Hey guys,

My front tires (Sumitomo I believe) are approaching 8 years old but still have plenty of tread left. I garage my Z in winter and just got recently inspected (but wasn't sure if they check that portion) and passed with no issues. Is this a concern I should be having based on the life, and is there a way to recondition them for the future? I probably average less than 3000 miles a year. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

 

Unfortunately, it is a concern. Rubber compounds age and don't have the same qualities as time passes (particularly after eight years). This isn't a huge problem unless you track your Z, in which case you'd be well advised to replace them. There is no way to "recondition" tires to my knowledge.

 

With old tires comes tires rot. The problem with old tires is side walls becomes more stiff and brittle. Sure you can still drive with them, butnone pot hole can mean a huge repair bills. Different manufacture means different lifespan, but i believe with summitomo, its 6 years regardless of tread wear.

Personally, i woukd replace them due to the fact of me knowing that as the tire ages, it loses its old, the rubber becomes harden and it just becomes a safety concern. Whats 500 bucks compare to my life?

 

Are you running a different rear tire? Im sure most people wouldn't care about the age unless you see signs of cracking or dry rot... I see scary messed up tires on people's cars every day... If you are going to be racing I would say replace. If your going to drive to work once a week over the summer your probably fine.

But I believe you can get a new set for relatively cheap. Then you could sell your old *** ones on craigslist to some unsuspecting (or uncaring) sucker.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I don't track my car or anything [getting off highway exits are the most exciting parts of my drive lol] so pushing the tires is rarely an issue. My rears are Nitto 555's and got them last year, so that's not a concern either.

I'll take a look around, perhaps a good time to match up my rears!

 

I asked the exact same question last year when I first got my car

https://my350z.com/forum/maintenance...old-tires.html

I ended up getting new tires almost immediately.

 

Yes.... And no...




If you want to put around town, 98.9997463% chance you will find 0 issues.


But.. If you are going to track, canyon carve, street speed, freeway or drive in actual weather yes replace them as soon as you can.


Tho its not guaranteed. Rubber like everything will decompose and break down over time. Tho you may have the tread design/pattern still present. Im almost sure you have some visible cracks and age wear. Meaning the rubber it self is splitting. The compound is also going to weather which means tho it looks gripy it is aged and will not be as much as it was originally designed.


This could be your future worse case if your old tires give out....

 

^^ Probably had like an H rated tire ^^^

 

Yea I think on a forum someone said it was a cheap-o winter tire.

But still helps drives the point home.

 

Tires will vulcanize, or dry out over time as the oils evaporate. This makes them brittle and more sensitive to cracking. We have a great article on this here Tire Aging — Part #1 Tire Aging — Part #2

 

lord

 

^This.
No track time = no care.

 

Mustangs, even when they're chained down they find a way to wreck.

 

I don't feel comfortable with tires over 5 years old (in my upstate NY climate). But, I've only had tires last that long twice. When you do replace them, put them on the drive wheels and burn them. BURN THEM TO THE CHORDS. If you can't do that, have your boyfriend do it for you.


Naw..I'm kidding. I shouldn't have said that if you don't do a burnout on old tires, you're less than a man. But, you get my point.

 

Paul Walker was killed in a Porsche Carrera GT that had the original tires. One document indicated that it lost control due to speed and inadequate tires.