Tire age and identification of this bias ply tire.

[greg g]

The picture shows them to be NANKING brand.

[Tom Skinner]

Hey You'all

Them Thar Tires are good up to them make May Pop status.

When you are runnin 4 May Pops, then is a good time to consider purchasin some new used tires. New Tires are for city folks.

Tom

Huntersville, NC

[Eneto-55]

I ran bias-ply tires for the first 10 or so years I had a vehicle of my own (from age 20 to 31), and the only blow outs I ever had were both left rear (and were also both on the first long trip I took). So I don't know what it's like to have a front tire blow out, but from my experience, it was just "thump thump thump, pull over & change the tire." (Level roads, 55 mph, little traffic.)

A question about the powder coating job on your wheels:

Was that a single-coat application? I ask because I worked in a powder-coating operation for a few years, and we sometimes did wheels. We usually did single-coat, and I noticed that there is often very poor coverage in the crevices. The paint is carried to the part by an electrical charge, and naturally it tends to pile onto what ever surface is closest.

There is some type of 2-part primer that you can use under powder coating without loosing the electrical contact, but most customers went with the single-coat application. (We didn't do the wet-coating - another guy did that, so I don't know what the paint was called, but I believe it was some type of epoxy.)

Neto

[55 Fargo]

Just ran into an Old Car Friend in town, he just bought a 56 Caddy, a Texas car, he has WW Bias tires on it, they are 12 years old, and mine if I want them, not sure if I should install them with radial tires tubes and use them or not.

I have not seen them yet, so do not know what kind they are, maybe they are Firestones, which are my favorite........Fred

[Powerhouse]

The picture shows them to be NANKING brand.

what picture? I only see size on the top pic...

Anyway, Nanking are ok but I've never owned a set of them. Nanco however are complete crap. I checked with one of the tire engineers at work...he said nanco is out of business. I wonder why? He couldn't even find the maker anymore on his Chinese manufacturing website.(That's a crazy site...it's all Chinese to me:p)

[old stovebolt]

Just ran into an Old Car Friend in town, he just bought a 56 Caddy, a Texas car, he has WW Bias tires on it, they are 12 years old, and mine if I want them, not sure if I should install them with radial tires tubes and use them or not.

I have not seen them yet, so do not know what kind they are, maybe they are Firestones, which are my favorite........Fred

Just an opinion here, but 12 year old tires should be tossed away. They

are very unsafe. Generally, nothing over 6 years years old should be put on the road....

[BobT-47P15]

Just ran into an Old Car Friend in town, he just bought a 56 Caddy, a Texas car, he has WW Bias tires on it, they are 12 years old, and mine if I want them, not sure if I should install them with radial tires tubes and use them or not.

I have not seen them yet, so do not know what kind they are, maybe they are Firestones, which are my favorite........Fred

Fred, if they're on a Caddy, they are probably a large size, like 235 x 15.

Don't know if they'd be a little large for your car or not.

Good offer, though.

[55 Fargo]

Just an opinion here, but 12 year old tires should be tossed away. They

are very unsafe. Generally, nothing over 6 years years old should be put on the road....

Yah I was afraid of that, and my current Good Year Radials are also 12 YO, new ones before next season......Fred

[55 Fargo]

Here ya go, well worn Bias ply tires, Plym wire wheels, these should be okay for a another 10000 miles.

Have these in 1 of my sheds......

[PatS....]

I think this 6 year recommendation by the tire industry is yet another scam to scare folks into buying new tires.

I have been buying used tires for my project cars since I was 16. I never knew there was a way to tell the age of a tire until last year.

The tires on my 94 Econoline are 8 yrs old, in perfect shape and are staying put where they are. It's over 1600 bucks for new and these have less than 50,000 on them.

If the tire industry has reduced themselves to making tires that are unsafe at 6, I hope they are prepared for lawsuits out the ying yang because they would deserve it.

[old stovebolt]

Actually, there have been numerous lawsuits / court cases centered on the age of the tire and subsequent tire failures. Tires degrade as a result of heat, UV exposure, ozone, chemical off gassing, etc, and as such, they have a

"shelf life". I was just trying to point out most tire "experts" cite 6 years

max use of a tire. The age number was not generated from any tire company propaganda......

[55 Fargo]

Actually, there have been numerous lawsuits / court cases centered on the age of the tire and subsequent tire failures. Tires degrade as a result of heat, UV exposure, ozone, chemical off gassing, etc, and as such, they have a

"shelf life". I was just trying to point out most tire "experts" cite 6 years

max use of a tire. The age number was not generated from any tire company propaganda......

I don't know if I completely buy into this concept, I think driving conditons, environmental factors, driving habits, can contribute to tire breakdown.

i am not attacking or critcizing you, just not sure if this is all fact or hidden agenda propaganda.............fred

[Niel Hoback]

I am having trouble buying the idea that they can't make a tire that lasts longer than six years.

At the rate I am going on my new car, in six years the tires will have 20,000 miles on them. Will I toss them because they are six years old? I may be crazy, but I ain't stupid.

[dezeldoc]

I don't know if any of you have noticed but the new rubber they produce now a days breaks down much faster than the older rubber, not just tires but weather stripping, hoses and the likes, so it goes to reason that the new tires will crap out sooner than the old ones. i will have to get some pics of the 40+ year old bias tires i have and still hold air, some i would use others are just rollers (you will see why!) I would have no problems running them tires if they look good Fred.

[Young Ed]

The radials on my 46 pickup are 10 years old from purchase date and could be even older to the actual time of manufacture. They have 4k miles on them. I cant afford to throw out brand new tires

[martybose]

The RV industry has adopted a recommendation of 8 years for tire life before recommending replacement. The reason they have done so is that RV's typically run at 90-95% of rated load continuously, unlike car tires that are more like 50%.

Marty

[TodFitch]

I don't know if any of you have noticed but the new rubber they produce now a days breaks down much faster than the older rubber, not just tires but weather stripping, hoses and the likes, so it goes to reason that the new tires will crap out sooner than the old ones. i will have to get some pics of the 40+ year old bias tires i have and still hold air, some i would use others are just rollers (you will see why!) I would have no problems running them tires if they look good Fred.

Before the 1960s, and maybe even in the 1960s, the cord material was typically cotton which degrades with time. Even if the rubber that you can see looks good on a 40 year old tire, I have some strong reservations about the condition of the cord material that you can't see. A blowout at speed is not something I want to increase the probability of so I would not use a tire that old for more than rolling a chassis around a garage.

Given how fast the bias ply tires are wearing out on my 1933, it seems unlikely that I'll have to worry about a tire that is too old based on the industry numbers listed in this thread. They will be worn out first with the driving I do.

[55 Fargo]

Before the 1960s, and maybe even in the 1960s, the cord material was typically cotton which degrades with time. Even if the rubber that you can see looks good on a 40 year old tire, I have some strong reservations about the condition of the cord material that you can't see. A blowout at speed is not something I want to increase the probability of so I would not use a tire that old for more than rolling a chassis around a garage.

Given how fast the bias ply tires are wearing out on my 1933, it seems unlikely that I'll have to worry about a tire that is too old based on the industry numbers listed in this thread. They will be worn out first with the driving I do.

I think 40 year old tires would be in the replacement category, but a 6 year old well stored tire, that I really have trouble buying into.

I think there would bea reasonable time frame based on conditions, wear, tire quality etc, but 6 years give me a break, and I know you did not mention this Tod, so not coming down on you or anyone else for it, I really have trouble with this 6 year tire limit idea.........Fred

[old stovebolt]

I think 40 year old tires would be in the replacement category, but a 6 year old well stored tire, that I really have trouble buying into.

I think there would bea reasonable time frame based on conditions, wear, tire quality etc, but 6 years give me a break, and I know you did not mention this Tod, so not coming down on you or anyone else for it, I really have trouble with this 6 year tire limit idea.........Fred

And I fully undestand your point of view, a tire should last longer than 6 years. Overall, most tires signifcantly exceed the purported 6 year limit.

Just to be safe, watch for cracks, degraded sidewalls, tread wear issues,

etc.

[austinsailor]

The 6 years thing is only about radials. I'm not a tire expert, I forget why they are different than bias, I seem to recall it has something to do with the composition and maybe ozone.

I can tell you though. that we've had a number of them fly apart without warning that were between 6 and 10 years old. For example, a couple years ago my father bought an 8 years old travel trailer that had almost never been used . Of course, the tires were 8 years old too. They looked new. He was told before heading from Missouri to Florida that he needed to replace them. He thought it was BS. Before he got to Florida he'd had two fly to pieces, on opposite sides, and tore the hell out of both sides of his nice trailer.

I've lost several in the last few years as well, all looked good, were recently checked, and were a little over 6 years old. I'm now a believer.

[55 Fargo]

The 6 years thing is only about radials. I'm not a tire expert, I forget why they are different than bias, I seem to recall it has something to do with the composition and maybe ozone.

I can tell you though. that we've had a number of them fly apart without warning that were between 6 and 10 years old. For example, a couple years ago my father bought an 8 years old travel trailer that had almost never been used . Of course, the tires were 8 years old too. They looked new. He was told before heading from Missouri to Florida that he needed to replace them. He thought it was BS. Before he got to Florida he'd had two fly to pieces, on opposite sides, and tore the hell out of both sides of his nice trailer.

I've lost several in the last few years as well, all looked good, were recently checked, and were a little over 6 years old. I'm now a believer.

That is good info, and too bad this happened.

I have not had a tire blow apart for years and years, could this be a load thing on the tire, speed, heat , and other conditions.

My daily driver tires were made last years, the snow tires 3 years ago, my 47 Chrysler has 12 year old Good Year radials, gonna replace them next spring, they have lots of tread left, no cracking, but are getting old.......Fred

[BobT-47P15]

Ohhhh....I didn't know that age limit stuff-- when in the probably mid 1970s

I bought a set of 5 Goodyear Double Eagle wide whites. Got them from a

friend whose family had closed their service station in about 1961 and had

warehoused all the tires they had on hand. These tires were still wrapped

in those brown paper strips, and still looked brand new 15 years later.

Ran them on the Plymouth for several years with tubes in them.....no

problems. But, over time, they began weather cracking on the sidewalls.

The tread still looks like new........probably didn't put a couple thousand

miles on them.

They now reside under the house, just in case I need some tires for a

project. However, the spare from that set is still my spare. Guess I

might not want to go too far or fast on it.

Anyway, thanks for all the helpful info fellows.

[Robert Horne]

I bought a couple of new tires a few years ago. After 1 year the tires showed some cracking. Checking the date code, the tires were over 3 years old when I bought them. Maybe a good idea to check out the manufacture dates when purchasing "new" tires.

[BobT-47P15]

Yes, I'd suppose some tire companies have large warehouses and they may

not rotate their stock. Couple that with the fact that maybe the tire we

buy may not be one of their fastest sellers. Then, how quickly does the

individual store move that model? Therefore, we get an older tire sold

as a new, fresh item. Checking dates seems like good advice.

[wayfarer]

So a set of tires cost, say, $850...(that is what I just paid for a new set of Michelins). How much will you spend on a roll back for the trip home and how much to fix the wheel/fender/bumper, or what ever the ditch damaged?

...assuming the right front tire goes and not the left front...

When I was a twenty or thirty something kid I let my balls do the talking, now I'll take a more conservative approach. So what if a new radial doesn't 'look' quite proper? I've made it this far and I won't gamble on such an unknown factor. If you want to gamble on old rubber thats fine, just don't include your wife and family unless you tell them the whole story and they sign off...

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