New tires aren't really new

**Tommy** · #1 02-23-2010, 08:26 PM

I have heard it mentioned here several times about the dangers of using NOS vintage tires on our cars and then watched this video about new tire sales. Tire stores are selling new tires that are already several years old so by the time you run them for a year or so you may have a 10 year old tire that you thought was new. That could easily contribute to some of the blown tires in burnout contests that literally total cars or rip quarters off of them. Is there a way to make sure your tire shop gets only fresh off the line tires? I wonder how many of our hot rods and restorations have 10 or 15 yr old tires on them ?

POKE HERE

Tommy

Plowman · #2 02-23-2010, 09:10 PM

Good stuff.

**Mr. Chevy** · #3 02-23-2010, 11:07 PM

Watched an episode of "Pickers" on the History Channel last night where the guys bought an old amusement park ride and had to pull it out of the mud/grass that it looked like it had been sitting in for the last 50 years. The tires on the trailer that the ride was attached to were heavily dry rotted but surprisingly had air..

It was funny to watch these guys yank that thing out of the ground and go rolling down the road on those dry rotted tires. Surprisingly it looked like nothing happened to the tires... Seemed like those guys just wanted to get the hell out of there with the ride before the old man that sold it re-negotiated the deal..

Rich

rockn69 · #4 02-24-2010, 02:49 AM

I just happened to see that program while in the market for a set of tires within the last year or so for my wife's mini van. It floored me! I just happened to use a tire store that does not sell out dated tires. All my new Good Years read 4 months in age. Discount tires are discounted for a reason....beware!

thumper83 · #5 02-24-2010, 03:29 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFdCK...layer_embedded

**southernfriedcj** · #6 02-24-2010, 08:35 PM

[ QUOTE ]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFdCK...layer_embedded

[/ QUOTE ]

I love the way the Rednecks gather around to take cell phone pics like they've just witnessed the invention of fire!

thumper83 · #7 02-25-2010, 02:13 AM

LOL!

GRB · #8 02-25-2010, 06:09 PM

That's fairly typical for ABC news. Sensationalism personified. Remember the Chev. pick up they rigged with an explosive to make the gas tank issue a national emergency? Don't believe everything you see. The real cause of those tire failures (like the Bronco attorney compensation boondoggle) is unknown.

Major tire mfgs.. including Michelin will keep a tire in a warehouse for 7 years before it is usually sold to dealer who is willing to buy the entire lot.

A tire stored outside, exposed to the elements for 7 years probably would be to some degree dangerous.

The burn out explosions are an example of why some of us argued last year that the ZR1 burnouts were idiotic.

YMMV

RichSchmidt · #9 02-26-2010, 07:00 PM

Yeah Tommy many of our restorations have tires over 20 years old on them.Since the running average to retore or build a hot rod is about 10 years{mine take over 20 years to complete}and the first thing many people buy is shiny new tire and rims to roll the old hulk around,lots of them have old tires

.

As for that burnout contst,lets fae it,the car was doing a one wheel burnout,so if the spedometer as reading 120mph,the tire as going 240 mph while burning out.Thats why it failed.Tire explosion even with the best tires is common in snowy states where drivers typicaly put the pedal to the floor and drive their way out of a snow bank even if it means racing the motor for so long the ngine overheats.

As for NOS tires,if you are going thru all that effort,chances are you are not going to drive the car anyway.I would think that guys who do that are tryng to pass of a restored car as an "original right down to the air in the tires" survivor.Having dry rot cracks in the sides of the tires just adds to he patina of a bionafide old car that has been sitting untouched by human hands fo ove 40 years.

**Tommy** · #10 02-26-2010, 10:49 PM

I have some skinnies on my Nova that are probably several decades old... I buy NOS retreads from a local tire store for roll arounds because they are cheap and they look really cool. I can get red line tires for 15 bucks all day... I was down there yesterday getting a pair of G70's and I would say they probably have a couple thousand retreads on hand that have been in the warehouse since they stopped recapping in the early 80's (at this location). As far as the video, I was just passing on the information. I take it all in and try to make sense of it. The news dudes and news babes all know how to put a spin on something.. I recently ate green beans that were in a dented can.... I am still alive

. No botulism so far

Tommy