate Mountains and got into some fine sand. (Except for dunes or down in the washes, the desert is mostly gravel.) But I wasn't the only one :-) A bit farther north, up near the Mule Mountains, I found a Jeep buried to the axels. Been there a while and pretty well stripped. I can't figure out how he managed to get stuck like that -- the thing was really dug in.

-Bob Hoover

Reply to
veeduber
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Just a word of caution for tire buyers, in case it hasn't come up yet:

Allowed shelf life for new car tires is 6 years. (In parts of Europe at least). After 6 years of manufacture date (stamped on the sidewall in plain text or in code), the tires are no longer legal to sell, they must be destroyed. When shopping for (Either kind of) rubber, check your best before date. Look up the manufacture date on "new" tires before forking out the cash for them, especially if you are getting an "incredibly good deal". Your tire shop may be unloading their old stock at a very low price, happy to get something for them before losing money.

Heck, don't pay much for used tires either, if the date is nearing, or long past.

Reason? The rubber ages even when stored properly, and loses it's elasticity and it's most critical features, like GRIP.

How old are the tires under your car? Have you checked? If yours are over 6 years old, and you now know that they are illegal to sell, dont you think it's time to replace them one of these days, even if they "look fine and have plenty of tread"?

:)

Sorry to ruin your day.

Jan

(I'm guilty of it too, got rock hard 195's under Goth, must be over 10 years old now. They look fine but they're slippery as heck. But I know how they behave.)

Reply to
Jan

Winter tyres harden significally in two years according to my experience. Who needs grip anyway?

Reply to
Olli Lammi

Guilty here about running tires to long myself, The Pirelli's have been on my 64 for 8 years now and are showing dry rot so the wife to be just got me a set of Pirelli P6s for Fathers Day WOO WOO can't wait to mount them and ride em hard ;o)

Reply to
Kafertoys

Hi Jan and all

The 750x16 on the bonnet of my Rand-Lover is an original "gum dipped" Firestone X-ply.

But then again, who needs grip on a 1959 Rand-Lover :-)

Retro

Reply to
Retro

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