This tire was 'brand new', spare tire always stored inside the 1995 trailer I bought last year to haul my Mysterion reproduction around. Never outside and obviously never on the road. I took it out of the trailer and set it in the Bakersfield summer sun while I was cleaning up and painting the inside of the trailer. Went to put it back in the trailer and found it like this. Rubber degrades.
I checked the date of my radial wide whites on my 56 Ford before driving from St Louis to Kansas City a couple years ago. I knew they were about 10 years old but the code said 11. I figured I’ll get one more trip out of them and replace them when I get back. Well sure enough the passenger front blew and separated on the way there. I’m lucky it didn’t screw up the fender like one that let loose on my dad’s 72 Cougar when I was driving it. It completely beat the fender up. I then noticed my spare was no better and possibly older than the ones still still on the car. Lesson learned, no more tires over 10 years again for this guy. Your results may vary and you may gamble if you like but just the thought of having to fix or replace the fender because of something I could have prevented would make me sick.
I have tires on my trailer that are over 40 years old. 10 ply bias lowboy tires, same thing as mobile home tires, 14.5". Hard as a rock! Don't go far with it, but it has had several cars and tractors on it. Going to put a new set on it before long, will probably have to be radials, can't find new bias around here.
I buy my tires off E Bay. Usually cost about 50% of the local price and delivered free to my door. The last set on my truck got mounted and balanced by the local used tire guy for $60.
They worry about plastic bags filling up the landfills......but short lived tires ending up in the same landfill sites are ok.....whatever.
Some years ago I was told that the garbage tires were being used as fuel at a cement plant kiln. Obviously they burnt cleanly or there would be hell to pay, but it's best that the general public didn't get wind of it. Seems like a good use for them, there's a lot of heat in them.
In 1990 the United States had an estimated 1 billion old tires lying around. By 2005 (the most recent year for which statistics are available), the United States had slashed that figure to 188 million, thanks to both recycling and using tires as industrial fuel.
Many years ago we had a member come here with bad news that he rolled his I believe '40 ford over in the ditch when a tire blew and the insurance co. wouldn't pay out because his tires were over 6 years old. Never heard if they eventually paid or not, he was fighting it. His wife got hurt too but the good news was because of the accident they found out she had beginners stage of cancer that was treatable because they caught it early enough. i'm guilty of driving on old tires but I stay off the freeways with those cars and mainly drive them out in the country where i'm located at. I try to at least drive one tank of fuel out of each every summer so I have some cars with very old tires just because they just are not driven daily. yes the old cars that get driven a lot and are on the freeways get better tire maintenance and get changed out more frequently and the old tires that come off of them if I feel they are still good get rotated to my country rides.
yes there is one At Mt Vernon Indiana that uses tires for fuel. That entire town stinks from refinery smell anyway.
Hi. Around here the Discount tire dealers look at date codes before they will even talk to you. If it is over 4 years old they will not even fix a flat on it. Buy a new one or go elsewhere. I have been going elsewhere for quite some time now. There is one local shop that will fix flats & install older tires if you have an antique car as they accept it is not going to be driven at insane speeds and low millage. Or at least you need to give them that impression. When I bought my 46 coupe in 2013 it had 600/16 bias ply Allstate wide whites on it. No telling how old they were as I never looked for date code. Drove them until spring of 2015 and one began to separate so that is when the new Coker bias look radials went on it. I gave 3 of the Allstates to a buddy to use as spares on 3 different old cars he uses only for parades & car shows. Jimmie
Soon they will be running out.....maybe then instead of a disposal fee we will get a credit for their value as fuel!
The Jalopy Journal
