Lost confidence in tires - sudden performance drop off?

[PoisonJam]

C2 VTS on Michelin Pilot Exalto 2s. 3-4mm front tread, 4-5mm rear.

Always been amazed with the levels of grip from these tires, but for the past month or so I've had to make a few quick corrections when the car's wanted to get a little sideways where it wouldn't have before, even in dry conditions. There has been a lot of grit/salt on the roads lately but it's not something I remember being problematic in previous years.

Everything out there about when to replace tires refers to the importance of tread depth for displacing water and never really mentions dry grip. In fact, some would argue in dry conditions the less tread the better as there's greater surface area - not justifying this, just trying to get to the bottom of it!

The other thing is... the tyres are now 6 years old (OE tyres, 20k miles on clock) and 6 years seems to be the general consensus for max life of tires. There's no gashes in the tire walls etc. Does the compound harden over this length of time?

Opinions? Do you think it's my tires? Slippery road conditions just now? Just my imagination?!

[wemorgan]

There are simply too many factors to know one way or the other.
Tyres, suspension bushes, ARB, tracking, road surface. etc
If you have doubts take it to a garage for inspection.

[Backtobasics]

wemorgan said:

There are simply too many factors to know one way or the other.
Tyres, suspension bushes, ARB, tracking, road surface. etc
If you have doubts take it to a garage for inspection.

This

Plus if they are summer tyres they wont like anything under 6c