Re: Unused spare tires - any good?

davidtowle@lycosmail.com
Thu, 2 Sep 1999 12:35:11 -0400 (EDT)

The primary reason for tire deterioration must be heat
and light, so while 5 years probably makes sense for a
spare stored next to a hot 505 muffler, or for all the tires
used in the Arizona desert, for more moderate climates
10 years is probably more reasonable. And if stored in
cool, dark, dry conditions even longer times should be
OK.

I've driven 2 sets of tires for more than 10 years with no
problems.

These issues come up a lot on the Citroen DS list since
tires of the correct sizes have not been made for years,
and owners have the choice of aged Michelin NOS
tires, Coker reproductions (expensive & questionable
quality), or modern tires of incorrect sizes (looks wrong,
handles differently).

Dave Towle 87 505 Turbo SW in CT

Yannis Saridakis (saridak@kerkyra.ionio.gr)

Hi Fred,
Regardless of a tire's usage and storage conditions, I wouldn't dare to use
any tire older than 5 years. It might "crack" on the very first stress or, at
best, severly impact the car's handling performance. Especially if it is
placed on a driving wheel, it might even cause the car to rotate about its
axis in a sudden braking or when cornering. Tires deteriorate with time and
should be replaced at maximum intervals of 5 years, no matter their mileage!

fred smith wrote:

> I've wondered about this before - and now I REALLY wonder.
>
> My '91 Mi16 had (up til this morning) the original Michelin V-rated spare
> tire sitting under the trunk. The car started its American life in San
> Diego, and ended up in New York. Thus, for eight years, it has hung in
> there through heat and ice.
>
> Finding, suddenly, that one of my rear tires was not exactly safe to
> drive on anymore, I went over to my long-time favorite tire place and
> asked them to put the spare where the bad one was - meaning to just
> unbolt it, and bolt on the spare. Unfortunately for them, they proceeded
> to unmount the bad tire from the nice aluminum wheel, then unmount the
> spare from its steel wheel. In the process of unmounting the spare, the
> guy managed to poke a hole in the sidewall. I didn't see how he did it,
> just the "U" shaped scar.
>
> Since I'm sure this guy has unmounted hundreds of tires in his
> professional career, I wonder if the sidewall was particularly brittle or
> something. Thus, would it have been a safe tire to drive on?
>
> Any opinions?
>
> (I got a free tire out of the deal - hope it didn'tcome out of the guy's
> paycheck.)
>

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