[1983JZR3W]

For those of you that know me, know that I am not what you would call a high mileage driver. In just over nine years, I have yet to reach 5000 miles, actually 4967, I believe.

Here is my question. On my Brabus coupe, my tires are basically all original. I did put two 17" Hankooks on the front at about 1500 miles. I rotate the tires once a year, about 550 miles each rotation. My tires have timed out, but still look like new as far as sidewall and tread.

Almost all of my driving is in the city at surface street speeds. No long trips, and very little interstate driving. My partner has a Nissan van and hates my smart, so we use her car for most longer driving.

Now my question. Would you spring approximately $500.00 for new tires, or just keep running the old ones for a while longer.

I know the safe answer is buy new tires, but for my driving needs, I really hate spending the money right now. All advice will be greatly appreciated.

I forgot to mention. My car is always garaged and covered, only rained on twice, and never exposed to hot sun for any length of time. No issues with roof crazing at all.

 

[jimvw57]

I'd put some more miles on them if they don't show any reason to replace them.

 

[InjuredAgain]

As long as you're primarily doing city driving, I personally would run the tires until about ten years of age. I know quite a few owners of higher end sports cars who put minimal mileage on their vehicles, and several that have run their car hard with tires in the 6-10 year range. There's obviously not as much grip, but with a high performance tire, you start off with a lot of grip so even if you lose some, you still have a lot. The degradation is worse in the wet by a significant margin, and it seems there is a loss of predictability as traction limits are exceeded. There's probably some loss of impact absorbing capability as well. But as long as you're not pushing the tires to the limit in places with little margin for mistakes, I don't see any issue with going a bit longer based on how you say you will mostly be using the tires.

 

[Optimist]

Time is as important as mileage!


You are due for new tires if you intend to drive the car rather than just
display it.


https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2014/03/21/shredded-tire


Or


Tires Expire in Six Years - Tire Safety Group

 

[InjuredAgain]

Time is as important as mileage!


You are due for new tires if you intend to drive the car rather than just
display it.


https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2014/03/21/shredded-tire


Or


Tires Expire in Six Years - Tire Safety Group

There is a history with the six year recommendation (being that it originated in Europe with their unlimited speed expressways, and that the recommendation started nearly two decades ago before advances in tread materials) that may not apply in the United States, and particularly not in the OP's driving environment. TireRack, a tire reseller, is less emphatic of the six year limit, even though they would benefit from it:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=138

Of course, a six year recommendation is the safe way to go, just as a 3000 mile oil change is the safe way to go, but just as the 3000 mile oil change is from a time and with oils that modern engines and modern oil manufacturing technologies have made significantly better, so it is with tire treads, materials, and technologies.

In the end, the OP should read all of the resources and decide what is best for them.

 

[1983JZR3W]

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I knew the answer even before I posted the original thread. I was hoping to possibly make it to the fall before having to spend a handful of cash.

 

[jzchen]

No, I would absolutely not spend money on new tires.

Our ‘92 190E had a full size spare with matching wheel that was never rotated like it should have been. I used that ancient tire after 20 years with inspecting pressure every two weeks. The only time it failed was when a nail deflated it and I was so stressed I did not take care of it, and my father drove it flat.

Rubber gets hard with age. The harder it is, the harder to break...

Not worth the money....

 

[jzchen]

InjuredAgain, if you think that oil can’t be engineered to go longer than 3k miles, I’d like to refer you to www.mobiloil.com and see Mobil 1 Annual Protection. They drove 120k miles on three engines and tore them down.....

 

[jzchen]

After 10 years, no tire store will rotate them for you. I rotated it by myself...

 

[InjuredAgain]

InjuredAgain, if you think that oil can’t be engineered to go longer than 3k miles, I’d like to refer you to www.mobiloil.com and see Mobil 1 Annual Protection. They drove 120k miles on three engines and tore them down.....

I wasn't clear then. My point was that the 6-year recommendation started in the 90's, at a time when tire technology and tread compounds are nowhere as good as they are now. The 6-year recommendation has perpetuated since, sometimes for good reasons like in Europe where they can run unlimited speeds even in the wet, but often tires designed for those extreme uses don't suffer the belt degradation that causes failure. Certainly the rubber will deteriorate, but also as rubber compounds are designed to be less permeable to air, the underlying compound is also more protected against oxygen or the outgassing of the lighter volatiles that harden rubber.

So I was trying to make a comparison to the old 3000 mile oil change recommendation, which also started in a time when oils were not as good and engine manufacturing tolerances were worse. Certainly there are still instances today where a 3000 mile oil change interval is a valid recommendation, but in many cases and just like with tires, those old recommendations have perpetuated for no valid reason that spans all instances of use.

As an aside, I have had used oil tested and over the course of a three day track weekend, the TBN of Mobil 1 was done in about 800 miles of use, whereas on a road trip, that same Mobil 1 was Blackstone tested at over 10k miles in our Rav4 and was still good for many thousands more miles.

 

[jzchen]

My apologies InjuredAgain. I did not mean to attack you. I am sorry.


My experience with a 1992 or 1993 tire code date was that it worked perfectly fine until it was driven deflated. Of course I check my tires every two weeks, three at the most. That one tire was not stressed to it’s performance limits. It was being used in a ‘92 car with it’s own old age, not driven like a race car.

 

[jzchen]

But that car also had “no place in the inn” for many many years. In fact I can remember it has been out of a garage pretty much since end of 1998, except for two years in Cleveland, OH, where it had a garage, when it wasn’t driven during my wife’s residency training.

I would not worry about these tires under the conditions mentioned for the next 20 years personally, more specifically until the treads wear down, or suspicious signs, as jimvw57 mentions. Diligent checks every two weeks as I do all tires on actively used cars is the key.

 

[DreamCarOwner]

Tires get harder and grip less with age. I just put new tires on my Smart and they were originals (2011). What a much softer ride and grip. Just put 4 new tires on my Dodge truck today. They asked me why are you wanting to replace these tires? Still alot of tread, but they were old, and what a difference. 1983jzr3W, I know that you keep your Brabus in the garage and ultraviolet light from the sun causes tires to weather crack and become a potential time bomb as far as blow outs. I have found most tires will give you a warning if you know your vehicle well. I personally don't want a tire to blow in my Smart because it's hard to tell where you would end up, but most around town low speed driving really shouldn't be a problem as long as your aren't getting a thumping sound or vibration. DCO

 

[OliverB]

A tire also needs frequent driving to keep the “oils” distributed throughout the rubber.

 

[sokoloff]

Not so sure about the "oils," but it does need to be driven now and then to keep the tire from developing a flat spot from sitting for months. Just little bit of exercise will take care of that.

Len
2014 EV Coupe 15,000 miles
2014 EV Cabriolet 5,000 miles

 

[jzchen]

Not so sure about the "oils," but it does need to be driven now and then to keep the tire from developing a flat spot from sitting for months. Just little bit of exercise will take care of that.



Len

2014 EV Coupe 15,000 miles

2014 EV Cabriolet 5,000 miles

A tire also needs frequent driving to keep the “oils” distributed throughout the rubber.

I’ve also read these.

The OP has barely driven his car for 9 years, no mention of flat spot issues nor dryness....

 

[MB DNA]

Been trying to stay out of this great debate as sometimes you just need to let your conscience be your guide?

As has been mentioned, some of the bigger national chains will no longer work on your tires after 6 years or 2 patches. Some might say this is a liability dodge while others might see it as a way to sell tires, who knows? Yes there are workarounds but potholes are not your friend and with such a short wheelbase I'd prefer NOT to be the crash test dummy in road testing the Tridion!

Personally, the tires on our MY08 garage queen "aged out" (after 9 years and 39,000 miles) last year. As we do take our "city car" off the sidewalk and reach breakneck speeds of 75-80 mph thus I chose to buy ($284 net) a new set - no regrets as both the ride and handling are dramatically improved over the OEM.

NOTE - when buying NEW tires, insist on knowing the build date (embossed in sidewall) of the tire as sometimes the inventories of our niche tire can be old?

 

[jzchen]

Been trying to stay out of this great debate as sometimes you just need to let your conscience be your guide?

As has been mentioned, some of the bigger national chains will no longer work on your tires after 6 years or 2 patches. Some might say this is a liability dodge while others might see it as a way to sell tires, who knows? Yes there are workarounds but potholes are not your friend and with such a short wheelbase I'd prefer NOT to be the crash test dummy in road testing the Tridion!

Personally, the tires on our MY08 garage queen "aged out" (after 9 years and 39,000 miles) last year. As we do take our "city car" off the sidewalk and reach breakneck speeds of 75-80 mph thus I chose to buy ($284 net) a new set - no regrets as both the ride and handling are dramatically improved over the OEM.

NOTE - when buying NEW tires, insist on knowing the build date (embossed in sidewall) of the tire as sometimes the inventories of our niche tire can be old?

Good points as always.

In my family if the tread is not done I'll get an earful for sure....

... So, I drove around on that 20 year old tire. I could have plugged it that day I noticed a nail in it, but had family issues I recall. (Trouble at home is definitely not a good thing.... It seems to be there is always new construction going on around here. Those contractors trying to make $$$ off of Chinese immigrants. Sometimes those nails do have a way of getting dropped in the street, and finding their way into your tire(s)).

There is a risk in what I've been proposing, true. As I do take care of tires diligently the risk is minimized. It's pretty much the same as any tire IMHO. You take care of them, and they take care of you. I noticed no difference with the other "healthy" tires during my time with that 20 year old. Do watch them, as with all tires. (Unfortunately tires tend to be neglected)....

EDIT-. We are talking about 1.51 mi/day.

 

[InjuredAgain]

My apologies InjuredAgain. I did not mean to attack you. I am sorry.

Oh, no! I didn't take it that way and hope my response didn't sound defensive. I just wasn't clear in my first post.

Very good points in this thread from everyone involved.

 

[jetfuel]

..there are several factors that will kill tires or rubber...extreme changes in temperature...ozone...low air pressure while at rest...UV and for sure a needle will render rubber useless...

Jetfuel....run'em...