10 year old tires on a supercar

Soldato
Joined
27 Oct 2010
Posts
3,053
Location
ireland
A friend of mine is running 10 year old tires on his F355 and refuses to listen to me when I tell him to put new tires on it.

I don't want to have to say to him "I told you so" if something does happen because he loses grip or something and see him total his pride and joy.

What's the best way to get through to someone so stubborn?

UPDATE:

He was taking it to get a problem fixed on it and the rear tyre wall blew out and came off the car leaving just the rubber in the middle on it.

No damage was done to the car but hopefully it's a lesson learned.

Picture is in the comments
 
Last edited:
Show him the effects of old tyres on the internet.

If he crashes you did try to help.
 
Fine if your just cruising around the block in a classic on a nice day. Not good on a high powered sports car.
 
Last edited:
Fine if your just cruising around the block in a classic on a nice day. Not good good on a high powered sports car.

He claims that is exactly what he does that he only uses it in the summer to cruise around but I know he has done 175 mph in it before when he was taking it for a service.

He doesn't use it on motorways much or push it but it's inevitable with him that he speeds in excess of 100 mph if he's anywhere near an open road
 
If you have said your bit over and over and he still wont listen, then its not really your problem TBH
 
Tyres do perish. Leave an unused spare in the boot for five or six years, and it will likely need changing. They literally go hard and brittle. A catastrophic failure (tyre delamination, side wall blowout, etc) at speed could very well kill himself and others.

I helped my brother in law change an old tyre off the back of his Porche last weekend. He's driven it out about half an hour to my Dad's place on slow London roads, and got there with a flat. When we got the wheel off, the whole tread around the inside was cracked off the carcase where you can't see it. If that had let go at speed, he would have had twenty kilos of tread smashing its way out of the wheel wells, as well as no tyre on the back. It's not worth it, especially if it's going to trash your pride and joy.

Plus if you get pulled over with dodgy tyres, it's three points and £2500 per tyre. If he does have an accident, the first thing any insurance adjuster or policeman is going to do is check the tyres.
 
If he refuses to change them, he either can't afford to run it, it's not his pride and joy or both. Are the ones he's using even rated for anything like 170mph new?
 
If he refuses to change them, he either can't afford to run it, it's not his pride and joy or both. Are the ones he's using even rated for anything like 170mph new?

They are bridgestones. I don't honestly know if they are rated for that speed or not.

He's a bit of a Scrooge but when it comes to maintaining cars he has never taken shortcuts until this issue with the tires.
 
You can't.

But allegedly was potentially the cause of death to Paul Walker.

This^. Perhaps try to show him some articles/studies about Paul Walker's death. It was a fairly similar situation, high power supercar + old useless tyres.

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/pa...at-93mph-on-9-year-old-tyres-when-it-crashed/

That would suggest that the Carrera's tyres had never been changed since the car left the showroom. Although Rodas probably didn't wear them out through driving miles, natural degradation through exposure to the elements over that time period could have affected the tyre's structure. The loads it is exposed to while cornering at 93mph mean that a weak tyre potentially contributed to a loss of control.
 
Back
Top Bottom