Tyres: 8 years old, 20k miles. Concern?

theone8181 said:
I used my proper space saver on my 911. Proper as in you have to inflat it from scratch, and it was 15 years old. Didn't explode although I didn't really think about it at the time. Looked hilarious as it was the rear that I changed.
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911, nice! One day I’ll own one!

I suppose the difference here is that you would drive more cautiously (I assume!!) because you have a space saver on. I wouldn’t want the wife driving the car at motorway speeds because she doesn’t notice it’s been changed on an older, potentially dodgy tyre, if that makes sense?


I’ve checked it today and it seems it’s fine, looks new, no cracks. I did put a bit of air in it though.
 
An update: my car went in for its service and MOT. I asked them to particularly check the tyres and they were fine with plenty of tread and no perishing.
 
Quartz said:
An update: my car went in for its service and MOT. I asked them to particularly check the tyres and they were fine with plenty of tread and no perishing.
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The issue with old tires is even if they look fine the rubber has lost its flexibility. It's why they recommend replacing them.
 
40k 13 years old pirelli p5000 dragos i ran still had tread 3mill and passed mot but were getting like plastic hard and slippery on fast roundabouts. I changed them.

If the rubber feels hard and no longer soft then do a few burnouts and get new tyres.
 
Quartz said:
I've had these tyres from when I bought the car (63 reg Skoda Yeti) brand new. They've done a little over 20k miles and tread depth is fine, but they're almost 8 years old. Should I be concerned about the rubber perishing? They don't get a lot of sun where I park the car.
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I would be looking at swapping them. Several years ago my gf bought a second hand car, 8 years old, full services history, only 13000 genuine miles and still on original tyres. First month of her travelling long distance on motorways and she had a high speed blowout. Swapped all 4 tyres after that.
 
They check tyre age on HGV MOT's, 10 year is maximum allowed
I think 8 on a car should be fine...
Although the blowout story above isn't ideal, might not have been because of the tyres age tho
 
Legally, there's no need to change assuming you've got sufficient tyre tread.
My personal opinion is very much that tyre rubber will go off after a number of years, resulting in worsening levels of grip.

After that, it's a question of personal conscience. Do you wish to risk the potential of being in a road accident, where the level of grip from your tyres could have contributed?
 
I had some crappy Avons on mine when I bought it. The tread was fine but they were clearly past their 'best' - in the wet I couldn't tell when they'd broken traction until the scenery started moving sideways across the windscreen :D
 
builder22 said:
They check tyre age on HGV MOT's, 10 year is maximum allowed
I think 8 on a car should be fine...
Although the blowout story above isn't ideal, might not have been because of the tyres age tho
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It may well have just been a coincidence but when your life depends on the tyres, no point skimping,. It was only because they had at least another 20,000 miles in them tread wise that I didnt swap them when we bought the car.
 
builder22 said:
They check tyre age on HGV MOT's, 10 year is maximum allowed
I think 8 on a car should be fine...
Although the blowout story above isn't ideal, might not have been because of the tyres age tho
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It's less than that for HGVs I think. Supposedly they are going to put a limit of 10 years on car tyres soon.
 
def 10 years...only applies to the front/steering axles but heard of someone getting an advisory for a tyre over 10 yr old on a rear/drive axle

was just reading there that if the tyre is retread then the date is taken from when it was retread, not when it was brand new

Greebo said:
It may well have just been a coincidence but when your life depends on the tyres, no point skimping,. It was only because they had at least another 20,000 miles in them tread wise that I didnt swap them when we bought the car.
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yupp I agree but I wouldn't be changing all the tyres on a car I was about to sell if they looked ok
 
For me it depends on the car and driving style. A heavy the car with high pressure tyres driven with enthusiasm, I’d want decent tyres under me.
 
I think that if tyres are over 5/6 yrs old... you might be asking for trouble. (Legally).
My Dad had a blowout on his caravan... first thing that the Police checked / concerned about was the age of the tyre(s).
He Got away with a warning/advice.
A lot of this has come about due to lots of commercial vehicles & coaches getting caught during roadside checks or after an accident.
 
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Milkyway said:
I think that if tyres are over 5/6 yrs old... you might be asking for trouble. (Legally).
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For your standard car there is no age limit as long as they're not worn past the limit or excessively perished, it only applies to commercial vehicles. Most people couldn't tell you how to read the date code on a tire or even that there is one.
 
tom_e said:
For your standard car there is no age limit as long as they're not worn past the limit or excessively perished, it only applies to commercial vehicles. Most people couldn't tell you how to read the date code on a tire or even that there is one.
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OK... It could just be a sales ploy then.
It was something I heard... after my Dads CARAVAN blowout.
With caravans... obviously they spend a lot of time stored, don’t do the mileage of a car etc. So I stand to be corrected.
I agree... if you only do a few thousand miles a year, tyres will last for a long time.
( tread wear wise).
Thinking about it... if that was the rule, they would fail the MOT.
 
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