Do tires age???

There is a reason motorhome owners have those vinyl covers to hide their tires from the sun. The two things that really kill tires are sunlight and driving on them Both are fairly obvious, though. Sunlight (UV) damage shows up in cracks and weathered appearance. Wear from miles shows up as treadwear.

If neither is apparent, but the tires are old, I'd keep using them but I'd not push them like I might push new tires.
 
I keep my tractor in a barn. The tires on it are about 8 years old and still look practically new. I mainly use it for mowing a several acre patch and grading my .3 mile long gravel driveway. Since the thing never breaks 35 mph, I'm not too worried about them.
 
If the car sat for a long time with the tires in one position, tires will be too old. If the car was driven and the tires don't have cracking or vibration at speed, they are probably OK for gentle driving. If you want to corner and use the speed rating, change. Someone mentioned date in the DOT number. It will be four digit. The first pair is week and the second is year. For example, 3514 is a tire made in the 35th week of 2014.
 
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Yep, RV guys know all about this. Tires after a certain age should be replaced regardless due to deterioration. I wouldn't trust getting an answer you can bank on here on an audio forum, but it would be advisable to do some research to formulate your own opinion on how old is too old. There is almost universal agreement that at some point, age will dictate replacement if you want safe reliable tires.
 
Old tires get hard, so noise isn't surprising. I've noticed it myself, though usually more in the sense that things get quieter with new tires. Wet traction tends to take a hike for the same reason. The last set of tires on my truck had gotten so hard it was basically impossible to drive in the rain despite having decent tread depth left. To be fair they weren't amazing when new but it definitely got worse.

Moving stuff certainly should help. I've seen cracks in only one spot on cars in museums and the like. My stuff gets driven enough to even out the wear, just not enough to truly wear out.
 
Eight years ago I bought an expensive set of Hercules Terra Trac "all terrain" for my truck. I wore out the four on the truck (at seven year mark) and still had one on the spare rim that still had the nipples on the tread and had never seen pavement and the white lettering still had the blue on it - no cracking on sidewalls - essentially looked like a brand new tire. I went back to the same guy I got the Hercs from for the new set of Michelins and I asked him if he would give me something for the unused Herc tire so I could get a new matching Michelin fifth on the spare rim. He didn't want the tire back at all explaining that even with zero wear or cracking on the tire the rubber was old. He elaborated by saying the rubber had hardened to the point of possibly being unsafe. For the record the "all terrain" Hercs absolutely sucked in the snow no traction at all so I went with proper winter tires - Michelin X-ice2's - best tires I've ever had and smooth on pavement as well with no humming sound either.
 
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Tires do age. I had stored a spare Dunlop (Dun-crap, IMHO) for my Civic, and due to a side puncture, had to have the tire shop remount it. Summer, I-94, 80 MPH...the damn thing blows out, the sidewall completely shredded. I also had a rear-mounted spare on my CR-V that, after a few weeks of use, began to split to where you could see the steel belts through the side. That one, though, had sat out in the sun for 13 years, so I kind of expected it. Got a used tire to hold me over until I could replace the set two months later. I would probably replace tires after seven years now, if not sooner. Thankfully we now drive enough that we're lucky to get three or four years out of a set.

Yeah, they started out quiet and I have zero complaint about tread life or traction. But, once the wear got to about 1/2 the usable tread they started making howling noise. They're quiet up to about 25 then the howling increases and peaks about 30-32 mph, then again at 60-65 mph. Right in the meat of the driving zones.
That sounds almost like you need a 4-wheel alignment. Howling can be caused due to uneven tread wear, where they might have a feathered or cupped appearance on the treads. It's not quite as bad until tires are rotated, then the "rough" tires are riding on a different hub or axle that has a different alignment and the noise increases. I have heard increases in noise when tires wear, but not changing to the growling type of noise I hear when alignment was off. (And it was typically the rear alignment that caused the problems!)

Some tires are just crap, though. When my better half had her craptastic Malibu, the factory tires were Firestones--very noisy, and very harsh riding. Stuck some new tires on it (Yokohama, I think) and it rode very quiet, had grip, and didn't rattle the teeth out. Totally changed the ride quality.

I had Toyo Extensas on my CR-V that were only a little loud, but were the worst and most dangerous tire I've ever owned in my life.
 
I own a motor home and belong to several rv forums.
The general rule of thumb is to replace them when their manufacture date is seven years old.
I use a TPMS on both my coach and toad tires that will give you a heads up if you get a nail puncture or some other slow leak.
However nothing will give you a warning of a sidewall blowout due to age.
Some people ignore that saying there is plenty of tread left.
Plenty of examples on the irv2 forum.
I have personally seen the catastrophic damage done by a blowout ,sometimes fatal.

It's like going without car or house insurance or as Dirty Harry used to say "well,do ya feel lucky?"

Bob
 
I own a motor home and belong to several rv forums.
The general rule of thumb is to replace them when their manufacture date is seven years old.
I use a TPMS on both my coach and toad tires that will give you a heads up if you get a nail puncture or some other slow leak.
However nothing will give you a warning of a sidewall blowout due to age.
Some people ignore that saying there is plenty of tread left.
Plenty of examples on the irv2 forum.
I have personally seen the catastrophic damage done by a blowout ,sometimes fatal.

It's like going without car or house insurance or as Dirty Harry used to say "well,do ya feel lucky?"

Bob
This kind of stuff is why I went to renting motorhomes. Since I only used them once a year... :)
 
I own a motor home and belong to several rv forums.
The general rule of thumb is to replace them when their manufacture date is seven years old.
I use a TPMS on both my coach and toad tires that will give you a heads up if you get a nail puncture or some other slow leak.
However nothing will give you a warning of a sidewall blowout due to age.
Some people ignore that saying there is plenty of tread left.
Plenty of examples on the irv2 forum.
I have personally seen the catastrophic damage done by a blowout ,sometimes fatal.

It's like going without car or house insurance or as Dirty Harry used to say "well,do ya feel lucky?"

Bob
I like to watch youtube videos of car crashes. Many are actually very educational. There are several that show what can happen when a tire blows. on a truck. In every case, the truck goes veering off the road. A few of them rollover at least once before coming to a stop. At least one looks almost certainly fatal.

Don't mess around with your tires. It could mean your life or that of your loved ones.
 
... That sounds almost like you need a 4-wheel alignment. ...

I've been contemplating whether or not to get an alignment. The car tracks very well, no pulling, steering centered and all that. Tires wearing pretty evenly. I hate to mess with what seems OK.

The tires are Hankook H727. Lots of reviews on Tire Rack mention really noisy once the tires have worn down some. I concur with that.
 
I've been contemplating whether or not to get an alignment. The car tracks very well, no pulling, steering centered and all that. Tires wearing pretty evenly. I hate to mess with what seems OK.
In my case, it was usually the rear tires getting the abnormal wear--the car would still track well, and the wear across the tread could be even on front and back, but something off in the alignment would cause that abnormal wear that resulted in the "highway growl". The wear is uneven on each individual tread block. Hard to describe, but the pic on the left kind of shows it. The edge of one side of a block is higher than the other.

upload_2017-9-18_14-12-6.png

What I've noticed most, however, is that the noise gets louder after a tire rotation.

And yes, definitely--if others have complained on Tire Rack about the same wear/noise issue, then that's definitely a problem.

I have found on my cars that alignment can also be slightly out of spec and still look/feel OK. I try to make it a habit of getting an alignment after each new set of tires. Nice thing, too, is that our local dealer offers a coupon for an alignment that is very competitive ($79 is about what it costs all over town, and they match that), so I get a full suspension inspection along with it when I go in.

When I was short on cash several years ago (post 2008-2009 economic bust), I did my own front toe-in/toe-out alignment. The prior set had worn quickly on the inside edges. I had the factory specs on hand, with one limit being at 0.00 for toe-in. I rigged up two yardsticks with rubber bands, and proceeded to measure the insides of the front wheels at the same spots, front and back, until they matched. I tweaked the toe-in via the tie rods, and never had an issue with it--the new tires wore evenly.
 
I've been contemplating whether or not to get an alignment. The car tracks very well, no pulling, steering centered and all that. Tires wearing pretty evenly. I hate to mess with what seems OK.

The tires are Hankook H727. Lots of reviews on Tire Rack mention really noisy once the tires have worn down some. I concur with that.
Well, I drive a 2013 Scion FR-S 150 miles on my round trip commute every weekday. I've got 130k miles on it and just put on my 7th set of tires. So "age" is not really a concern for me. But man, have I learned to grasp the differences between tires. The last set was my favorite because of the "feel" (LIke a slot car) and the traction, especially in rain. They were Michelin Pilot Super Sports. They felt just like the Bridgestone Potenza RE11's but lasted significantly longer and were better in the rain.

I just put on Michelin A/S 3+ to hopefully increase longivity even more, but It was a horrible mistake. Even though the "informational" reviews (as opposed to "get this one" reviews) said they felt very much similar, my slot car now handles like a buick.

And on my commute the tracking protection is constantly going on when I corner on dry pavement. It never did before unless I was really pushing it.
 
In my case, it was usually the rear tires getting the abnormal wear--the car would still track well, and the wear across the tread could be even on front and back, but something off in the alignment would cause that abnormal wear that resulted in the "highway growl". The wear is uneven on each individual tread block. Hard to describe, but the pic on the left kind of shows it. The edge of one side of a block is higher than the other.

View attachment 1007475

What I've noticed most, however, is that the noise gets louder after a tire rotation.

And yes, definitely--if others have complained on Tire Rack about the same wear/noise issue, then that's definitely a problem.

I have found on my cars that alignment can also be slightly out of spec and still look/feel OK. I try to make it a habit of getting an alignment after each new set of tires. Nice thing, too, is that our local dealer offers a coupon for an alignment that is very competitive ($79 is about what it costs all over town, and they match that), so I get a full suspension inspection along with it when I go in.

When I was short on cash several years ago (post 2008-2009 economic bust), I did my own front toe-in/toe-out alignment. The prior set had worn quickly on the inside edges. I had the factory specs on hand, with one limit being at 0.00 for toe-in. I rigged up two yardsticks with rubber bands, and proceeded to measure the insides of the front wheels at the same spots, front and back, until they matched. I tweaked the toe-in via the tie rods, and never had an issue with it--the new tires wore evenly.
Something I've noticed with front wheel drive cars is that if you don't rotate your tires your rear tires can get downright lumpy. I had this happen with my scion xB. I replaced the rear bearings only to find out it was the tires. And then I road in the back seat of a friends FWD car and noticed the same noise. He and I ran our hands front-to back over the rear tread and you could feel the lumps - severely uneven wear.

Keep 'em rotated and they smooth out the lumps before they become noticeable.
 
However nothing will give you a warning of a sidewall blowout due to age.
A blowout of that magnitude in a car is scary enough at highway speeds. In a heavier/taller vehicle, I would be a lot more concerned as well.
This kind of stuff is why I went to renting motorhomes. Since I only used them once a year... :)
I noticed on my trip back in August that at the national parks, I saw a lot of rental RVs. At least half. Unless someone travels a lot and makes use of it, they are a drain on finances (cost of the RV, insurance, storage, maintenance, etc.). Where we live, most use their RVs/campers maybe three or four months out of the year, and normally only on weekends, while the expenses are year-round. Makes sense to rent!
 
Something I've noticed with front wheel drive cars is that if you don't rotate your tires your rear tires can get downright lumpy. I had this happen with my scion xB. I replaced the rear bearings only to find out it was the tires. And then I road in the back seat of a friends FWD car and noticed the same noise. He and I ran our hands front-to back over the rear tread and you could feel the lumps - severely uneven wear.

Keep 'em rotated and they smooth out the lumps before they become noticeable.
I do keep ours rotated, but I have seen the feathered wear after as little as 10,000 miles. Mildly, but it was there. That usually means I need the alignment. Plus, even if the tires don't get cupped or feathered, the fronts wear a lot faster than the rears with a FWD. It's not uncommon to see FWD cars with different sets of tires, front and rear, since previous owners probably never rotated the tires. And that makes you wonder what else they neglected.

I also wonder if some cars/trucks have no means of aligning the rear wheels. My old CR-V is adjustable but on its last alignment, I was told they adjusted it as far as they could, so it was just at the tolerance limit for being considered as aligned.
 
Well, I drive a 2013 Scion FR-S 150 miles on my round trip commute every weekday. I've got 130k miles on it and just put on my 7th set of tires. So "age" is not really a concern for me. But man, have I learned to grasp the differences between tires. The last set was my favorite because of the "feel" (LIke a slot car) and the traction, especially in rain. They were Michelin Pilot Super Sports. They felt just like the Bridgestone Potenza RE11's but lasted significantly longer and were better in the rain.

I just put on Michelin A/S 3+ to hopefully increase longivity even more, but It was a horrible mistake. Even though the "informational" reviews (as opposed to "get this one" reviews) said they felt very much similar, my slot car now handles like a buick.

And on my commute the tracking protection is constantly going on when I corner on dry pavement. It never did before unless I was really pushing it.


just put some pilot super sports on my 07 STi... wicked tires man!! The change in performance was drastic coming from mid/high range all seasons the way they hug the road makes me feel like I dropped the car an another inch or so. You're so right about how they feel in the rain too.. esp with the awd. Will pick up some blizzaks to wrap around my spare RPF1s

I should've committed to true dedicated summer/winter setups a long time ago. "performance" all season is an oxymoron
 
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Most experts recommend motorcycle tires be replaced after about 5 years, even if low mileage.
 
Dry Rot. You may not notice it until you have a flat, they will also develop cracking between the treads. The cords will snap/break too.
 
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