Can tires "go bad" in storage?
 

I took a set of 5-spoke 16" OEM rims and tires off my 2003 mini when they had just 15K miles on them, and stored the tires in my garage, on the rims, at recommended PSI (32 PSI I believe). So they've basically been stacked on top of each other for the past 9 to 10 years, untouched in the far corner of the garage.

Before I put them in storage, I washed the rims and tires so they are spotless, if just a little dusty :). I did not "dress" the tires before storage... simply washed and dried them.

My question is: are these tires safe to put back on the car and use? They are the Dunlop Runflats... tons of tread life left... only 15,000 miles on them when I took them off 10 years ago.

Thanks,

Joe

Probably someone on here with a lot more knowledge than me but look for cracks as I have seen tires dry rot over time. Beyond that I don't know what else to look for but if they inflate and handle correctly after mounting back on the car I can't think of any reason not to drive on them. I just wouldn't hit any high speed highway until you feel they are handling correctly and no dry rot was seen.

YES THEY CAN

I'd be very very wary

http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/how-...our-tires.html

10 year old tires are on the far side of current recommendations.

Rubber dries out and you may not see the cracks until the tire self destructs.

I bought my 79 8 years ago and altho the tires LOOKED OK and had tread, I just replaced them due to age

There is actually an expiration date on tires.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5590078_deco...es-expire.html

Rubber degrades over time and will weaken. I would recommend you trash them.

I believe that all tire manufacturers recommend that tires be replaced after six years, regardless of tread depth or apparent condition. The structure of the rubber after six years has degraded enough that a failure may occur. I wouldn't take any chances. I would replace them for piece of mind.

Check the production date on the tires..if older than 6-7 years, most recommend that they be tossed...since you know they are 10+ years old, i would not trust them. Tires age to to things such as ozone in the air.....

Just replaced all 4 of my Land Cruiser's BFG All Terrains. Still had a lot of tire left. Thick, but due to age, they deformed, cracked, peeled, showed the steel belts & car wobbled like they were on Flintstone wheels!

I happen to share a bed with the Head of Compounding for a major tire manufacturer. She says scrap those tires, DO NOT DRIVE ON THEM! They could be very unsafe.

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I will definitely trash the tires...

But I'll keep the rims... they are in pristine shape. I wonder how much it's gonna cost to have the tires removed from the rims? I don't need new tires mounted on the rims, I just need the tires removed and disposed of... since these are runflat tires, I've been told not many auto shops have the right machine to remove them from the rims...

no 'special' equipment is required so long as the shop is not equipped with antiques

what IS required is a bit more effort and care

some shops charge a few extra dollars for this effort and care

runflats were pretty unusual when MINI came out in 2002 - but they've been around for a long time now, and come on plenty of cars.

my local tire guy doesn't give 'em a second thought.

I have more trouble finding a shop that will take care of the 10" diameter rims for my '79. Modern equipment DOES have trouble with those and I need to seek out the guy WITH the antique!

If they haven't seen any sunlight and haven't been exposed to ozone (like near an electric motor running most of the time) they're likely safe enough. The compound will probably have hardened up a bit which will make them worse riding and handling than they were. This expiry date thing is an overabundance of caution although I can't say that's a bad thing. I remember a car club event a few years ago (OK, about 30, don't rub it in) where the Pirelli reps went around and awarded a trophy to the car with the oldest Pirelli tires on it! I think the winning age was somewhere north of 30 years. I wouldn't drive them on the Autobahn, but I'd use them around town.

Along with rubber dry rot, the bead may be weakened also. If noting else they should be remounted on the rims.

Late to this thread, but I'd never put 10 year old tires on my car. Just looking at them you can not tell if they are good. They can & will fail catastrophically. You'd be putting yourself in danger & other folks on the road too.

Bumping this old thread...

I went in to the shop to get my tires rotated, as I thought, hey maybe I can squeak through the winter on all-seasons.

They had a set of michelin x-ice on the used rack that looked brand new, and in a size that would work for me. On impulse I thought, better play it safe and get some proper winters... so I had them mounted and drove away.

I didn't notice until drove away that they were manufactured in '07. There's no signs of cracking on the sidewall, and when I went back to complain they assured me that they'd been inspected before being put up for sale and that they would replace them if they gave me any trouble or started to crack.

I really just need to get through one or two winters but reading some stuff about "you'll die if your tires are more than five years old!!" has got me stressing out a little bit.

What do you guys think?

I suspect their guarantee isn't worth the air it is written on.

I've been going there for a few years and I haven't had any problems yet, for what it's worth.

The inconvenience of a blown tire....not to mention the cost, danger, and chance of rim damage or an accident would make it a no go for me...
I just stopped using a set of snows that I MIGHT have had one more seasons tread on them due to age....
The tires have an unknown history and it MIGHT be OK to drive a winter on them...
But one MIGHT blow at the worst possible time....and the older the tire, the higher the risk...

Used tires usually have a near zero cost to the seller....(took them off another car or bought them from a junkyard for $5 each..sold them to you for $20 each?).
So if you blow one....and you go back...they give you another set...their only risk (besides liability) is the labor to mount and unmount a new set...and that guy is scheduled to be there anyway...
YOUR risk is a damaged rim, getting hit changing a tire, an accident, etc...
An pretty uneven sharing if risk...
If the car us used for in town low speed stuff...a typical grocery getter, with ZERO HIGHWAY time, bet you might be OK....but road trip..HECK NO!!

Thanks for the input guys... Is seven years really end of life for a top brand tire like michelin? I scrutinized the tread and sidewalls and found no signs of cracking, but I do put about 40km of highway driving in five days a week.

If they were stored right....you might be OK...
Have always been told about 6 years is getting iffy...8 is chancy, 10+ is borderline suicide...
More than that is a crap shoot... Depending on storage and construction...
Guess with a quality tire, gives you a decent chance...
What you don't know with a used tire is how the prior owner stored them...
In a cold dark dry spot away from electric motors is best (they make ozone)....
Guess you have a spare that fits...so I guess you could run it...just be mindful, that at the end if the season... I would not (IMO) try to do it again. Regardless of tread depth...

I probably won't be able to feel safe on them, so I called in and they're going to swap on something new. Thanks guys!