Did you inspect them when you bought them? If so and it wasn't there then you probably hit something on the road because it doesn't look like a factory defect to me. I would stay off the freeway with that tire on the car. Do you have a spare? Your only choice is to buy another one in my opinion....
That's a cut, pure and simple. Nothing to do with manufacturer. Or maybe you pissed somebody off and they did some payback with a blade. Either way, that's what road hazard warranties are for. Pry it back all the way so you can see the base of the cut. If you can be sure that no cords were cut, it'll probably just look like that for a long time. Now, you want problems? The owner of this tire - they got problems:
A road hazard issue is about right. I'm just gun shy with these tires now that I've run upon this thread. I will just have to replace it and keep rolling on.
Good thread, & I'm glad to see Coker step up. I had doubts about spending a heart stopping amount of money for their tires when I'd heard negative stuff about them. I talked to a cat in the Coker booth @ Pleasanton and walked away with a new attitude and a comparitively good deal on my 1st set of American classics. I bought the blackwalls for my '39 Ford. I like 'em! Since then I've bought a set of American Classic www for my '51 Plymouth and a set for my wife's '32 Ford. The ride is like any radial I've had and the look is un-beatable. Yeah, they're wicked expensive... but it only hurts once!
When we were replacing the pig in the rear axle last weekend in my '60 Edsel (that I bought last year) I checked the date code on my Coker radials since it's on the inside of the wide whites and it's 0404 which obviously means January 2004 which makes them 12 1/2 years old. The tires have less than 3k miles on them with excellent tread and no cracks or any other kind of wear or damage and look like they're brand new. Some people say replace them after 10 years so let the debate begin-should I replace them or not worry about it? (If I did replace them it would be with regular whitewalls because I'm too cheap to pay the extra several hundred dollars for wide whites.) Are they safe? Thanks....
To my way of thinking, if the car's been garaged and driven less than 3k and the tires are in good shape, what's to age them? UV light-not an issue, road wear and road trauma-not an issue. I have tires on a car that old that's driven <100 miles a year and they still look and ride fine.
I'm thinking it worked out in everyone's favor-one new tire=happy customer and lots of good press for future customers.
I have the same concerns over age. Lately there have been the stories about failing radials in general, not any one brand. I have a set of Coker BFG WWW tires on my 40. In the past few years the white walls have cracked. The tires have about 7 K on them, no evidence of cracks on the tread or the inner sidewall. They have always been indoors except for the few days they spend outside at shows or cruises. I wish there was some way to refurb the whitewalls.
Tricky situation... I've heard the same thing, but either from someone who sells tires or someone who takes the word of someone who sells tires as gospel. The tires I replaced with the Cokers were G-78-15 bias plys. I'm not positive how long it's been since that size configuration on a tire has been obsolete, but I do know they were really old! (30 + years?) They had tiny little spider cracks on the black part of the tire but none on the white wall. The white was pretty dingy, but not cracked. This car was in Arizona it's whole life, what ever that's worth. Anyways, they held steady air, so I just figured they were fine and drove on them regularly, keeping a close eye on them before & after every trip. Aside from the bumpy ride, (which improved as they warmed up), they seemed fine. I went to the Coker American Classic radials for obvious reasons. I like 'em a lot. Bottom line to me is; Each senario is different and there's no replacement for peace of mind.
Looks like somebody's mad at you...Ol' first EX wife Janet did a number on my '56 Ford ragtop's whitewalls just like that. Fixed her...Next week after that the Ford got black wheels and blackwalls. (that 'businesslike' Street Racer look') Insecure witches NEVER slash a blackwall... Another school of thought here: Old tires, regardless of 'road shock' while being used (vs. sitting most of the time) will develop flat spots on the bottoms. ("It's only flat on the bottom!") Actually, that 'flat' will drum back to 'round' in a few miles, but if stored for a long time (more than a month) it is wise to jack the car up and block the axles, so as not to induce said 'flat spots'. "Do people really jack their tires off the ground?" People do...
Hey 41fordvert, Can you give me a call or send me an email? Would be more than happy to look into this for you, can't promise anything but I will at least look at the situation. Thank you.
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