Do I need to change my tyres due to age?

[swisspace]

For our scandinavia trip last year I bought michelin latitude cross which were not too noisy on motorways and watching videos have impressive grip but we never needed to fully test that, seemed fine on wet grass etc, but didn't test in really deep mud, I also tried the cross climate in the past but grip in winter was not as good as pure winter tyres, i would be happy with a set of the latitudes for summer and proper winter tyres for winter, however in the process of splitting up from my wife who kept our t5 beach (and house) so I bought myself a second hand t6 which had 20" wheels and coilovers fitted so more road biased, may convert later to more adventure travel but enjoying the grip and handling at the moment - if only i could love DSG it would be perfect

 

[BikerGran]

In practice a major factor in tyre deterioration is exposure to sunlight. If the vehicle has been kept out in direct sunshine the tyres will perish quicker - you'll likely see some cracking on the sidewall.

Tyres do tend to become more rigid with age so if you need good soft rubber tread blocks eg for winter or off-road grip you'll generally be better on a newer tyre. Just test the rubber with your thumb and that will give you a pretty good idea of their status.

But changing 4 year old tyres simply because of their age is bonkers.

It's not bonkers if they're 10 years old. My daughter had a flat on her Mercedes Sprinter, fortunately she had left the motorway and it deflated slowly but it could have been nasty. AA man said it was simply due to degradation of 10 year old tyres. The degradation wasn't apparent.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

At an MOT I was advised to change 8 year old tyres as sidewalls were cracking. My van is sat unused for long periods which makes cracking worse. I did as advised and am probably 7 years in on my Conti Vancontacts so will probably change soon.

I would say that low mileage, if anything, means you should change them more regularly due to cracking caused by a heavy vehicle sat idle. If you drive it once a week that's not a worry. Mine sits for months.

I would seriously ignore waffle about tyres 'perishing'. There are 2 T25s on my road that are at least 30 years old. I magine their tyres are 10+yrs old, but for me 8yrs is about right.

 

[Californication69]

For our scandinavia trip last year I bought michelin latitude cross which were not too noisy on motorways and watching videos have impressive grip but we never needed to fully test that, seemed fine on wet grass etc, but didn't test in really deep mud, I also tried the cross climate in the past but grip in winter was not as good as pure winter tyres, i would be happy with a set of the latitudes for summer and proper winter tyres for winter, however in the process of splitting up from my wife who kept our t5 beach (and house) so I bought myself a second hand t6 which had 20" wheels and coilovers fitted so more road biased, may convert later to more adventure travel but enjoying the grip and handling at the moment - if only i could love DSG it would be perfect

Bum deal man. Sending fist bump if it helps

 

[swisspace]

Bum deal man. Sending fist bump if it helps

I don't want hijack the thread but thanks!

 

[Hueyhew]

There is no MOT threshold related to age of tyres on cars / vans it's done purely on condition.

Agreed, I was referring to tread and the accepted damage you can have before it will fail.

 

[PeteS]

I have just changed 3 Bridgestone tyres on my van. The two rear ones and the spare. The spare had been used on the vehicle in the past. I expect they were the originals and they were fitted to a Dec 2019 vehicle. Whilst all of these still have good thread on them the tyre fitter refused to repair a puncture because the tyres were perished.

I spoke to Bridgestone about this and they said the following

The cracking evident on the tyres is due to oxidation of the rubber, which causes the rubber to become more brittle, and crack under stress. Ageing of the rubber is accelerated by exposure to certain factors, such as sunlight, sea air, contaminants (including tyre blacking agents), and ozone (which can come from motor exhaust and electrical motors). The effects of ageing are particularly noted when the vehicle is parked up for periods of time, and the anti-ageing oils and agents on the surface of the tyre are broken down or washed off, and not replenished from within the tyre by the tyre’s movement. Also, oxidation of the tyre is possible when the rubber is under stress, the more stress the tyre is under, the more likely the tyre will suffer from oxidation. Tyres which are run with insufficient pressure are more likely to crack in this manner.

Tyre manufacturers add ingredients to rubber compounds to slow down the rate at which tyres age. However, conditions of storage and use (including tyre maintenance) have a larger influence over the tyre aging process. Tyres that are used infrequently (low mileage) and/or in coastal areas will age more quickly. Low usage prevents the anti-ageing oils from migrating to the tread surface (oil replenishment at the tread surface is diminished), so causing the tyres to display surface rubber cracking.

Hopefully this helps explain the reason why tyres perish. I did send some photos of my tyres and they did say that it was safe to continue using them.

My mum’s car that she does very little mileage in at the last MoT got an advisory on the cracking of the tyres. The car was 5 years old and I think had done about 12k miles from new. The garage did say that it was still safe to drive. I suspect that just sitting around can introduce cracks in the rubber. The car is not used much but I suspect COVID made it worse just sitting around for months and months.

 

[BeeBee]

This thread has made interesting reading as just back from Service & MOT of our VW Cali Ocean 150 (2019).
Van passed but informed to
‘Monitor and repair if necessary ( advisories)’ as Tyres outer tread on all four cracking/perishing.
We’ve only done 11000 miles and looks like it’s following the exact pattern described here.
I’m now off out to check the ‘four digit’ date on tyres and beginning to ponder purchase of new tyres.
We will probably consider ‘all weather’ now, but for info I guess this means the spare tyre too… which has never touched tarmac !

 

[Flower Power]

In my 50 years of motoring experience I never keep tires longer than 5-6 years. Often they are finished even earlier than that. Car batteries are replaced every 4-5 years. Oil every 10k kms. Spark plugs every 30k kms. Brake fluid every 2-3 years. And so on.... I believe that my conservative schedule actually saved me money avoiding unexpected/preventable problems.

Tire schedule is the most important.... it is safety! Only once I had to get rid of Nokian summer performance tires at 3 year mark and very low mileage on my Volvo. These made in Russia tires were showing cracks. Know problem, I realised later.