Discount Tire gets on the tire age bandwagon

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I was at a Discount Tire store a few days back, getting a leaky tire repaired.  I noticed a sign advising some things drivers should be aware of for safe driving and one of them was tire age.  DT is now on record as saying tires should be replaced somewhere between age 6 and 10.  They consider anything over 6 years to be in the higher risk category.

They also are on record saying that tire tread performance is significantly reduced below a tread depth of 4/32" and unsafe below 2/32".

 

[grooving grandpa]

Thanks for more great info

Lou

 

[Lou Schneider]

This is new and welcome.  About a month ago a salesman at Discount Tire in Las Vegas questioned why I was replacing four Michelin tires on my pickup that were 10 years old, had no signs of cracking and 7/32" tread left.

 

[malexander]

My dad bought a new 1984, 98 Olds Regency Brougham. He put 72,000 miles on it then parked it in the garage because that was the last year of the "big cars". I have it at my house now. The tires are 15 or 20 years old but look really good. I took it to DT to get them rotated and balance, they wouldn't even touch them...??..they were too old.


I did take it to a friend of mine that owns a tire shop and he did it for me.

 

[Alpena Jeff]

Can I assume this applies to all tire types? Utility trail, boat trailer?

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Can I assume this applies to all tire types? Utility trail, boat trailer?

Apparently so at Discount Tire.
In practice, trailer tires often do not last even that long, for a variety of reasons.  Trailer tires typically lead a hard life, so they often fail earlier than would be usual for a car.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The tires are 15 or 20 years old but look really good.

I think that falls into the category of "Famous Last Words"...  :

 

[camperAL]

Good topic, So Gary, are Class A tires needing replaced after 7 years or are they in the same category as car tires at 6 years? I would think that Class A tires being thicker, more heavy would last longer than the 6 years. I know that I have driven on tires that were seven or eight years old, but if I am traveling on the interstate, I always replaced them at around 6 years or what ever the tire mileage suggested at the time or when they looked bad.

 

[scottydl]

are Class A tires needing replaced after 7 years or are they in the same category as car tires at 6 years? I would think that Class A tires being thicker, more heavy would last longer than the 6 years.

Class A tires are generally recommended to be replaced SOONER than car tires. Sure they are thicker and heavier, but the weight ratings reflect that and they are supporting a LOT more body weight percentage (even when parked) compared to almost any car. Many motorhomes and trailers are operating at the upper levels of the tire's max weight ratings, which will break down the rubber and wear them out faster (regardless of tread depth).

6 years seems pretty frequent for car tires, unless you're a road warrior who puts a ton of miles on your daily driver. Don't forget that Discount Tire makes more money by selling more tires more often. That is not to diminish the importance of tire safety... but DT does have a profit motive.

 

[UTTransplant]

6 years seems pretty frequent for car tires, unless you're a road warrior who puts a ton of miles on your daily driver. Don't forget that Discount Tire makes more money by selling more tires more often. That is not to diminish the importance of tire safety... but DT does have a profit motive.

Umm. I never got more than 60,000 on my car tires, and I generally got more like 50,000. I had a Subaru and rotated the tires as recommended, every oil change (5000 or so). I drove way more than 10,000 miles a year, generally 15,000 or so, so I bought new tires every 3 1/2 or 4 years. Never had to worry about them aging out. I also never thought of myself as a road warrior.

 

[malexander]

I think that falls into the category of "Famous Last Words"...  :

Yeah, I don't drive it very much, just enough to keep the battery up. I'll drive it to church once in a while, about 30 miles round trip.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

In my opinion (and Michelin's), motorhome tires have a service life of 6-10 years.  Six years is not a drop-dead date - it's the beginning of a period where the risk of a failure begins to increase.  Some will make 10 years or more, while others may fail earlier.  If money were no object, maybe you would automatically replace at 5-6 years. Personally, I'm comfortable running up to around 8 years. I think I pay enough attention to my tires to be aware if they are getting too risky. Others never look at their tires unless they are flat.

Of course Discount Tire would like you to be conservative and replace early.  They admit in their advice that 6 years and 4/32" tread depth is when you should start thinking about replacement.

 

[scottydl]

Umm. I never got more than 60,000 on my car tires, and I generally got more like 50,000. I had a Subaru and rotated the tires as recommended, every oil change (5000 or so). I drove way more than 10,000 miles a year, generally 15,000 or so, so I bought new tires every 3 1/2 or 4 years. Never had to worry about them aging out. I also never thought of myself as a road warrior.

There are certainly a lot of factors, and for our cars I prefer to buy tires rated for 75k-80k miles from the get-go which usually lasts me 5-6 years (similar to your annual mileage). However I think that Discount Tire's time recommendation is aimed at low mileage drivers, suburban or small town folks who might commute 6 miles/day with a few longer trips throughout the year. If you put 5k miles/year or less on 60k-80k rated tires, by that math alone you could theoretically go 12-16 years before replacing. The 6-year replacement message is irrelevant for the rest of us, who legitimately "use up" our tires at/before the 6 year mark.

 

[MtnGoat]

If you want to know the life span of a tire, contact the manufacture and ask how long they will warranty that tire or cover damages from their product. Although racing does not apply here, any tire over four years from DOT number (production date) are not permitted on most tracks. My personal rule of thumb is tires that are 6 years old are considered "expended". Any signs of blisters, bulges or cracking that exposes the cord are grounds for immediate replacement. 

Just a thought, have you checked the DOT number on your spare?

YMMV

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

It's true that most car owners use up the tire tread (mileage) before age becomes a factor. That's a large part of why a separate age limit warning needs to be highlighted - most vehicle owners never encounter the age factor and are blissfully unaware of it.

"old" is not a hard & fast number, whether talking about tires or people. We can only generalize about the age timeframe and warn people to pay extra attention at some point. Some will choose to take early action to avoid risk, sort of like having a kid's appendix or tonsils removed. Others will defer action awhile and some will simply wait for an obvious failure condition.  Both time and mileage may vary!

 

[MtnGoat]

Old IS a hard and fast number. No manufacture will let a tire set on the shelf and call it good after years.
Specifically when the bond between the carcass and rubber is concerned.
Time, heat and wear will cause for the bond to weaken then separate.

AKA "blowout"

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Old IS a hard and fast number. No manufacture will let a tire set on the shelf and call it good after years.

Interesting that you would say that, yet still did not quote any number of years for a shelf life. I think you would be hard-pressed to find any manufacturer that states one.

A few tire manufacturer (Michelin, Bridgestone, Yokahoma) state that a tire should never be kept in service longer than 10 years.  That's on a vehicle or in a retail tire shop, NOT in their distribution warehouses.  They all insist that their tires do not age when properly stored in their climate-controlled warehouses.

This article in the tire dealer trade magazine is, I think, a reasonably balanced review of the tire aging debate. 

https://www.moderntiredealer.com/article/312312/final-words-on-tire-aging

 

[MtnGoat]

What is at risk, is ones safety and security when the DOT date/number goes over 10 years.

And the industry seems to be inline with that number as well as I.

Good day....

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

What is at risk, is ones safety and security when the DOT date/number goes over 10 years.

And the industry seems to be inline with that number as well as I.

So are you arguing that 10 years is the "hard & fast" age and therefore a tire is not "old" until age 10?  I think not... 

 

[garys]

In the late 80s I took my truck hauling a camper to discount tire after some of the tread came off one of the rear tires on a trip. I had bought their warranty but was shown the warranty certificate under the glass on the counter where it said it was only good for three years for dry rotting. They said the other three were dry rotted too so I told them to put 4 new ones on. While waiting I looked at my certificates I received when I bought the tires and although it looked like theirs under the glass, there was no 3 years limit for dry rotting.
They had to give me four new tires.