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Tires - How old do you run them?

No Hay

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 4, 2014
Messages
1,657
I know the general rule is toss the tires after 10 years. Mine were made in '04 and have always been inside except for an occasional drive once a week by the previous owner, then me. The BFG A/T's are still 75% and show very well. Now it's time I get to spend more time behind the wheel, and wondering if tires can be tested in any way before I buy new? Thx
 

Broncobowsher

Total hack
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Messages
34,835
Around here, 5, maybe 7 years tops.
I know of several tires less then 10 years old that fell apart on the highway.
Arizona is VERY tough on tires, especially any that spend time outside.
 

Bogar

Full Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2014
Messages
174
I wouldn't feel comfortable driving on the highway with 14 year old tires. The tires are probably still serviceable if they have been kept out of the sun, but it is a gamble.
 

byson1

Sr. Member
Joined
May 27, 2004
Messages
649
Loc.
Nashville
I'm sunning some 31" BFG MT's that are 17 years old. It's on a CJ that's not a daily driver and when I use it, I don't travel too far. They are not showing any signs of dry rot because the Jeep is always garaged but two are starting to separate. These really should have been replaced by now, will be soon and I wouldn't want to take any extended trips with them. It just has not been a priority and tires aren't cheap. That being said, 10 years is a good rule of thumb. One of my first jobs was with Goodyear and I can say it's rare for a tire to just blow out unless it hits something that causes a rapid air loss. Use your own judgment, but most will tell ya to replace them.
 

spap

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jan 2, 2010
Messages
2,458
Man. You made me think about how old my tires are again. Mine are great shape BFG MT 35s. That’s what happens when you get tires and then start you restore
Funny the bfg all Terraines cost more than the mud terrains in 35/12.5/15
Put it in the list
 

Rustytruck

Bronco Guru
Joined
Feb 24, 2002
Messages
10,875
My Bfg MT went about 10 years and then started cracking at the base of the tread blocks. About 1 year later started shedding the tread blocks. Most of the time when your steel belted tires are first starting to fail you will see a ring around the tires outside rubber where the steel belt blends into the side wall. you will see crazing then and off color rubber ring then a crack and then throw the tread. I personally wont go 10 years any more on a tire that your driving highway speeds with. I've never wore out a set of tires on my Bronco they have always aged out, trail failure, or just plain got too hard in the rubber. My Bronco lives life outside 24-7 in the So Cal Sun. No winter vacation here.
 

stoker

Jr. Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
125
I ran a set of 30 year old BF Goodrich Silvertown bias ply tires until I ruined one of them. They were always stored in cool dark area away from sunlight. They were in perfect shape and ran well. I drove around for a while with a bad misalignment problem and wore one out in pretty short order.
 

Jaxgtc

Sr. Member
Joined
May 2, 2016
Messages
520
I have a 20+ year old set of Coopers that still look great. Granted I am garage kept in a mild climate and only do about 1k miles a year. I am not sure there is a magic number.
 

pcf_mark

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 11, 2010
Messages
3,574
I am running 15 year old tires now and I am very aware of their age. I wont take it on the highway anymore until I replace them. They are very hard now but look great.
 

B RON CO

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 29, 2016
Messages
2,412
Loc.
Statesville, NC
My old BFGs we're probably going on 12 years, and last winter started showing bad cracking so that was that. Good luck
 

BroncoSnake

New Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2013
Messages
40
From NHTSA:

Tire Aging
•• Any rubber begins to break down
over time. Heat accelerates this process.
The rubber in your tires also breaks
down over time, a process referred to
as tire aging.
•• Even though a tire may have a lot of
remaining tread, its integrity may be
compromised. The effect of aging may
not be visibly detectable.
•• Tires age whether they are driven on or
not and are a concern for infrequently
used vehicles and spare tires.
•• An analysis of crashes in the National
Automotive Sampling System from
2005-2007 estimates that 90 people die
and an additional 3,200 are injured each
year in crashes in which tire aging was a
factor (www.scribd.com/doc/137377038/
NHTSA-Report-on-tire-aging).
•• As tires age, they are more prone to
failure.
•• Some tire manufacturers recommend
replacing tires that are 6 to 10 years old,
regardless of tread wear.
 

nvrstuk

Contributor
Just a Bronco driver for over 50 yrs!
Joined
Jul 31, 2001
Messages
8,614
10yrs + to me is the limit... except on tow rigs or pretty much anything that weighs a lot... then i go up to 8.

reason being is I gave some 12 yr old tires to a friend with zero guarantees...he blew 3 of them with 100 miles. No cracks, looked fine...
 

cldonley

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
1,269
Loc.
Robinson, TX
A buddy of mine just totaled his F250 Super Duty and the 25ft camper he was hauling because of 10 year old tires with great tread. Blow out on the right front and jack knife. He and the family were unscathed, but the insurance company settlement for both was only enough to pay for the truck. Get some new tires. Cheap insurance against a catastrophe.
 

nsiti

Newbie
Joined
Aug 3, 2017
Messages
30
I have a set of BFG AT tires that I installed in 1992, last summer after 25 years, one of the treads started to peel off. Note that the Bronco is only used for 1-2 months a year for local trips (ie very low miles) and garaged the rest of the time, so this is an exception. Going to put on a new set this coming summer. This is an interesting topic though.
 

nvrstuk

Contributor
Just a Bronco driver for over 50 yrs!
Joined
Jul 31, 2001
Messages
8,614
WHEELS ...chec k the LOAD rating...2 friends towing Broncos with trailers had wheels break as the lake capacity was lower than the weight of the truck... one jackknifed and the other was lucky as he was just entering the exit ramp to the 70mph freeway...

Many guys buy wheels and the LOAD rating is waaay below the loaded capcity
 

sprdv1

Contributor
REBEL
Joined
Mar 8, 2007
Messages
81,734
Around here, 5, maybe 7 years tops.
I know of several tires less then 10 years old that fell apart on the highway.
Arizona is VERY tough on tires, especially any that spend time outside.

Same here, specially for road.

For off road, Till they come Off the wheels..
 

blubuckaroo

Grease Monkey
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
11,795
Loc.
Ridgefield WA
The first thing my tire shop looks at is the date code. They refuse to fix flats, replace valve stems, or even air up anything over 10 years old.
So, this year, I replaced my perfectly good 13 year old tires.
The new KO2s are terrific, and the reasoning satisfied the wife.;)
I call that a Win-Win.
 
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