Ancient Part Worns

[sierraman]

Went to look at some part worns today at a place that does them. One of the tyres was dated 2002... I realise you aren't getting a new tyre, I understand that, but surely they can't get away with passing off a 13 year old tyre?

 

What is the going rate for a tyre with say 4-5mm of tread that was made within last 5 years or so?

[lisbon_road]

At 4mm you haven't got much left, only 2mm wear and that is if you manage to wear them really evenly.  Unless you can get them fitted really cheaply, I'd say not a lot.

 

I wouldn't panic about a 2002 tyre.  I think I started a thread on here to see who had the oldest tyre, I can't remember who did but there were plenty older than that.  Unless they've been in the sun consistently, and some don't like being on a car that doesn't move for years. 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Have you looked at new ditchfinders ? Around here you can get them for £35 a corner fitted (in shite-spec sizes, if you drive an X5 they're bound to be more !), they're bound to last more than part worns and should be less likely to kill you as well.

[JohnK]

I tried to buy a single tyre for the XJ6 this week - new was £50 fitted and the cheapest part worn I could get was £40!

 

I bid on a set of identical alloys on eBay in the end, got them for £70, one tyre knackered and the other three about 5mm tread. Means the XJ6 is now legal and I have two spare rims with OK tyres - handy when the XJ6 and XJ8 have the same rims!

[sierraman]

I've bought some new ones, £49 a corner for Barums. I was just struggling to understand the logic in the cost saving these days. £25 for the 13 year old one or probably £40 for some cheapies.

[Station]

I have the receipt for the tyres on my Starion - fitted in 1997. £700 for all four Avon Turbospeeds (old school 80's tyres). Don't be a ponce, if there's no splitting on the tread/wall, they're not going to miraculously explode, I've never had a tyre go on me ever.

 

I bet there's some planes out there with older tyres than 20 years.

[Lacquer Peel]

They might not blow out, but how grippy will the hard rubber be?

[sierraman]

I lugged the spare out of last car, it looked like new but it was about the consistency of plastic, given it was about 15 year old.

[Station]

It wasn't hard, it was still rubber.

[Inspector Morose]

If it's sound, round and touching the ground, that's good nough for me. (I have impeccably low standards)

[steve_earwig]

Ancient tyres are fine. Until it rains.

[sierraman]

It's hard to know what to make of it. The tyre companies say replace at most 10 years old. But them they would say that! At 13 years old with 4mm of tread left, it can hardly have been on a car all that time its probably spent a proportion of it slung on a heap somewhere. That's what concerned me.

[dave21478]

10 year lifespan.....uv light.....hardens with age......less grip.....blah blah blah blah....nobody is listening......

 

Every Autoshite tyre thread can be summed up by half the people saying they are rolling on 1986 tyres and they are fine and the other half are thinking yeah, it may feel "fine", but it would feel a hell of a lot better with new ones....

 

 

Me? I say fuck old tyres and fuck cheap tyres, so double fuck old cheap tyres. I dont care if its on a Fiat Panda or a fast saloon, Im fed up with the poor performance and wont use anything less than a new midrange like Toyo. Yeah its expensive, but its an expensive hobby I have and its not really that expensive either - assuming its not mental sizes, good tyres can be had for 50 - 60 quid each. I dont see the point in fucking about to save less than the cost of an evening on the beer and a chinese takeaway.

[Uncle Jimmy]

Have you looked at new ditchfinders ? Around here you can get them for £35 a corner fitted (in shite-spec sizes, if you drive an X5 they're bound to be more !), they're bound to last more than part worns and should be less likely to kill you as well.

If you drive an X5 a tyre could be put to good use around your neck....

[tooSavvy]

mebbies Scare Tactics... mebbies paid for by the Tyre Companies.....

 

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/35532/used-tyre-scandal

 

 

TS

[Uncle Jimmy]

I had a pair of enormous vintage tyres, 22, maybe 26", which were at least 30 years old. Didn't think they'd sell on ebay- loads of bids. Guy who won them wanted them for a vintage gun carriage for arena stuff. I was thankful they weren't going on a road vehicle.

[Bren]

We need to get a grip. Literally. This site is losing it's focus.

 

We play roulette with timing belts.

 

We fill our cooling systems with snake oil rather than find the leak.

 

We weld our cars with bits of old "rover" biscuit tins.

 

Why should'nt tyres be exempt?

 

[sierraman]

With that in mind then I'll have a poke around the skips and see if I can find any tyres to fit...

[messerschmitt owner]

lol - just fitted two new tyres to the Merc today!

 

part worns? Ditchfinders? Nope a decent brand - £177 for two 17 inchers - thankfully written off against tax and the car feels better for it!

 

brakes, suspension and tyres are what keep you on the straight and narrow - I'd rather not veer off to the verge when I don;t want to, then find I can't stop.

[tooSavvy]

 

Biker? Been SmokeyDoNutting a McD........

 

TS

[Bren]

I had a landsail fitted to the fiesta the other day - came in just under £50 fitted and balanced.

 

I got an advisory for the n/s front, the back are legal but not great so I will get them replaced.

 

4 tyres for less than £200 is pretty good.

 

In real terms they have come down in price - a 195/70 14 goodyear NCT would have cost around £65 back in 1990 - what's that in today's money?

[Hertz]

Brand new tyres are that cheap nowadays that it's a no brainer really. On the other hand if it's a really obscure size then it might be worth looking at part worns if they are in good nick. The Alpine GTA has 255 45 15's from new and only Michelin do a run of them new once every year and they cost £350 each. To be honest though I always ran 225 50 15's instead which you could get for about £70 a tyre and found no difference in grip.

[New POD]

in 2006, I had a 1985 cavalier and in the BOOT was a brand new 1985 alloy wheel and original Dunlop.

 

I had cause to fit it to the front left of my car after a puncture, and it was the slippiest piece of shit ever. It was on there for about 2 weeks, and 700 miles, and in the rain it was as good as a bald tyre, if not worse.

[Parky]

So many decent mid rangers around these days. Toyo has been mentioned but Falken are very good, and Uniroyals are a lot cheaper than you'd think. Yokohama, Hankook, Kumho, all bloody good. Get on Blackcircles or Mytyres and have a browse.

 

As has been mentioned several times, it's only the four bits of rubber at each corner that stop you flying off the road and flattening kittehs so might as well get the best you can afford. Tyres are cheap compared to body damage. Or worse.

[chaseracer]

If it's sound, round and touching the ground, that's good nough for me. (I have impeccably low standards)

 

You forgot "scraping the inside of the wheel arch".

 

HTH 

[dollywobbler]

There are some excellent value options for brand new tyres, so I don't see the point in pissing about, especially on our sort of stuff - 13-15" is where the bargains are. I know £50 a corner (even good brands can be £60 or less) soon adds up, but I rarely replace all four together and like having the knowledge that there's plenty of grip there should I need it. It's all well and good saying you don't hoon so don't mind less grip, but an emergency stop situation may have you changing your mind pretty swiftly. I did that once and it was the first time I replaced a set of tyres that had plenty of tread left on them. The difference was STAGGERING. 

 

I have had an elderly tyre blow out on me too. A huge chunk out of the sidewall on the A1. Fortunately, I was in a Citroen, so there was no panic, just a strange noise. That was travelling in a straight line though. Had it blown on a bend, things may have been very different. Why add that risk factor?

[PiperCub]

Basically what DW said in the first paragraph.

Replaced the tyres on both the GTi & the 5 - both 185/60/14 sized, for about £60 a corner fitted, Yokohamas and Dunlops respectively. Replaced the Heinz 57 varieties on the Pug & the original 1991 Dunlops on the 5 (been on Jersey all it's life), the difference especially with the Mazda was amazing as it felt lethal on damp roads on 20+ y/o tyres. So wouldn't bother with p/w's - the cost saving isn't there and I'm keeping these cars anyway so will get the use out of them.

 

Having said that, when you buy a secondhand car, it comes with part-worn tyres so all those (esp in the motoring press) who slag them off need to consider that point.

My 406 hack is such a case, has a matched set of Barums, all vgc, no damage I can see but I don't have x-ray eyes so can't tell if there's any internal damage that the idiots in Auto-Excuse rag whittered on about but it's a risk I take having inspected the tyres to the best of my abilities and I'm happy with that.

If I were that concerned, I'd either have my local friendly tyre shop remove and inspect all five tyres or buy five new un's.

 

Never had a tyre explode and can only think of two instances of a tyre deflating really quick in the last 30 years, once on the M3 my MGB which had wire wheels and it was a faulty inner tube (recently replaced ironically) and a shoddy cheapo make of tyre on my equally shoddy Mk3 Ez van aout 20 years ago.

[CortinaDave]

I found the new land sails I had fitted to my MG ZT to be a horrible tyre, noisy and it slid about badly in the wet.

 

Because the rims were a bastard size to get anything decent was £100 ish a corner so Chinese tat it was.

 

No tyre that has ever or will ever be made can come even slightly close to how terrible Stomils were.

 

They must have had egg shaped moulds in the factory

[Jerzy Woking]

Purchased my car in January, all was in order and the tyres had good tread. Driving to my mates a couple of weeks ago and the front blew out, due to a perished sidewall.

 

Seems I never checked the tyres properly when I bought it - they had good tread, so they must be OK, mustn't they ? I found the other front tyre had similar tyre wall degredation, as did the spare.

 

I did replace them with part worn - only because the place I got them from has been there for years, they are happy for you to inspect all tyres before they are fitted, and I got three matching 15 inch Yokohamas, each with 6mm tread, for £75 balanced and fitted. No previous repairs or side wall damage seen (and I checked them carefully). And they are guaranteed for life too. Not all part worn are the same, and I'm certain they are a damp sight better that three of the tyres that were on the car when I bought it.