Tire age?

[LarsD]

Hey guys,

I found a set of wheels and tires for sale locally that will fit my Cobra. I like the wheels, and I could use a pair of new rear tires for the Cobra. They only have 9K miles on them, and the guy is selling them for a decent price. My problem is the tires are about eight years old. They have been stored in a garage and appear to be in good shape. Should I be worried about the age of the rubber? The guy swears they are in good shape (I believe him), but I worry about getting them and having them separate on me in a couple of months. Is this something to worry about?

Thanks

 

[SteedaGT9150]

Those are some damn old tires. I personally would not drive on them.

 

[LarsD]

Those are some damn old tires. I personally would not drive on them.

Yeah I found this after I posted:

http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/selec...our-needs/how-can-i-tell-how-old-my-tires-are

 

[Bad Sheep]

Look closely at the rubber and see if there is any cracks, if there is none then use them. If tires look good then I would not worry. Any cracks stay away. In a garage there is no sunlight on them, so I would think they would be ok.

 

[Kornnut]

Age is a big deal when buying tires. I still have the originals on my car and they started to crack last year. I personally would pass on them.

 

[98COBRA281]

ive personally had 11 year old bfg's on my truck, ran them bad boy's till all four had T!TS in them

 

[sonic281]

i work at discount tire or americas tire depending where your at. An 8 year old tire can be ok but you have to think about a tire like a rubber band when they sit around they will crack and not stretch anymore. All the oils in the rubber begin to dry up, me personally would not run them

 

[LarsD]

Yeah I want the rims, but the guy has them priced high b/c of the tires and he won't separate.

 

[sonic281]

How much does he want for them?

 

[LarsD]

How much does he want for them?

$500

 

[40oz]

I paid $400 for a set of four factory wheels and almost new Dunlops. $500 for two wheels would have to be very nice wheels. The tires are a gimme at best, but it's possible you could drive on them for a few months. Tirerack sells tires and obviously has a vested interest in convincing people their tires are too old. But even if they aren't cracked, the rubber could be so hard and greasy they are worthless as rear tires on a Mustang.

Offer the guy what you'd pay for the wheels knowing you need to buy new tires for them. If he doesn't take it, walk away. The rubber is worthless even if you could drive on it. It'll actually cost you more to buy those wheels and replace the tires than if the wheels were bare.

 

[LarsD]

I paid $400 for a set of four factory wheels and almost new Dunlops. $500 for two wheels would have to be very nice wheels. The tires are a gimme at best, but it's possible you could drive on them for a few months. Tirerack sells tires and obviously has a vested interest in convincing people their tires are too old. But even if they aren't cracked, the rubber could be so hard and greasy they are worthless as rear tires on a Mustang.

Offer the guy what you'd pay for the wheels knowing you need to buy new tires for them. If he doesn't take it, walk away. The rubber is worthless even if you could drive on it. It'll actually cost you more to buy those wheels and replace the tires than if the wheels were bare.

It's a full set. I've already spent the money on LCA's for my Fox, and other maintenance items for one of my other rides.

 

[40oz]

Sorry, my mistake. Don't know how I missed that. Anyway, yeah, I would be worried about 8 year old tires. That's not to say they are garbage, but I wouldn't expect them to be great. Might be worth buying to get the wheels, and you can find out if they even hold air with the car's weight on them.