Dear Guy,
Love your orchestra. You experience with tires sounds a lot like mine. I have
learned through my
own experience, as well as the experience of a friend, that you can't tell the
condition of old tires
just by looking at them-- and that letting them sit, like letting a car sit, is
almost the worst
thing you can do and will lead to tread separation.
I've also learned that that vibration you felt at a certain speed is a telltale
sign-- when you start
to feel that, get ready. I doubt that the bulges were there before the
separation. I inspected all
my tires before one of mine separated, and they all looked perfect. Maybe it
could develop shortly
before it goes, but you can't be down on the ground inspecting your tires every
time you go anywhere
. . .
I thought about the Michelin XW4s but ended up getting Dimension IVs. Good
luck with the Broadway
Classics.
Mark M
guy lombardo wrote:
> The '67 Convertible had four General Radials with less than 1000 miles on
>them...but 27 years of
> sitting in a garage. When I found it, the tires actually still had air in
>them, although they
> were rather low. Only the the right front tire seemed to be low enough to
>let the rim contact the
> rubber. I have put maybe 1000 miles on the car test driving in the
>neighborhood, and going to
> Saturday night burger joint "car shows".
>
> There has always been a vibration at about 50 MPH. Now I know why. The
>right front tire tread
> separated from the casing (you should hear that happen at moderate speed!!!).
> When I got the tire
> off, it was clear that the separation had been working for some time,
>unfortunately, all of the
> visible evidence was on the inside sidewall. I am flabbergasted that I never
>saw the bulges in
> all the times I have been under there...
>
> I started a tire search by reviewing the archives and running a parallel
>Internet search of
> availability for the P235/75/15's I needed. I had essentially given up on
>the 1.5 inch white
> walls because it looked like I would have to pay over $700 for a set...AND
>get tires that seemed
> to be less well engineered, and of questionable quality. My In-Laws have
>been in the tire
> business for 30 years in New Orleans, and they were another source of
>information.
>
> Just as I was about to buy one of the two models of Michelin that I found
>that met my needs
> (Rainforce MX4 (Max Load 2028 lbs) $98 each; and XW4 (Max Load 2183 lbs) $124
>each), I found a
> redesigned Multi-Mile model of the Broadway Classic (2028 lbs @ 35 PSI).
>
> I paid $296 delivered to the house from TireNet, and I paid another $55 to
>help WalMart not to
> forget the left-handed threads on the port side.
>
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