Tire lifespan?

[fergussen]

So, I recently got a landcruiser. It's got BFG 33s that have plenty of tread on them. However, the PO told me they are 11 years old. At $1000 to replace, I'm thinking drive them till they pop, but I'd also like to know how likely that is to happen???

Anyone know how much life to expect out of a set of tires?

 

[dgangle]

why is there air?

where did I come from?

why am I here?

Is there a God?

get the idea?

IME, it depends greatly on how they're used, abused & maintained. I bought a balless 3.4L 4R a few years back that had the original tires. At 90K they were toast but the guy drove 99% highway like a little old lady and pressure/balanced/rotated religiously. On the other hand I had another set of the same tire wasted in 12K on a V8 Exploder that saw my wife drive 20 mi/day of daily mountainous stop and go traffic. You are asking questions that cannot be answered realistically. You don't even mention if they are AT's or MT's....this really matters.

Run them under inflated, overloaded and at excessive speed with jackrabbit starts and jam-on-the-brakes stops and they are more likely to wear at an accelerated rate and eventually "pop" as you describe it.

 

[BDSeff1fitty]

a $1000 for 33's and im assuming 15" rims. your getting ripped where ever you got that qoute. they should be more in the range of $750-$850. i got my 35/12.5/17 BFG AT's for $940 and my 35/12.5/15 for $157/piece + shipping.

check out onlinetire.com they are cheap and probly still be cheaper even after shipping. 4 wheel parts will match the price, at first they will try and charge you that + taxes but argue with them and they will do that price OTD.

make sure the tires aren't dry rotted or anything, safety first.

 

[fergussen]

Alright - shoulda been clearer. 33/12.5/15 BFG MTs. I'm not asking about treadwear. I'm asking about the actual integrity of the rubber. Seems to me I heard a bit on the radio about people using tires beyond their chronological lifespan (because there was still plenty of tread on them) and the tires were blowing - through the sidewall.

I'm wonderin if I should be worried that the tires are 11 years old. There is no dry rot that I can tell, but some very small, shallow cracks in the rubber.

Obviously treadwear is completely dependant on driving style, surface, etc.

BDseff1fitty: yeah $1000 is the Les Schwab price, and Les Schwab charges a good 20-30% more than other places

 

[cruiser_guy]

The tires I have on my BJ60 BFG 32"x11.5"x15" AT's are a good 20+ years old (they are due for a replacement this summer due to treadwear). The date code on one is 464 which translates to the 46th week of 1984. I drive primarily here in Central America on less than ideal roads and I have not yet had a tire related issue in nearly 5 years!! I'll be passing through Medford in mid/late June on our way north to Canada from Central America (my "new" tires are waiting for me in Portland).

Does this mean that you won't have a problem?? Of course not! It's just relating my experience with older tires.

You can check the date codes yourself. On the blackwall side there will be a date code. It will be either three numbers (as mine are), three numbers followed by a triangle for tires produced in the '90's or a four digit code for tires made in 2000 or later. The first two digits are the week and the last one, or two, is the year.

 

[dgangle]

These tires are CLEARLY past their useful lifespan and to help you protect your precious loved ones, I offer to dispose of them for you for free. Simply ship them to me and I will be certain that they don't hurt anyone, promise. And when my 9 year old tires of the same brand and size eventually wear out I will run the ones you send me...should be good for tires until say 2030.


No damage, cracks, good tread, no leaks? You're worried the sky is falling.


FWIIW, I paid $157 +23/each to ship in 4/2000 from tirerack.com

 

[Mark W]

I have a 1965 International Harverster Loadstar that only has 7500 miles on it..... and...... original factory tires... as well...


Mark...

 

[boysrus]

Just to present the other side of the story...

ABC News Hidden Camera Investigation: Aged Tires Sold as 'New' by Big Retailers - ABC News

Probably not an issue for a rig that just gets driven infrequently in the hills or at low speeds. For the family car with wife and kids at 75 MPH - might be something to consider.

My only real evidence to this is that my boat trailer tires (which I'm emphatic about keeping at the proper air pressure) seem to fly apart with lots of tread life left at around 8 years.

For me, my cruiser tires are old. My wife's car tires (and unfortunately my boat trailer tires...) are kept fresh.

Jeff

 

[4x4Poet]

In the absense of dryrot, I think large off-road tires hold up much better than smaller oem sizes. The three ply sidewall in BFG MTs helps keep the integrety well, too.

I'd treat the tires with 303 Aerospace Protectorant.

 

[sebass17]

old bfg tires

I am in the same boat with my BFG tires, they are 10+ years old. I just spoke with Discount tire today and they told me that they won't even install a tire over 5 years old because they have been exploding on them. They recommend not driving on old tires. I sold my old tires for 250 bucks to some guy that doesn't care about his safety. I want to live to drive my cruiser till I am an old man, so I am buying brand new tires tomorrow. Just buy new tires so you don't have to worry about it, what is a few hundred dollars for piece of mind.

 

[fj hunter]

33's and wear buying in the NW

i was in the same boat. my 33's were down to 1/2 deep tread wells. so, i looked around for new ones, and found that the 35's were a good step up if i switched to 16 inch rims at this time. so, i did.

as i searched for a good used set, i found that in the urban centers, Seattle-Tacoma, Portland, there are guys that are taking off tires with less than 1000 miles on em and selling them for about $150 per tire just to change the look, or to try and get better gas milliage.

short of the story, craigslist. spend less than $600 and go get em yourself. i did about 1200 miles for 5 tires and 5 rims, spending $1237 total for tires and rims. the main set of tires had about 300 miles on em, and still had the little rubber nubs all over, they were dirty, but very new. 4 of the rims were already mounted with 4 of the tires and they were new as well. i bought the one remianing rim on sale at Schauwbeee for $87 and the one remianing tire came from a guy who just wanted to get rid of one tire, my size, my load range. TOTAL spent on gas...about $105.00. TOTAL for 5 tires and rims...$1357. that's called savings.

From start to finish, it took me 18 days to find and gather and assemble all the pieces. Maybe 6 hours at the keyboard searching craigslist. upgrade done.

one more thing, i drove through a whole bunch of small towns and lots of country side. i left my card with 13 folks, 6 of which i talked with, who might be selling their fj40. SWEET VICTORY.

 

[dgangle]

I have a 1965 International Harvester Loadstar ...

I'd like to see a picture of that. I learned to drive in a '67

...I just spoke with Discount tire today and they told me that they won't even install a tire over 5 years old because they have been exploding on them....

maybe true but BS nonetheless. That's their attorney talking.

...They recommend not driving on old tires...

sure they are going to say that. THEY SELL TIRES!

...I sold my old tires for 250 bucks to some guy that doesn't care about his safety...

No, you sold them to a guy who got a smoking deal who is telling his buddies how he literally stole them from some dude just like the guy in the last post that drove a 1200 miles and spent all that time searching and driving to save a few bucks.


Remember the Firestone Wilderness AT/Ford Exploder debacle? I know a guy who worked at a Ford dealership and took home two sets of these inlue of destroying them. 10 years later he's on the second set running them happily at 35 psi WITH NO TIRE SEPARATION. Imagine the risk he is subjecting his family. Oh the humanity!!!

 

[1911]

I just spoke with Discount tire today and they told me that they won't even install a tire over 5 years old because they have been exploding on them.

I hate it when that happens! Such a PITA to get the blistered paint and scorch marks out of the wheel wells.

 

[ocdbeetle]

Tire Lifespan is 6 years period....Change the tires....consider the down side

 

[dgangle]

.....and the source of this invaluable information is ____________ ????????