Seeking some advice on age of tyres, do they perish over time?
Bought a second hand Roadstar in 2005, tyres in good nick, made the mistake of viewing the van in a semi dark shed, but thats another story.
Tyres have travelled aprox 20,000 ks, still look to be in good nick, but am wondering if the rubber may be perishing. What is the life time of a tyre?
All advice greatly appreciated.
Hendo
NeilandRaine said
12:53 PM Jan 29, 2014
I have been told 6 years is the life of a tyre. Apparently they become very hard. I had a brand new never been used spare from 2002. Had to replace it
-- Edited by NeilandRaine on Wednesday 29th of January 2014 04:18:18 PM
leevin said
02:10 PM Jan 29, 2014
NeilandRaine may have to change their moniker to "Americanised Swaggies".
NeilandRaine said
03:02 PM Jan 29, 2014
WHY
delatite said
03:26 PM Jan 29, 2014
Tire (US) = Tyre (Oz)
ozjohn said
03:35 PM Jan 29, 2014
Hendo, While the tyres may look good they've passed their safe use by date which is usually around 6 years and up to 8 years if stored for long periods out of the elements. "Damn" I hear you say, "another expense". Well, that's vanning I guess Cheers, Ozjohn.
Cupie said
04:00 PM Jan 29, 2014
My research indicates a used or unused life of 5 to 6 years.
I just had a lucky escape loosing the tread on a tyre that has been a spare since the van was new (15 yrs). It has always been covered by the metal spare tyre cover & almost never on the road. Put it on after a flat in Melbourne but after around 4.000Km the tread started to lift off all the way around. Strangely it maintained pressure allowing me to limp home.
Currently replacing all 5 as the current ones are 5 years old. Another 5 years should see me out.
NeilandRaine said
04:17 PM Jan 29, 2014
delatite wrote:
Tire (US) = Tyre (Oz)
Never claimed to be a good speller and if spell check don't find it I miss it. But that was a careless mistake that I will edit right now
I had a bad feeling for a minute I was being told me or my little van I drew wasn't Australian
ozjohn said
04:36 PM Jan 29, 2014
Ya don't nede ta bee a good spella as long as wee understan it. OJ
Cupie said
05:09 PM Jan 29, 2014
My Patrol runs on Cooper TIRES & the van on Dunlop TYRES.
Do I have a compatibility problem?
(BTW the spell checker didn't like Tyres!)
Big Gorilla said
05:11 PM Jan 29, 2014
Guess I'd better get my spare checked. It's 7 years old and never been used...
Happywanderer said
05:19 PM Jan 29, 2014
Aren't they supposed to rotate all 5 at a service. That would alleviate the problem of the spare never getting used.
exa41 said
05:20 PM Jan 29, 2014
I used to replace the race car tyres yearly to get lovelly soft rubber , but all tyres suffer at some stage. Loading , UV light ,tyre pressure , type of roads traversed and probably a few other factors affect tyres . Yes they will go harder the longer you have them but that may or maynot be the contributing factor on tyre life. I have a coaster and very rarely have a problem except when I put the car trailer on and always have a inner rear tyre go down , not a puncture but a damb little store that works its way in and perforates the tube.All I can recommend is check the tyres regulary and replace when you feel uncomfortable.
Aus-Kiwi said
05:52 PM Jan 29, 2014
Had 20 year old 18 inch tyres on old m/h .. The rubber went hard and on long trip just broke away..
I didn't know 18" tyres are NOT available. So I replaced them with new 19.5 rims and tyres..
Expensive replacing all 7 !!!
Red Dog said
07:23 PM Jan 29, 2014
around 5 to 6 years i believe but how long is a piece of string.
brian said
07:37 PM Jan 29, 2014
exa41 wrote:
I used to replace the race car tyres yearly to get lovely soft rubber ,
Gee you did well, I never got more than one meet out of a set, and often less than that.
rockylizard said
07:48 PM Jan 29, 2014
brian wrote:
exa41 wrote:
I used to replace the race car tyres yearly to get lovely soft rubber ,
Gee you did well, I never got more than one meet out of a set, and often less than that.
Gday...
With you Brian ... used to rally - VRC and club events .. and ARC events if held in or close to Vic (SA/NSW).
Total event usually about 500-600km with 200-300km competitive ... two sets of four minimum per event. One set per club event though.
Used to run a Formula Ford 1600cc - new set of tyres each meeting.
Go karts - for self and son - new set of slicks each event.
Cheers - John
elliemike said
08:04 PM Jan 29, 2014
NeilandRaine wrote:
delatite wrote:
Tire (US) = Tyre (Oz)
Never claimed to be a good speller and if spell check don't find it I miss it. But that was a careless mistake that I will edit right now
I had a bad feeling for a minute I was being told me or my little van I drew wasn't Australian
I would think both are acceptable as I imagine that the origin of the word is Tie Ring also Tye Ring Tyreing Tiering. Sommat like that.
Any way we know what ya mean.
I had a similar experience with the spare Tyre that had never been on the ground. Bought the van at six years old, and the Tire was seven years and in pristine condition. Blew out on me going into Noosa after about 2500 klm on the road. I had done an all wheel check (with Tyre Gauge as well) 30 minutes before setting off from the camp.
-- Edited by elliemike on Wednesday 29th of January 2014 08:11:39 PM
Historically, the spelling was "tire" and is of French origin, which comes from the word tirer, to pull. The reason for this naming is that originally "tire" referred to iron hoops or thick wires bound to carriage wheels. In French blacksmithing the word for a drawn iron rod is a tirer, or pull. The same word was often used for any metal drawing or rolling process. In an article in the London Magazine/Intelligencer of 1853 "The Utility of Broad Wheels," it explains that the common practice was to bend two rods, called "tires," into hoops and bind them to the wheel, but it is preferable to use an iron band, called a "broad wheel" rather than the rods, because as the rods wear they bite into the wheel. Another early mention of a tire in English is in The Scots Magazine, Volume 15 By James Boswell (1753).
The spelling tyre does not appear until the 1840s when the English began shrink fitting railway car wheels with malleable iron. Nevertheless, traditional publishers continued using tire. The Times newspaper in Britain was still using tire as late as 1905. The spelling tyre, however, began to be commonly used in the 19th century for pneumatic tires in the UK. The 1911 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica states that "[t]he spelling 'tyre' is not now accepted by the best English authorities, and is unrecognized in the US", while Fowler's Modern English Usage of 1926 says that "there is nothing to be said for 'tyre', which is etymologically wrong, as well as needlessly divergent from our own [sc. British] older & the present American usage". However, over the course of the 20th century tyre became established as the standard British spelling.
Cheers - John
GaryKelly said
09:01 PM Jan 29, 2014
After 5 or 6 years, a tyre tires.
rockylizard said
09:06 PM Jan 29, 2014
GaryKelly wrote:
After 5 or 6 years, a tyre tires.
Gday...
BOOM BOOM Gary BOOM BOOM
Cheers - John
Olley46 said
09:42 PM Jan 29, 2014
GaryKelly wrote:
After 5 or 6 years, a tyre tires.
And then you retire the old tyre.
lance C
rockylizard said
09:46 PM Jan 29, 2014
Olley46 wrote:
GaryKelly wrote:
After 5 or 6 years, a tyre tires.
And then you retire the old tyre.
lance C
Gday...
Ditto Olley
Cheers - John
Hendo said
07:40 AM Jan 30, 2014
I'm tyred of all this, wished I hadn't asked, but thanks for all the feed back.
patrol03 said
07:54 PM Feb 2, 2014
Hey Rocky Lizard,that was great research and extremely interesting.Nice to see someone cares about the English language in this day and age and is prepared to follow up on our diminishing traditional links with the past. Regards Ian ex Motor Mech and chalky.
Seeking some advice on age of tyres, do they perish over time?
Bought a second hand Roadstar in 2005, tyres in good nick, made the mistake of viewing the van in a semi dark shed, but thats another story.
Tyres have travelled aprox 20,000 ks, still look to be in good nick, but am wondering if the rubber may be perishing. What is the life time of a tyre?
All advice greatly appreciated.
Hendo
I have been told 6 years is the life of a tyre. Apparently they become very hard. I had a brand new never been used spare from 2002. Had to replace it
-- Edited by NeilandRaine on Wednesday 29th of January 2014 04:18:18 PM
WHY
Hendo,
While the tyres may look good they've passed their safe use by date which is usually around 6 years and up to 8 years if stored for long periods out of the elements.
"Damn" I hear you say, "another expense". Well, that's vanning I guess
Cheers, Ozjohn.
My research indicates a used or unused life of 5 to 6 years.
I just had a lucky escape loosing the tread on a tyre that has been a spare since the van was new (15 yrs). It has always been covered by the metal spare tyre cover & almost never on the road. Put it on after a flat in Melbourne but after around 4.000Km the tread started to lift off all the way around. Strangely it maintained pressure allowing me to limp home.
Currently replacing all 5 as the current ones are 5 years old. Another 5 years should see me out.
Never claimed to be a good speller and if spell check don't find it I miss it. But that was a careless mistake that I will edit right now
I had a bad feeling for a minute I was being told me or my little van I drew wasn't Australian
Ya don't nede ta bee a good spella as long as wee understan it.
OJ
My Patrol runs on Cooper TIRES & the van on Dunlop TYRES.
Do I have a compatibility problem?
(BTW the spell checker didn't like Tyres!)
Guess I'd better get my spare checked. It's 7 years old and never been used...
I didn't know 18" tyres are NOT available. So I replaced them with new 19.5 rims and tyres..
Expensive replacing all 7 !!!
around 5 to 6 years i believe but how long is a piece of string.
Gee you did well, I never got more than one meet out of a set, and often less than that.
Gday...
With you Brian ... used to rally - VRC and club events .. and ARC events if held in or close to Vic (SA/NSW).
Total event usually about 500-600km with 200-300km competitive ... two sets of four minimum per event. One set per club event though.
Used to run a Formula Ford 1600cc - new set of tyres each meeting.
Go karts - for self and son - new set of slicks each event.
Cheers - John
I would think both are acceptable as I imagine that the origin of the word is Tie Ring also Tye Ring Tyreing Tiering. Sommat like that.
Any way we know what ya mean.
I had a similar experience with the spare Tyre that had never been on the ground. Bought the van at six years old, and the Tire was seven years and in pristine condition. Blew out on me going into Noosa after about 2500 klm on the road. I had done an all wheel check (with Tyre Gauge as well) 30 minutes before setting off from the camp.
-- Edited by elliemike on Wednesday 29th of January 2014 08:11:39 PM
abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_code
Gday...
Geez - ya gotta luv Mr Google doncha

Historically, the spelling was "tire" and is of French origin, which comes from the word tirer, to pull. The reason for this naming is that originally "tire" referred to iron hoops or thick wires bound to carriage wheels. In French blacksmithing the word for a drawn iron rod is a tirer, or pull. The same word was often used for any metal drawing or rolling process. In an article in the London Magazine/Intelligencer of 1853 "The Utility of Broad Wheels," it explains that the common practice was to bend two rods, called "tires," into hoops and bind them to the wheel, but it is preferable to use an iron band, called a "broad wheel" rather than the rods, because as the rods wear they bite into the wheel. Another early mention of a tire in English is in The Scots Magazine, Volume 15 By James Boswell (1753).
The spelling tyre does not appear until the 1840s when the English began shrink fitting railway car wheels with malleable iron. Nevertheless, traditional publishers continued using tire. The Times newspaper in Britain was still using tire as late as 1905. The spelling tyre, however, began to be commonly used in the 19th century for pneumatic tires in the UK. The 1911 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica states that "[t]he spelling 'tyre' is not now accepted by the best English authorities, and is unrecognized in the US", while Fowler's Modern English Usage of 1926 says that "there is nothing to be said for 'tyre', which is etymologically wrong, as well as needlessly divergent from our own [sc. British] older & the present American usage". However, over the course of the 20th century tyre became established as the standard British spelling.
Cheers - John
Gday...
Cheers - John
And then you retire the old tyre.
lance C
Gday...
Ditto Olley
Cheers - John