Tire life

[39deluxe]

My wife's '81Corvette has a set of Goodyear Eagle STs that probably have less than 5000 miles on them. I don't even recall how many years it's been since the ST was available; probably 10 at least. Even though they look brand new I'm afraid to take them on the interstate or drive anywhere other than just local due to age. They may never have a blowout but it just isn't worth the risk to trust them on a trip.

Tom

[lofat46]

Ken, I had a 4"x6" piece of tred come off a tire at the last GG show in Madison.  I had 10-year old Coopers on the back of the car with lots of tread left.  That's when I learned about tire dates.  By this time next year the front tires will be 5 years old with maybe 10,000 miles on them.  They'll get replaced in the Spring before the frst road trip.

[purplepickup]

Driving on old tires is definitely a gamble.  Years ago I bought a new set of tires cheap from a guy that worked on the railroad and I think someone might have borrowed them from a new car on the train.  

Anyway, I didn't need them right away so I put them in a shed where they sat for close to 9 years.  I mounted them on my full sized van and thought I was hot stuff with my cheap "new" tires.  Well, about a month later, on the 4th of July, three of the four tires blew in one day.  In those days it was hard to find a place that sold tires on a holiday and the whole fiasco was a major pain in the butt....not to mention that I could have wrecked when they blew at highway speeds.

I always check the codes on tires I buy now to make sure they're fresh.....and I don't buy borrowed goods anymore.  I'm not proud that I ever did.