Fwd: <VV>Tire "aging"

[HallGrenn at aol.com]

In a message dated 8/15/2006 12:29:56 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
tirediron at charter.net writes:

> The car is "cruised", a little, no performance driving.
> 
> Is safety compromised by their age? ...do they need replacement? Is 
> tire failure likely to be catastrophic from aged tires?
> 
> Bill
> 

I's say no to all of the above.  The "rubber" compound gets harder, but the 
tire should be fine.  Just watch for signs of ply separation such as cracking 
at the sidewalls just below where the tread begins.  With the exception of flat 
spots that will smooth out with a few miles of driving you shouldn't have any 
problems.  If you plan to make the car a daily driver or autocross it then I 
would invest in a new set of tires.

Bob Hall
Group Corvair
'64 Brier
'65 Corsa
2 '68 Monzas