Dry Rot Tires-When are they not safe?

[HomerDog]

Question for the tire experts. My front Michelin 265's, Load range E, are showing a lot of dry rot. There are a lot of small hairline cracks 1/8" to 1" in length Not depth. The tread depth looks very good, not even close to being worn. Since there are so many layers are these tires safe of is it time for new ones? I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks,



Dave

 

[Cliffman]

I'm not an expert but... How old are they? I'm assuming they're on our CTD. Do you haul any weight in the bed or pull a trailer? How often do you rotate?

 

[HomerDog]

Yes, they are on my truck. I do have a camper and pull a trailer, and I also rotate on a regular basis. The tires are about 4 years old. I was just wondering if the dry rot compromises the integrity of the tire. Thanks,

 

[Cliffman]

Like I said, I'm not a tire expert but I had a similar experience with the tires on my RV and side wall cracking. My suggestion would be to take your truck to your local tire shop who sells those tires and ask the manager what he thinks. Thats what I did. They told me my tires were just fine and not to worry but I didn't except that and made them replace them. They were only 2 years old and were cracking pretty bad. That was back when Firestone had that tire failier problem and I wasn't taking any chances.

 

[Idaho Native]

Not a "tire expert", but can share an experience I witnessed in 95. Buddy's pickup had great tread left on his tires but had a lot of little WX cracks in the sidewalls and in the valleys of the tread. Blasting down I20 between Shreveport and the MS border in driving rain... entire tread came off of his casing. According to the manufacturer(Goodyear, I believe), the pressure of the water in the tread forced it's way into the compound and caused a separation of the casing/tread. I don't remember exactly how old his tires were, but I remember him getting some compensation from the company.

 

[Suprmn]

I was told by a tire rep once that the small cracks in the sidewall are no real big deal until they get down to the cords and thats when moisture will get into the steel belts and cause rusting or likewise devistation to cloth type belts. I have run tires with small cracks in them with no problems. If there is a bunch of cracks or they start looking on the deep side, I have replaced the tire.

 

[BKenny]

I bought my truck last summer it had 39,000 miles on it after i bought it i noticed the tires were dry rotting around the edges of the tread they had plenty of tread left. I decided to replace them i did,nt want to take a chance on having a blow out . I had a boat trailer tire come apart on the freeway awile back it was not fun.

 

[BigPapa]

I have run Michelins on most every vehicle I've had and every one of them has developed "cracks" in the sidewalls to some extent "prematurely". I finally talked to an official Michelin rep and he told me the same thing that a local tire dealer that more or less specializes in Michelins had told me before, that the sidewall on the Michelins flex more than other brands (therefore the better ride) and that this flexing causes these "cracks" in the very outer-most layer of rubber on the sidewall and that they are only cosmetic and in no way take away from the structural integrity of the tire.



Scott

 

[GIT-R-DONE]

Question for the tire experts. My front Michelin 265's, Load range E, are showing a lot of dry rot. There are a lot of small hairline cracks 1/8" to 1" in length Not depth. The tread depth looks very good, not even close to being worn. Since there are so many layers are these tires safe of is it time for new ones? I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks,



Dave

If you look on the side of the tire, it should have a group of 3 or 4 numbers that are together. I found this out watching one of those dateline shows after Firestone had their problems a few years back. Anyway..... as an example, the tires I just replaced on my camper had less than 4 K miles on them but were dry rotting in between the tread. The date on the tire said... 393 which deciphered was March of 1993. Lets say it has 1204 as the numbers... ... then the date the tire was made was December 2004. That gives you an idea how old the tire is that you have installed.



As far as the cracking goes it is best to get the opinion of the local tire dealer that you do business with. They deal with them more than anyone here does and would be able to give you a better idea on age, wear and use.



I always go by better safe than sorry, if you can afford to do so.

 

[BK]

I had my Michelins that came with my 99 till they were no longer had legal tread depth. About 2years before I got ride of them, they got their sidewall cracks. Didn't have a problem.



Due to the extend tread life of many good tires, and the ozone hurting the rubber causing the cracking, there has been "rumors" of tire getting an expiration date.

 

[BigPapa]

GIT-R-DONE is partially right. The 2 digits he mentioned as being the month the tires was manufactured is actually the WEEK of the year the tire was manufactured. Therefore if the code reads "1204" the tire was manufactured the last week of March, 2004.



Scott

 

[GIT-R-DONE]

GIT-R-DONE is partially right. The 2 digits he mentioned as being the month the tires was manufactured is actually the WEEK of the year the tire was manufactured. Therefore if the code reads "1204" the tire was manufactured the last week of March, 2004.



Scott

I stand corrected then. My mistake. I do remember something about the show that stated that someone ( some group or organization ) was trying to make it so the tires could not be sold to an individual if they were on the shelf for more than 6 years. According to the manufacturer, the steel belts and other compounds of the tires started to separate, making them unsafe.



After that TV show, I never heard anything about it, so I cant comment any further about this. I am glad I watched the show , just to know what to look for by looking at the manufacturer date, to make sure I am not buying an old "new" tire.

 

[Hammer]

One other thing to add here. .

IF your a known user of tire shine products they will pull the moisture out of a tire which will allow the "dryrot" condition to happen faster. I was at a car care seminar a few years ago and the company who did it was the one who showed us. Realistically,if you do use the tire care products you shouldn't apply them all the time. The tire manufacturer rep of whose tire I was running at the time told me the ame as someone above. If the cracks are not down into where the cords inside are visible then you are ok. HOWEVER,when he was asked by me and a friend who was there that day if he would tow with them like that he answered it this way. . "Its not my truck,but,if it was you would not find them being used to tow with and I do not care what my people say". I took that as eliminate the problem as soon as I could... ... ... ... ... . Andy