YACT: Tires

[mchammer]

I have an '89 Ford Taurus. My rear tires have a lot of tread but they are 5 years old. I want to put them on the front because the front tires are getting low. Does the age of a tire affect its performance at all?

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: mchammer
I have an '89 Ford Taurus. My rear tires have a lot of tread but they are 5 years old. I want to put them on the front because the front tires are getting low. Does the age of a tire affect its performance at all?

Yes, the rubber gets hard.

 

[Kipper]

Dry-rot...

 

[mchammer]

Originally posted by: Kipper
Dry-rot...

I thougt that happened only if the car sat...

 

[mchammer]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: mchammer
I have an '89 Ford Taurus. My rear tires have a lot of tread but they are 5 years old. I want to put them on the front because the front tires are getting low. Does the age of a tire affect its performance at all?

Yes, the rubber gets hard.

What age should one be concerned?

 

[ElFenix]

newer tires go on the rear of fwd cars

 

[mchammer]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
newer tires go on the rear of fwd cars

But the fronts do most of the work, no?

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

If that's the case then what about spare tires? Should the be relaced every 5-7yrs also?

Tires get hard and crack over time. I'd gladly pay the $100 per tire for that peace of mind. Especially when you're hitting the highway.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: mchammer

Originally posted by: ElFenix
newer tires go on the rear of fwd cars

But the fronts do most of the work, no?

Yes, but if one set of tires is going to lose traction, the car's behavior is much easier to predict if it's the FRONT set.

 

[vegetation]

Spend a $100 and get them replaced.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: mchammer

Originally posted by: ElFenix
newer tires go on the rear of fwd cars

But the fronts do most of the work, no?

Yes, but if one set of tires is going to lose traction, the car's behavior is much easier to predict if it's the FRONT set.

i'd be rather more concerned if i had a blowout at the front that the back personally...:Q

 

[The Stigenator]

check the tires for cracks (micro cracks) on teh side walls and stuff. If i were you just get a set of futura tires from pepboys, wont cost you 150 bucks for 4.. you should be good to go.. Older tires tend to tread seperate in the heat.

 

[cavemanmoron]

I think if you let the tires sit,not being used is worse,
rotate at least every 20,000 miles for best tread life.

If the tires are over 10 years old,I would watch them Very carefully,
but 5 years should be ok.

 

[radioouman]

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: mchammer

Originally posted by: ElFenix
newer tires go on the rear of fwd cars

But the fronts do most of the work, no?

Yes, but if one set of tires is going to lose traction, the car's behavior is much easier to predict if it's the FRONT set.

i'd be rather more concerned if i had a blowout at the front that the back personally...:Q

Very true. And also I'd like to be able to stop my car (most of the stopping is done in the front).

 

[freebee]

edited.

 

[Rallispec]

i've heard the argument towards putting the new tires at the back -- however thier has always been one point that never made sense to me -- and that is during heavy braking.

when you brake heavily and all that weight is transferred to the front of your car, you want the most traction you can get at those front tires to keep you from skidding and losing control. (especially in emergency, accident avoidance type situations)

I can really only see the better tires being better at the rear when you're doing more aggressive driving in wet (or otherwise inclimate situations) -- in which case you shouldnt be driving hard enough to lose control in the first place (if you were smart and knew you had 2 bad tires up front)


seems to me that if i knew i had 2 bad tires - id rather play safe and slow on wet curvy roads and not worry about sliding out of control -- and know that should i need to slam on my brakes i've got the traction up front to stop the car.


anyone care to tell me why i'm wrong?

 

[JulesMaximus]

If the rubber isn't cracked they should be fine.

Better yet, have a shop look at them. 5 years isn't that long for tires. If it were 10 years I'd be more concerned.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Rallispec
i've heard the argument towards putting the new tires at the back -- however thier has always been one point that never made sense to me -- and that is during heavy braking.

when you brake heavily and all that weight is transferred to the front of your car, you want the most traction you can get at those front tires to keep you from skidding and losing control. (especially in emergency, accident avoidance type situations)

I can really only see the better tires being better at the rear when you're doing more aggressive driving in wet (or otherwise inclimate situations) -- in which case you shouldnt be driving hard enough to lose control in the first place (if you were smart and knew you had 2 bad tires up front)


seems to me that if i knew i had 2 bad tires - id rather play safe and slow on wet curvy roads and not worry about sliding out of control -- and know that should i need to slam on my brakes i've got the traction up front to stop the car.


anyone care to tell me why i'm wrong?

You're wrong because in the scenario you described if the rear tires are more worn than the fronts you risk the rear end coming around. Skidding out of control is worse than merely taking a little longer to stop.

Edit-Think about it, you are braking hard and the car is a little unsettled. The rear end loses traction first because you have the older tires back there so you start to slide out of control. The last thing you should be doing when this happens is apply the brakes but this is exactly what most people do and it only makes it worse.

 

[TwoBills]

Originally posted by: cavemanmoron
I think if you let the tires sit,not being used is worse,
rotate at least every 20,000 miles for best tread life.

If the tires are over 10 years old,I would watch them Very carefully,
but 5 years should be ok.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20,000 miles!? More like every 3 - 5,000 miles. Gotta rotate w/every oil change if you want tread life and even wear.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Agreed. Old tires are teh bad if they get cracks in them. Inspect the tread and sidewalls to make sure you don't have any problems. Of course, 5 year old tires aren't nearly as bad as 8-10 year old tires.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Replace the lot. Tires are your only contact with the road. They are not only the most important component on the car, they are the greatest safety component too.

People who molly coddle the motor and ignore the tyres are :S

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: mchammer
I have an '89 Ford Taurus. My rear tires have a lot of tread but they are 5 years old. I want to put them on the front because the front tires are getting low. Does the age of a tire affect its performance at all?

Yes, the rubber gets hard.

not hard but it rots... dryrot will kill tires and casue a loss of performance...

 

[NeoPTLD]

Storage environment is a major factor. If you don't put enough miles to use up the tread, tires last longer on a garaged car than on a car stored outside under weather.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: dug777
i'd be rather more concerned if i had a blowout at the front that the back personally...:Q

Your concern is wrong though. A blowout at the rear can throw a car into oversteer, causing a spin. A blowout at the front will only cause understeer, a much safer and more predictable condition.

As far as tire age goes, six years is about the maximum. Deterioration from UV and road chemicals as well as rubber oxidation kills them. They are generally still driveable and will hold air, but they will not perform nearly as well as new tires even if they have full tread left.

For a spare tire, this doesn't matter much since the tire is not meant to be driven hard and only needs to hold air and let the car limp to a service station.

ZV

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Rallispec
when you brake heavily and all that weight is transferred to the front of your car, you want the most traction you can get at those front tires to keep you from skidding and losing control.

Weight transfer to the front tires increases traction immensely. So even marginal tires on the front have much better traction when braking.

Also, front brakes lock: Car goes straight in a predictable fashion and goes front-first (safest way) into an obstacle if it does go into anything.

Rear lockup: Car spins, cartwheeling out of control into the obstacle, generally in the side or rear of the vehicle.

With the marginal tires in the rear combined with the weight transfer towards the front which further reduces rear traction you are vastly increasing the chances of having the rear wheels lock and causing a spin.

ZV