Are these tyre cracks dangerous? Never seen them here before

Are these tyre cracks dangerous? Never seen them here before

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logan-1986

Original Poster:

31 posts

102 months

Monday 6th November 2023
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Hello, does anyone know if these cracks are dangerous? I've never seen them in that location. The sidewalls are fine, and the rear tyres are totally fine, but on the front tyres there's cracks running around the rain channels of the tyre, mostly on the inner side of each front tyre.

Thank you for any advice that anyone can share on this!

Link to photos:
https://ibb.co/WxjSCyG
https://ibb.co/NLtFyCL
https://ibb.co/x5hTr2x
https://ibb.co/sPTgTGL
https://ibb.co/Wy275nH

The tyres are Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 5 (around 2 years old, only covered around 8k miles), and the car is a 2004 Jaguar XK8 coupe.

It's a shame as well because these tyres have been amazing, great handling and really comfortable at the same time.

Vsix and Vtec

688 posts

20 months

Tuesday 7th November 2023
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They don't look great, I suspect come MOT time you're going to find they fail the car for it.

phumy

5,678 posts

239 months

Tuesday 7th November 2023
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What is the date stamped on the sidewall of each tyre. Shown as Week/Year. Ie 1918 so week 19 = May 18 = 2018. May 2018.

RUSTILLDOWN

363 posts

70 months

Tuesday 7th November 2023
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A few years ago I had cracked tyres like this and got a puncture in the middle of nowhere.

Be proactive and change them mate.

stevemcs

8,721 posts

95 months

Tuesday 7th November 2023
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Vsix and Vtec said:
They don't look great, I suspect come MOT time you're going to find they fail the car for it.
Only if you can see cords.

HustleRussell

24,785 posts

162 months

Tuesday 7th November 2023
quotequote all
Cracking between the tread grooves, especially around the circumference rather than across the tyre, aren't as worrying as cracks in the shoulder or sidewall. It indicates a hardening off of the rubber rather than some nasty structural failure of the tyre. PH is incredibly trigger happy when it comes to recommending new tyres because of course everybody here has loadsa money etc.

It won't, or at least shouldn't, fail an MOT on it. I wouldn't expect the cracks to get suddenly worse or to cause a blowout. It's a 'monitor' situation IMO.

If you bought the tyres, or you at least know who supplied them and happen to have an invoice etc? You could have a conversation with the tyre fitter who will ask the manufacturer whether they want to offer a replacement, discount etc. It's worth looking into this ASAP if you've had them 'about two years'. Sometimes if there is a known problem with a particular pattern or batch I've heard some manufacturers can be surprisingly helpful.

Edited by HustleRussell on Tuesday 7th November 10:22

logan-1986

Original Poster:

31 posts

102 months

Tuesday 7th November 2023
quotequote all
Vsix and Vtec said:
They don't look great, I suspect come MOT time you're going to find they fail the car for it.
Damn, although it was literally just MOT'd and passed with no advisories.

logan-1986

Original Poster:

31 posts

102 months

Tuesday 7th November 2023
quotequote all
phumy said:
What is the date stamped on the sidewall of each tyre. Shown as Week/Year. Ie 1918 so week 19 = May 18 = 2018. May 2018.
They are 3421, so not very old at all. I had them fitted in November of 21 and they've only covered 5k miles.

logan-1986

Original Poster:

31 posts

102 months

Tuesday 7th November 2023
quotequote all
HustleRussell said:
Cracking between the tread grooves, especially around the circumference rather than across the tyre, aren't as worrying as cracks in the shoulder or sidewall. It indicates a hardening off of the rubber rather than some nasty structural failure of the tyre. PH is incredibly trigger happy when it comes to recommending new tyres because of course everybody here has loadsa money etc.

It won't, or at least shouldn't, fail an MOT on it. I wouldn't expect the cracks to get suddenly worse or to cause a blowout. It's a 'monitor' situation IMO.

If you bought the tyres, or you at least know who supplied them and happen to have an invoice etc? You could have a conversation with the tyre fitter who will ask the manufacturer whether they want to offer a replacement, discount etc. It's worth looking into this ASAP if you've had them 'about two years'. Sometimes if there is a known problem with a particular pattern or batch I've heard some manufacturers can be surprisingly helpful.

Edited by HustleRussell on Tuesday 7th November 10:22
Ok that's good to know as the only cracks are around the circumference like that, the blocks, shoulder, and sidewalls are all perfect looking.

It's just passed it's MOT with no advisories.

I've just contacted Goodyear through their website/email to ask about it, so who knows maybe they'll offer some sort of credit towards replacements!

Thank you!

Vsix and Vtec

688 posts

20 months

Tuesday 7th November 2023
quotequote all
logan-1986 said:
Damn, although it was literally just MOT'd and passed with no advisories.
I guess I'm maybe more cautious than some, I put four new Pilot Sport 4 S on my XK, the previous owner had been content to roll around on cracked Dunlop Sport Maxx on the front and Accelera Phi on the rear. They didn't seem fit for a 300bhp V8, so went in the bin.

Panamax

4,189 posts

36 months

Tuesday 7th November 2023
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Continental tyres say,

"Groove cracking symptoms as shown in the photo are usually superficial and may be caused by a variety of factors other than the tire itself.

"These groove cracks (also called stress cracks) are mostly caused by improper inflation pressure, excessive heat, over loading the tire or high ozone level in the environment."

I certainly wouldn't panic. MOT testers know what they're looking for. The structure of the tyre is mainly in the cords and belts with the rubber holding it all together and providing the tread. If you've ever tried to saw through a modern car tyre they're incredibly tough. Nonetheless, any glimpse of a cord and you'll get an MOT fail.

stevieturbo

17,306 posts

249 months

Tuesday 7th November 2023
quotequote all
Panamax said:
Continental tyres say,

"Groove cracking symptoms as shown in the photo are usually superficial and may be caused by a variety of factors other than the tire itself.

"These groove cracks (also called stress cracks) are mostly caused by improper inflation pressure, excessive heat, over loading the tire or high ozone level in the environment."
I would say Continental are just making excuses there to try and place blame elsewhere.

Modern tyres crack,, and it really is ridiculous how bad some are. And it's so common, there is no way those things are to blame, otherwise it would have been happening for decades.
In reality, it's getting worse this last 10 or so years

So clearly they're changing something with the rubber, designs, whatever. Because everyone cannot suddenly be over inflating, over heating or overloading the tyres.

As for ozone.....can't comment on that, but sounds a little desperate

logan-1986

Original Poster:

31 posts

102 months

Tuesday 7th November 2023
quotequote all
stevieturbo said:
I would say Continental are just making excuses there to try and place blame elsewhere.

Modern tyres crack,, and it really is ridiculous how bad some are. And it's so common, there is no way those things are to blame, otherwise it would have been happening for decades.
In reality, it's getting worse this last 10 or so years

So clearly they're changing something with the rubber, designs, whatever. Because everyone cannot suddenly be over inflating, over heating or overloading the tyres.

As for ozone.....can't comment on that, but sounds a little desperate
Agreed it does sound a bit like they're throwing out every reason under the sun to avoid the blame.