What's the consensus (if there is one) on when tires are "too old" and thus considered unsafe and should not be used? All things considered no cracking or other visible signs of deterioration? I realize there are things to consider such as storage environment and mounted vs. unmounted. Thank you -Rick
This will also depend on the type of tire. Summer performance tires will have a shorter shelf life due to compounds being used. I think the same would go for winter performance tires. Both use a soft compound that will harden with age and loose their effectiveness. Summer performance don't like to be frozen. (keep this in mind with new tires also, the delivery trucks aren't heated) I wouldn't use anything over a year or two old, maybe three tops. There are lots of new tire options for all price points. I'd feel more comfortable on a set of tires I was sure of the history, than something older.
TireRack has articles on this, though they may have a bias, and I'm sure there are other sources too (Consumer Reports maybe?), but really "it depends." As you said, storage & mounting variables will make a difference. As well as whether they're regularly used, to exercise the rubber (better), vs just sitting on a vehicle with weight on them (worse), or as mentioned above whether they're seasonal tires (higher state of tune may degrade faster). Maybe he means he wouldn't consider buying a set that old? Based on context in the rest of the post. I'd agree to that somewhat, but it depends on the price point. I'd expect new tires to last much more than a couple years, though. FWIW my PSS's have several summers on them now (coming up on 4th or 5th, I think) and still seem to be just fine. All that said: I've seen references to 6-10 years max of in-service life. That jives with past experience in which shop policy disallowed re-mounting of tires >6 years old.
I quick google search says after 6 years the manufacturer no longer warranties the tires and at around 10 years, it would likely be in your best interest to replace them. Winter and/or summer performance tires may be on a different scale than "standard" or all season tires. I'd guess it would likely vary by manufacturer as well.
I ran the snows on my Legacy for 10 winters (I don't have a long commute) and the tread wasn't yet worn out. I still felt safe on them even though I have read all of the articles on tire life expectancy.
Ahhhh. Right. That must be it. e.g. buying a set of 'new' tires on the shelf that have a date of manufacture stamp a couple years old, or maybe used from Craigslist that are a couple years old. As for 'too old to use', I have only had one set of tires start to crack on me. They were maybe 9 years old at the time. Personally, I'd go up to about 10 years as long as they look good. After that, I'd replace them. Tires are pretty important, after all.
Yep, from what I've seen, most manufacturers consider a tire expired between 6-10 years old. At that point, it's up to you to consider how the tire was stored, and how the vehicle is used (the snow tires on my XT6 are like 15 years old, but they've been stored inside every summer, and the car only sees local use).
