Should I replace my spare tyre?
Discussion
Been having a proper look round the car I bought at the weekend. Noticed that the spare wheel (full size alloy, which is nice) looks like it has never even been out of the boot let alone driven on, the widowmaker jack also looks like it's never been used. Checked the date code of the tyre and it was made in 2002 (it's an early 2003 car) so is the original Bridgestone that came with the car.
So, the tyre is 12 years old. I'm sure I read that it's mainly UV light that ages tyres, so does the PH collective think that this tyre will burst if fitted leaving me to crash in a fiery ball of death or do we think it will be fine?
The size is 225/55/16 so a replacement is going to be the best part of a hundred quid!
So, the tyre is 12 years old. I'm sure I read that it's mainly UV light that ages tyres, so does the PH collective think that this tyre will burst if fitted leaving me to crash in a fiery ball of death or do we think it will be fine?
The size is 225/55/16 so a replacement is going to be the best part of a hundred quid!
Is it showing any sign of degradation? Cracking?
Some people will think I'm mad, but I just changed the front two tyres on my Cayman purely because they were 5 years old and had small cracks starting to appear? (Still had about 4mm of tread left)
As others have said, if it's only going to be used as a spare for emergencies then consider putting a new but cheaper tyre on it.
Some people will think I'm mad, but I just changed the front two tyres on my Cayman purely because they were 5 years old and had small cracks starting to appear? (Still had about 4mm of tread left)
As others have said, if it's only going to be used as a spare for emergencies then consider putting a new but cheaper tyre on it.
You'll be fine for another decade yet, minimum.
Trust me, I spend some of my time in a country where the roads are so polished that tyres never wear, well, they take 15 years /70,000 miles to do so, and they only get replaced when they are a complete and utter test failure, having long since turned into a realistic impression of a dried up lake bed and as hard as and as grippy as a billiard ball. Not to mention the zillions of repairs and the inevitable inner tube fitted when there is no hope of it holding any air.
They only fail when they hit a pothole at speed, the depth of the radius of the tyre.
Trust me, I spend some of my time in a country where the roads are so polished that tyres never wear, well, they take 15 years /70,000 miles to do so, and they only get replaced when they are a complete and utter test failure, having long since turned into a realistic impression of a dried up lake bed and as hard as and as grippy as a billiard ball. Not to mention the zillions of repairs and the inevitable inner tube fitted when there is no hope of it holding any air.
They only fail when they hit a pothole at speed, the depth of the radius of the tyre.
Paul_M3 said:
Is it showing any sign of degradation? Cracking?
Some people will think I'm mad, but I just changed the front two tyres on my Cayman purely because they were 5 years old and had small cracks starting to appear? (Still had about 4mm of tread left)
As others have said, if it's only going to be used as a spare for emergencies then consider putting a new but cheaper tyre on it.
Nope, no cracking, looks like a brand new tyre. Looking at the condition of the fastenings etc. in the boot and the paint under the wheel, I'm convinced it's never been taken out of the boot since a man at BMW put it in there 12 years ago.Some people will think I'm mad, but I just changed the front two tyres on my Cayman purely because they were 5 years old and had small cracks starting to appear? (Still had about 4mm of tread left)
As others have said, if it's only going to be used as a spare for emergencies then consider putting a new but cheaper tyre on it.
lufbramatt said:
Paul_M3 said:
Is it showing any sign of degradation? Cracking?
Some people will think I'm mad, but I just changed the front two tyres on my Cayman purely because they were 5 years old and had small cracks starting to appear? (Still had about 4mm of tread left)
As others have said, if it's only going to be used as a spare for emergencies then consider putting a new but cheaper tyre on it.
Nope, no cracking, looks like a brand new tyre. Looking at the condition of the fastenings etc. in the boot and the paint under the wheel, I'm convinced it's never been taken out of the boot since a man at BMW put it in there 12 years ago.Some people will think I'm mad, but I just changed the front two tyres on my Cayman purely because they were 5 years old and had small cracks starting to appear? (Still had about 4mm of tread left)
As others have said, if it's only going to be used as a spare for emergencies then consider putting a new but cheaper tyre on it.
lufbramatt said:
Paul_M3 said:
Is it showing any sign of degradation? Cracking?
Some people will think I'm mad, but I just changed the front two tyres on my Cayman purely because they were 5 years old and had small cracks starting to appear? (Still had about 4mm of tread left)
As others have said, if it's only going to be used as a spare for emergencies then consider putting a new but cheaper tyre on it.
Nope, no cracking, looks like a brand new tyre. Looking at the condition of the fastenings etc. in the boot and the paint under the wheel, I'm convinced it's never been taken out of the boot since a man at BMW put it in there 12 years ago.Some people will think I'm mad, but I just changed the front two tyres on my Cayman purely because they were 5 years old and had small cracks starting to appear? (Still had about 4mm of tread left)
As others have said, if it's only going to be used as a spare for emergencies then consider putting a new but cheaper tyre on it.
I'll never forget my mum's old car that didn't do a lot of miles. We pulled into the drive one day, and just after we'd stopped there was a bit of a bang/whoosh and the offside front tyre suddenly completely deflated.
Subsequent investigation revealed just how old and cracked the tyres were.
(To give an idea of her yearly mileage, she just traded in a 1996 Fiesta with only 26,000 miles on the clock!)
lufbramatt said:
Nope, no cracking, looks like a brand new tyre. Looking at the condition of the fastenings etc. in the boot and the paint under the wheel, I'm convinced it's never been taken out of the boot since a man at BMW put it in there 12 years ago.
It's fine. keep it.Too much crap about tyre aging and how to store tyes on the internet.
As long as the tyre looks good it will be fine.
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