RE: IML: Tire Expiration Dates

["Dick Benjamin" <dickb@xxxxxxxxx>]

I think this depends very strongly on the quality of the tires, and how the
tires are kept when they are not in use.  In my case, I keep my cars in an
enclosed building, so the tires are never exposed to sunlight except when
they are on the road.  Also, since I live very far from any city, the air is
free of any oxidants.  The result is that tires appear to be just like new
for many years.

As an example, I sold my 67 Convertible last year with the Michelins on it
that I had bought in 1980!  They still looked and drove perfectly, with
about 15,000 miles on them.  I told the buyer that the tires were over 20
years old, and that he should plan on replacing them immediately, but so far
he has not done so, and is using the car as a daily driver.

On my 1947 Packard limousine, I bought it a set of new Lester tires in 1969,
and they still looked perfect as late as 1990, but since we were about to
take an extended tour of the Pacific Northwest in the car(which weighs
almost 7000 pounds!), I replaced those tires with a new set at that time.
The old (1969) tires are now on a parts car, and they still look new!  I
don't think I'd trust them because I can't tell how sturdy the cords are,
but there is certainly no sign of age cracking on the sides of the tires.

I think if I were riding the freeways at the local average speed of 85MPH on
a daily basis, I'd replace my tires every 10 years or so, regardless of
appearance, and I'd also stick with Michelins.

As I've mentioned before, during my college days (1952-1956) I worked a
summer job in a recap plant, preparing used tires for processing by grinding
off the old tread, and also inspecting the casings for signs of age cracks
or other possible problems.  There were enormous differences in brand
quality - the best tire brand (Firestone in those ancient days) never showed
any sign of age cracks, and the worst brand (U. S. Royal in those days)
looked terrible when only a couple of years old (there is a date code on
tires, and it has been on there since at least the 50s) - we never recapped
some brands (Atlas, US Royal, General) because of the high incidence of
failures.  Most of the other brands were somewhere in the middle, it was up
to me to decide what was going to be a good product.  

I have a set of original tires for my 55 Packard, Firestone "gum dipped"
820X15 wide whites, which still look brand new, 50 years old!  I wouldn't
drive around the block on them, but they sure look good.

Dick Benjamin

-----Original Message-----
From: mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Ken Miller
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 11:59 AM
To: IML
Subject: IML: Tire Expiration Dates

There is an article in the Wall Street Journal today stating that Ford 
Motor Company is saying that tires have a life expectancy of 6 years and 
should be replaced after that time interval.  DaimlerChrysler AG 
apparently has been saying this with their Mercedes models for some time 
and just started recommending it with their 2005 Chrysler models.  Other 
manufacturers aren't as sure and as always, there are two sides to the 
issue.

Those of us with Imperials that don't get driven very often may need to 
at least consider this point of view.  The tires on my 67 Convertible 
look practically new and probably have less than 5,000 miles on them, 
but when I checked the sales slip I realized that I bought them in 
1988!  That means that these guys are about 17 years old.  Other old car 
collectors tell me they are changing their tires every ten years or so, 
worn out or not.  I'm beginning to think that there is something to this.

Any thoughts?

Ken Miller
61 and 67 Converts (that get driven a few hundred miles a year)


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