<VV> Now tires - a little Corvair

[Bill Elliott]

It depends on a number of factors (including sun damage, etc... so a vehicle 
parked in garage may have tire that last linger) but as a rule of thumb, a 
tire over 5 years old has lost a lot of its original traction due to 
hardening and is more likely to have structural issues.

IMO, a large part of the Firestone/Explorer issues were due to the fact that 
tread life has been extended so long that the tires are structurally 
questionable before the tread is gone.

I have several cars with low mileage tires over 5 years old, but I wouldn't 
be comfortable driving them at high speeds for long distances or in a 
spirited manner that got near the performance margin... for Sunday cruising 
in dry weather they are likely okay.

Bill

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ken Clark" <kcvair at hotmail.com>
To: <bryan at skiblack.com>; <hyarnell1 at earthlink.net>
Cc: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 19:33
Subject: Re: <VV> Now tires - a little Corvair


>
> How old do you think a tire should/must be replaced even if it isn't worn 
> out?
> My van tires(Michelin) were made in '02, which may be getting to their 
> limit.  Most Corvair tires never get worn out if you drive less than 5M 
> per year.  I thought my Corvair tires were fairly new, but looking at the 
> dates they go back to '03..   Ken
>
>
>
>
>> From: bryan at skiblack.com
>> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:16:43 -0500
>> To: hyarnell1 at earthlink.net
>> CC: VirtualVairs at corvair.org
>> Subject: Re: <VV> Now tires - a little Corvair
>>
>> Here's what I sent Joe:
>>
>> Ellie's last F-150 had two sets of BFGs, the new F-150 will get some 
>> later this year. Generally speaking BFG has become my default tire brand. 
>> Decent price, performance, and wear - I don't particularly want tires to 
>> last 80k, due to the age cracking Joe mentioned. We got 50k out of the 
>> tires on her truck, and 45 or so out of the T/As I put on the Neon. The 
>> wagon is going to be riding on BFG g-Force Sports as soon as this 
>> weekend's rain passes, my guess is we'll replace them due to age, not 
>> mileage. They are a summer tire, but in all honesty the Corvairs just 
>> don't get driven much when it's cold out and never really in the snow 
>> anymore.
>>