Tires - is there a shelve life?

Ventucky Red

Ventucky Red

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Too lazy to go looking through all the logs right now, but is there a shelf life on tires - not just a wear and tear thing? I am pretty sure the PO didn't change these things during his 10 years of ownership.

Recomendations?
 
Definitely has a shelf life.

Buy new tires and tubes if they are 10 years old.

7 years is the lifespan of casings in the truck recap business.
 
Ventucky Red said:
Too lazy to go looking through all the logs right now, but is there a shelf life on tires - not just a wear and tear thing? I am pretty sure the PO didn't change these things during his 10 years of ownership.

Recomendations?
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Get new tires. Don’t drive fast until you do. Yes they do. Ask me how I found out. I’ll just tell you. I was on a ‘The’, you know, a freeway. Heavy traffic, but still moving fast. Kablooey. Amazing I didn’t hit anything. Dude at the tire store got me all edumicated about shelf life. Actually not shelf. But life on the car. Garaged ones do better. Being in the sun all day shortens life.
 
Not sure with aircraft tires (I changed mine for wear reasons after six years). Motorcycle tires are generally listed at 5-6 years before they should be changed but that's not a rule but rather a recommendation. As luvflyin noted tires can have a bit longer life if kept from constant exposure to the elements. Alignment, skidding, & low pressure kill many tires before age becomes a factor.

To answer your question my advice would be, if you have a concerns about them then change them ...
 
luvflyin said:
Garaged ones do better. Being in the sun all day shortens life.
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UV and ozone take their toll. If it's an airplane tire, check for cracks between the tread ribs and around the bead. That's a good sign of a bad tire.
 
My planes previous owner was a friend of mine. He lost his medical asked me to fly one of his planes. I supply the gas and oil and any labor for repair or maintance and he pays for parts.
I look at his tires and the sidewalls are cracked. I said it needs new tires and he blurts out that they have low hours on them! lol
I looked at the log and they had 9 hrs on them over 11 years. He did not fly the plane as he had others.
I wound up buying the tires and tubes and putting them on and eventually bought the plane. So it was all good.
But 9 hrs and it needs new tires? I think it sat outside some also?
 
luvflyin said:
Actually not shelf. But life on the car. Garaged ones do better. Being in the sun all day shortens life.
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No, it includes time on the shelf. The "brand new" tires you buy could be 2 - 3 years old. Car tires are made in batches. X model in Y size, they make how many they will sell in a given period, then many other ones until the stock runs low.
 
Pinecone said:
No, it includes time on the shelf. The "brand new" tires you buy could be 2 - 3 years old. Car tires are made in batches. X model in Y size, they make how many they will sell in a given period, then many other ones until the stock runs low.
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I’d think that the time they spent on the shelf, out of the elements, not pumped up and being driven on, would be much of a factor. I don’t think I’d find the date it went down the assembly line and add that to the rules of thumb above.
 
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Watched a Goodyear presentation online a few weeks ago. They said no shelf life if stored properly. Standing upright with the tubes inside the tire in the original packaging away from ozone sources.
 
If no checking on the sidewalls? I wouldn’t even think of changing them. If they have shallow checks and don’t show cord? I’d fly them but would increase my inspection interval.
 
Pinecone said:
No, it includes time on the shelf. The "brand new" tires you buy could be 2 - 3 years old. Car tires are made in batches. X model in Y size, they make how many they will sell in a given period, then many other ones until the stock runs low.
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FIL got into it with the COSTCO tire guys... he looked at the date of the tires they were going to install and told them - nope, they were already a year old. He wanted fresh tires... oh boy!! Guess when you're retired you can do these things.
 
I had a NOS tailwheel tire for a Corsair, it was hard as a rock with surface cracking. (From Goodyear Aircraft building under license in WWII.) So 75 years is too many.
But seriously, I have one vehicle with "old" tires (more than a decade) and they are still OK.
 
luvflyin said:
I’d think that the time they spent on the shelf, out of the elements, not pumped up and being driven on, would be much of a factor. I don’t think I’d find the date it went down the assembly line and add that to the rules of thumb above.
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There is ozone in the air.

Certain chemicals in tire are volatile and off gas over time. This leads to changes in hardness of the rubber plus the flexibility.
 
Ventucky Red said:
FIL got into it with the COSTCO tire guys... he looked at the date of the tires they were going to install and told them - nope, they were already a year old. He wanted fresh tires... oh boy!! Guess when you're retired you can do these things.
Click to expand...

I got a set of tires from Tire Rack. They were over 2 years old. I called them and managed to get a bit of discount.

There are moves in the auto world to limit the allowable use of tires by length of time. Numbers suggested run from 6 to 10 years
 
Used to drive a Rodeo that had a full-sized spare under the SUV in the back. Can't remember exactly how many years but when we needed it it was dry-rotted.
 
Couple months ago I had a 19.5" recap tire blow the side of the casing out while filling it with air because it was too old.
 
Ventucky Red said:
FIL got into it with the COSTCO tire guys... he looked at the date of the tires they were going to install and told them - nope, they were already a year old. He wanted fresh tires... oh boy!! Guess when you're retired you can do these things.
Click to expand...
I mean, they're the same price as the fresh ones right?

I do the same with lumber. The straight boards are the same price as the twisted curved one where it's half bark
 
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