Re: [Chrysler300] Bias Tires and Longevity

[Michael Moore <mmoore8425@xxxxxxx>]

Ryan, 
I have seen folks back away from saying any tires are good past 6 years or at the most 10 years. People get on the safety soapbox and you'll soon feel gulty!
 For me, its a waste of money to replace perfectly good looking unworn tires with low miles because they're 6 years old!

So I tracked down and finally got an honest to God tire engineer at the head office in the US for Michelin, and was able to have a good discussion with him about it. He made me stop using the word "unsafe". He said that old tires were not unsafe, they would just go flat and I should not scare people. He said how long a tire can last was a function of how it was stored. In my case, in a cool garage outside of sunlight was perfect. He said if he was going to drive tires past 10 years, he'd have  a tire broken down and inspect the INSIDE of the carcass  for cracking, assuming the outside is ok. Also, I am a conservative driver. (I am no longer 25 driving my 300H at 135 mph on I 20! )

So, I took one of my like new 12 year old tires off of my TR3, had it broken down and inspected, replaced it and drove the car from Morgan Hill, Ca to Lake Tahoe and back, and drove the tires for  another 2 years. I finally replaced them in order to put the correct sized tires on the car.
Mike Moore
300H   
On Sep 2, 2011, at 12:18 PM, C Bilter wrote:

> Hi Ryan- 
> 
> Not sure how many have responded to you off-server, but no one responded
> on-server yet. In my opinion, unless your bias ply tires have been
> "hermetically sealed in the executive washroom at Funk & Wagnalls" they are
> not safe, at least on the highway. Rubber breaks down from exposure to the
> air, and deterioration is accelerated by sun (UV rays) and temperature.
> They can and will deteriorate from the inside when mounted as well. When
> sitting for long periods, bias ply tires will "flat spot" and the rubber
> gets hard as a rock. Radials have the added problem of steel belts
> corroding, and if they blow the steel belts can also inflict further damage
> to an already potential catastrophic outcome.
> 
> Some folks say tires used to be better made in the 60s/70s/80s. That is
> anecdotal. From a technological perspective, modern radial tires are far
> better engineered and safer especially at higher speeds. Just get a high
> quality, name brand tire. Better safe than sorry.
> 
> 300ly,
> 
> Carl Bilter
> 
> _____ 
> 
> From: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf Of Ryan Hill
> Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2011 5:35 PM
> To: Ryan Hill
> Subject: [Chrysler300] Bias Tires and Longevity
> 
> There has been a lot of talk, on and off this listserve, about radial tires
> and expiration dates, safety, and performance in the past couple of years.
> Out of curiosity, does anyone know if bias ply tires are any more durable in
> terms of age than a radial? 
> 
> I ask because I have a beautiful looking set of Uniroyal H78-14 on my 1965
> 300 that I bought for my first 300 back in 1987 or so. They have low milage
> but have been mounted on my cars while in storage since about 1990. I had
> not planned to drive very far on them, given they're 24 years old, but
> wonder if they deteriorate in the same manner radials do? How unsafe are
> they? 
> 
> My father pulled a classic boat around on some bias ply truck tires from the
> early 60's for the better part of 30 years without failure.
> 
> Ryan Hill 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> 
> 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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