The danger of old tyres

[lowdrag]

The sad news arrived yesterday of the death of two friends here in France. Two friends passionate as any about the classic car movement and passionate about any make of old car, owning several themselves. The cause of their death was down to old tyres, tyres that were on the face of it in good condition with plenty of tread but which were old, well past the time when they ought to have been changed. It is easy to think "I'll be alright, mine are perfect" but the truth is that the recommendation is to change tyres after six years, whatever the mileage; we all know that the rubber deteriorates with age but it is easier, but not safer, to put off the expense until another day. I know, in the past I have been as guilty as the next man.

In this case the tyre exploded on a bend, with fatal results. Please, don't just dismiss this, but go and check the age of your tyres on the sidewall. There will be a four figure number like 0602 (which means made the 6th week of 2002) on the carcass. I bet some of you will find there are only three digits like 147 which means 14th week of 1997 which might shock you. Time flies when you are having fun, but let it continue to be fun, not grief for your relatives. Oh, I've realised my trailer tyres need changing; I hadn't thought to check them.

[Elderly]

lowdrag said:

only three digits like 147 which means 14th week of 1997 which might shock you.

Very sad news about your friends and wise words about the shelf life of a tyre.
Any three digit code is too old to use but the 147 number you have quoted as example is probably the 14th week of 1987
In the 90's a triangle symbol followed the three digits to show that it was made in the last decade of the 20th century.

Edited to say that we shouldn't forget to check our seldom/never used spare!

Edited by Elderly on Monday 9th November 09:54

[Huntsman]

Tony

You are absolutely right about this, when I bought my old BMW the tyres were 17 years old on the front and 20 years old on the rear, I changed them straight off. Same with my MGA.

Something for older car owners to think carefully about.

[RW774]

Very sad news Tony, my sympathy indeed.I do wish people would take note of this potential hazard and pay more attention to the basics themselves.
I had a long running battle with another guy on the Jaguar forum over wheels and tyres recently, so I thought I`ll share some of the points. He did think I was making a fuss over nothing, though thankfully he has now adressed the issue.
Alloys in particlar suffer from poor tyre fitters.I have seen many rims here that have been brutalised, one recently had BENT inner rim but the resultant problem ended up with a crack right up to the inside stud hole. The client was totally unaware, apart from a slight wheel wobble we had to investigate. On an XJR too!. Not the first time I have seen this happen,I have seen a wheel collapse on a Ford saloon, again the guy was totally unaware prior to the occurance:I believe BMW are now experiencing similar issues with their production alloys eek:
From my point of view, I have been campaigning to get some of these dreadful after market modifications, aswell as wheels and tyres as part of the MOT, but the Public and the Ministry remain uninterested, a bit like burying their heads.
I have an E in ,which has no toe in on turns.It has a huge 4 pot brake upgrade with, wait for it, Alloy steering Arms. Manufactured , supplied and currently available over the counter, but are uncertified as being fit for purpose with no type approval. Alloy steering arms work harden will fail. A well known C type kit manufacturer revealed to me he is cutting and re-welding the ball joint mounting on the lower half of the XJ type uprights to get the geometry right. Again no certifcation. This process is strictly forbidden and is an MoT failure, but it still goes on.
What next I wonder? especially in the event of a fatality ?
Just who will accept responsibilty? clearly it will be passed to the MOT station or the specialist who last worked on the vehicle.
That`s just not good enough for public safety.

[lowdrag]

Thank you all for your kind messages.

Totally in agreement with you Paul. Steering arms are a sore point with me at the moment since, after one trip and one only in the rain with the C-type, both are showing signs of rust. Apparently this though is normal since C-type arms are never powder coated. However, apparently I can now Hammerite them but the worry is that any cracks will of course not be seen. I am advised to wipe regularly with lanolin based oil to avoid the problem.

The BMW problem has been well aired on Watchdog and two month old cars were suffering cracked rims due to potholes. BMW denied all responsibility even under warranty until Watchdog got the bit between their teeth and now BMW have set up a special help line to sort matters out, even for those who have paid for their new wheels already. Disgusting after-sales service and warranty issues I feel.

[Bobafett]

I remembered this from a couple of years back;



Happened local to me, so strung a chord more so than it would normally!

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1004...

Very sad to loose a life when it may have been avoided, indeed have older tyres in my garage now - I suppose that's the danger with low mileage classics

[RedexR]

Yes , that one was published in one of our club magazines , as a result I condemned all four tyres on my car straight away , that's the trouble with classics , typically they don't do a lot of mileage but certain items have a finite life so you have to be pro-active and make yourself do these things , a friend of mine actually took a stanley knife to the ones he'd had taken off so no unscroupulous tyre fitter could re-use them , good thinking I say as they may look ok but are actually lethal. Very sorry to hear about your loss Tony.

[entwisi]

I'm a member of the CSMA through an ex employer, this months magazine has a letter from a bloke who is 'bragging'(for want of a better word) that his 18 year old civic is at 98K miles still on original battery, TYRES, etc and has only had one service and " it still runs lovely and passes its MOT".

Now I think theres a little economy of teh truth here, 98K miles on one set of tyres must be pretty much impossible no matter how gentle you drive.

[a8hex]

I'm sorry to hear your news Tony.

I'd also like to put in a me too.
When I bought my XK150 it had a nice set of Avon cross ply tires, but they were 15" ones, not the original 16" jobbies.
These tyres worked well on my first track day at Goodwood and show little obvious signs of distress from the experience. Later that year I saw a set of the same type of tyres advertised 2nd hand but in 16", so I bought them. I also managed to get hold of a set of wheels. The tyres when I saw them looked beautiful. I suspect the owners car was more for show than go. The tyres were spotless, nicely blacked, and even the tread was totally clean.

After a trackday though they looked horrible. The tread wasn't just worn it was pitted, like bits of the rubber had just given up and fallen off. In hindsight I'm lucky they didn't let go, I don't want to think what would have happened on the Levant if I'd lost a tyre. Talking to Longstones (of the adverts fame) V rated Avon radials went out of manufacture over 10 years ago, so they must have been at least that age.

[fareaster]

Thanks for the reminder. I'm running Dunlop SP Sports on my series 3 E type, had the car for 20 years and changed all the tyres sometime (?) ago. Just looked all over the side walls for a 3/4 digit number, can't find anything. Anybody got any pointers as to where these numbers are ?

[rovermorris999]

I think some tyres don't have them as they're not a legal requirement. But have a look here:

http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html

Edited by rovermorris999 on Tuesday 10th November 11:17

[vpr]

I sobering reminder.

I'm guilty of having the original white wall tyres on my E Type and i know they haven't been produced since the late 70's.

Don't worry...it's not going anywhere.

[lowdrag]

fareaster said:

Thanks for the reminder. I'm running Dunlop SP Sports on my series 3 E type, had the car for 20 years and changed all the tyres sometime (?) ago. Just looked all over the side walls for a 3/4 digit number, can't find anything. Anybody got any pointers as to where these numbers are ?

There was quite a moment when 205/15 tyres weren't available from Dunlop or Vintage Tyres if memory serves. I suggest you ring them on 01590 612261 and discuss it. Time flies when you are having fun, and it flies dangerously.

[Gnostic Ascent]

Sobering reminder Lowdrag. Thank you for taking the time during your grief to highlight this.

I'll be checking my tyres this evening.

[coetzeeh]

I bought a set of used but hardly used Michelin tyres off flea bay recently for my 60's Alfa.

I've just had a look at the tyres in the shed but could not find a date, but I suppose the words printed "made in west Germany" says it all.

Needless to say, they wont be going on the car.

[volvos60s60]

Mmnnn - unfortunately a good & timely thread. Anyone know of a tyre fitter that can handle wire wheels in North London / South Herts so i can change the tyres on my TR4?

[crankedup]

Shocking and tragic for lives to be lost due to such circumstance.

I have just ordered two new fronts for my daily runner and will certainly be replacing the tyres on my vintage caravan before its used next Spring. I notice that trailors are also subject to very low use and subject to dangerous conditions.

[RedexR]

This issue really needs to be incorporated into the MOT test doesn't it ? How is it that you could be on twenty year old tyres and pass but have a small infringement like a number plate decal that poses no threat to other road users but be refused a certificate ? Surely safety to yourself and other road users should be the driving factor ?

As well as tyres I think we could list other important items that need replacing on an age basis :

Brake hoses
Fuel hoses
Brake fluid

any others ?

[PBE]

Volvo 60 - I remember a company called Advance Tyres in Waltham Cross who used to change all our historic race tyres - they were very good. If they don't exist anymore, we are based in Buntingford in Herts and will happily fit your tyres send me an email if you want help: [e-mail].
PBE.

[Roop]

Sorry to hear of your loss, but well done for raising the issue. This is something I had often thought about but never actually done anything.

I just went out to check the RS500 and they are marked as 0404. For those looking for the code note that on my Goodyear GSD2's they were on the inner-facing wall of the tyre, so I had to grovel under the car to check. With 340bhp going through fairly skinny 205 section 15" rear tyres I think I'll be changing all 4 for next season...