Black ones
This has been on a mixture of Firestone, Uniroyal and Vredestein tyres, observed over the last 100k miles or so. Worst was 7k, but I can only put that down to a tyre problem (bad batch?) as my driving style didn't change appreciably.
Interestingly, on some wheels I have here I've checked a few date codes - the oldest is a 1203 (12th week of 2003), used until down to a few mm and then kept as a spare. This is visibly fine, but there are another two with a code of 4607 (stored on a car) which have noticeable cracks in the sidewall. So obviously the younger tyres are the safer ones, right?
Belt shelf life
- mat_fenwick
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Shurely, this is a conclusion that can be drawn here. Tyres obviously deteriorate in two ways, mechanical wear (usual reason for replacement, when they reach that fabled 1.6), and ageing. As far as I'm aware, ageing simply causes the rubber to become brittle, which can be observed as cracks forming - easily visible around the lettering and distinguishable from kerbing wear. Out of the wheels I bought the other day two look as good as my six month old Michelins, the others are cracked to hell. Not sure if the dates are all the same though, too cold to check now...mat_fenwick wrote:So obviously the younger tyres are the safer ones, right?
Please feel free to correct me!
- mat_fenwick
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I was just pointing out that a 9 year old tyre I have looks visually perfect, whilst two tyres just over 4 years old have significant cracks in the sidewall. No hard and fast rule on the basis of that (limited) evidence...Willy wrote:Shurely, this is a conclusion that can be drawn here.mat_fenwick wrote:So obviously the younger tyres are the safer ones, right?
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Everyone's own personal choice to make decisions about safety, i'll be playing it safe rather than trying to save a few quid. Mind you, the spare on my car is the original MXL i believe, so that'll make it 18yrs old If i ever need to put it on, i hope i'll remember to drive steady & not keep it on for very long.
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1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired.
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
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1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
I'm not just a username, i'm also called Matthew.
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - My daily
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired.
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
I'm not just a username, i'm also called Matthew.
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Old tyres can also have an undesirable effect on the ride quality with their less supple side walls. I scrapped some old tyres that looked perfect but rode terribly.
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Perversely that's one reason why I'm sticking with the MXLs - they ride so much nicer than any newer tyres I've tried!
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