02-08-2009, 11:54 AM
I have had a few friends that had tires fail over the years... delamination, bad valve stems, cracks in rubber, knots or bulges suddenly appearing in side wall. You really don't want that happening at 70 or 75 on I-85 in morning traffic. Several have occurred on their trailer used to haul cars to the track... that's where we all buy "el cheapo" tires. You just want something black and round on a trailer.
Obviously, no tire is manufactured without meeting certain company standards and DOT standards that are drived from extensive testing and certifications. If not, they would not be in business long. So... how does it happen that we can buy a tire and it would fail? There are certainly freaks and aberations that occur in the manufacturing process... but those are pushed within tolerances that are minimal. What about the rest? Well.. when was your tire made?
Read an article recently, " the owner of a 1964 Sunbeam Tiger was returning from an antique car show. The tires only had 4,000 miles on them and looked good as new on the outside, but the tires were 11 years old. On the way home, one of the tires blew out causing the car to crash. The passenger suffered permanent brain injuries as a result of the accident."
I have purchased Kumhos and Hoosiers at "discount prices" from smaller vendors.. the tires should have been around a 60 durometer but arrived and I measured at 68! R comps are getting hard when they are up to low 70's.
How do you know how long your tire sat on a shelf at a warehouse? How do you know how much of that time it was exposed to ozone and UV... the two things that will break down the rubber and are not visibly obvious (other than some light graying of rubber in some compounds).
Check the date. DETERMINING TIRE DATE CODES
How old are the tires on your vehicle? "The date of manufacture is indicated by the last group of digits in the DOT manufacture code on the sidewall of the tire. The number is often stamped in a recessed rectangle. The DOT code tells who manufactured the tire, where it was made and when. The last group of digits in the code is the date code that tells when the tire was made.
Before 2000, the date code had three digits. Since 2000, it has had four. The first two digits are the week of the year (01 = the first week of January). The third digit (for tires made before 2000) is the year (1 = 1991). For most tires made after 2000, the third and fourth digits are the year (04 = 2004).
If the date code is 8PY806. The 8PY is a manufacturing shift code, and the date the tire was actually made was 0806, which is the 8th week (08)in the year 2006 (06).
The date of manufacture is essential information for car owners and tire buyers because tires deteriorate even if they are not used. European automobile manufacturers recommend replacing ANY tire that is more than six (6) years old, including the spare tire. No such recommendations have yet been made by domestic vehicle manufacturers." Source - AA1 Car
The other way is to ask. Tell the company you are buying from that you want to know date of manufacture. Tell them you will not accept any that arrive over 4 months from factory and ask what tire durometer should be UP FRONT... see what they say. This is a case where you can get a better price but less value if they are old. Check your tire durometer when they arrive. if you have a high reading to spec...call them up and get a price reduction or send them back.
When they do arrive, keep them in thick black bags tied up where air doesn't get in... stacking them in a flourecscent lighted garage next to an air compressor and other power tools will shorten the life of the tire and softness of the rubber... substantially. You end up with tires that look great, have 80% of the rubber still on them and they are hard. What do you do with that? Sell them...yes... I bought a few of those at great prices and regretted it.
One last thing on tires... I have done a LOT of experimenting with tire softeners in the last three years. ..I have cut tires into 6 pieces for controlled environmental testing. I have used rotisseries that marinated tires in "kickapoo joy juice from the jungles of Louisiana", I have put softener inside of the tire, I have used some that melted the handle of the paint brush I used while I was applying. I had a foam roller I used once that disentegrated in my hand in 30 seconds and was brand new when I started. From all of that research and worrying my hands would glow in the dark in bed at night, I would say this. MOST of those products will eat 1/16th of an inch of old rubber off which will expose new rubber. That's all. They do NOT break down the chemical chains of the rubber, transform it to flubber, or do miracles. Do not ever put any of this stuff inside a tire... that is plain stupid as the inside of tire contains coumpound materials, layers and cords that were not designed for chemical abuse or weakening by chemical treatment. You will get hurt doing that eventually and it will not help you so don't do it.
I did in my research find a chemical that does work. I know guys at GP Speedway that invented this great product for asphalt racing that really works. You paint it on with heavy gloves, (it very well may come from Oak Ridge and is sold without label like moonshine) it does eat rubber and when it is sitting on the tire, you will see fumes and heat radiating off the tires (read that as " a REAL chemical thermal reaction"). When you move the tire after it has cured, you will see black rubber dust in solution on the floor of your garage. It will melt your checkerboard vinyl tiles in the garage floor and if you store the chemical in a milk jug, it will last a week before it eats through that. If you use too much on a tire, it will eat through the tire and blow it out. After you have used it, you will see a definite improvement in the durometer of the tire... once. After that, further treatment does little improvement and actually the treatments seem to have the opposite effect after 2 and 3rd. It costs $30 a jug and I bought small amounts to be used within a few days. I don't inhale or let it touch my skin in any way shape form or fashion. It is some dangerous crap and not worth the risk.
Bottom line, there is no treatment anywhere that can get your tire back to as soft as it was when it came out of the mold. The naptha, wintergreen, waxs and oils cannot be put back in through any process known by man and there is no such thing as "re-virginizing" a tire. Buy good rubber, take good care of it... when the rubber gets hard? Save the money you would use on treatments and use it to buy more good rubber. All of the best race drivers I know have the number of their tire "dealer" on speed dial and they are all addicts. Tire treatments are expensive, dangerous to apply, not the secret to eternal tire youth nor will they cut seconds off your times. New rubber can help with that. Go buy more good rubber.
Just my opinion. Thanks.
Ted
Obviously, no tire is manufactured without meeting certain company standards and DOT standards that are drived from extensive testing and certifications. If not, they would not be in business long. So... how does it happen that we can buy a tire and it would fail? There are certainly freaks and aberations that occur in the manufacturing process... but those are pushed within tolerances that are minimal. What about the rest? Well.. when was your tire made?
Read an article recently, " the owner of a 1964 Sunbeam Tiger was returning from an antique car show. The tires only had 4,000 miles on them and looked good as new on the outside, but the tires were 11 years old. On the way home, one of the tires blew out causing the car to crash. The passenger suffered permanent brain injuries as a result of the accident."
I have purchased Kumhos and Hoosiers at "discount prices" from smaller vendors.. the tires should have been around a 60 durometer but arrived and I measured at 68! R comps are getting hard when they are up to low 70's.
How do you know how long your tire sat on a shelf at a warehouse? How do you know how much of that time it was exposed to ozone and UV... the two things that will break down the rubber and are not visibly obvious (other than some light graying of rubber in some compounds).
Check the date. DETERMINING TIRE DATE CODES
How old are the tires on your vehicle? "The date of manufacture is indicated by the last group of digits in the DOT manufacture code on the sidewall of the tire. The number is often stamped in a recessed rectangle. The DOT code tells who manufactured the tire, where it was made and when. The last group of digits in the code is the date code that tells when the tire was made.
Before 2000, the date code had three digits. Since 2000, it has had four. The first two digits are the week of the year (01 = the first week of January). The third digit (for tires made before 2000) is the year (1 = 1991). For most tires made after 2000, the third and fourth digits are the year (04 = 2004).
If the date code is 8PY806. The 8PY is a manufacturing shift code, and the date the tire was actually made was 0806, which is the 8th week (08)in the year 2006 (06).
The date of manufacture is essential information for car owners and tire buyers because tires deteriorate even if they are not used. European automobile manufacturers recommend replacing ANY tire that is more than six (6) years old, including the spare tire. No such recommendations have yet been made by domestic vehicle manufacturers." Source - AA1 Car
The other way is to ask. Tell the company you are buying from that you want to know date of manufacture. Tell them you will not accept any that arrive over 4 months from factory and ask what tire durometer should be UP FRONT... see what they say. This is a case where you can get a better price but less value if they are old. Check your tire durometer when they arrive. if you have a high reading to spec...call them up and get a price reduction or send them back.
When they do arrive, keep them in thick black bags tied up where air doesn't get in... stacking them in a flourecscent lighted garage next to an air compressor and other power tools will shorten the life of the tire and softness of the rubber... substantially. You end up with tires that look great, have 80% of the rubber still on them and they are hard. What do you do with that? Sell them...yes... I bought a few of those at great prices and regretted it.
One last thing on tires... I have done a LOT of experimenting with tire softeners in the last three years. ..I have cut tires into 6 pieces for controlled environmental testing. I have used rotisseries that marinated tires in "kickapoo joy juice from the jungles of Louisiana", I have put softener inside of the tire, I have used some that melted the handle of the paint brush I used while I was applying. I had a foam roller I used once that disentegrated in my hand in 30 seconds and was brand new when I started. From all of that research and worrying my hands would glow in the dark in bed at night, I would say this. MOST of those products will eat 1/16th of an inch of old rubber off which will expose new rubber. That's all. They do NOT break down the chemical chains of the rubber, transform it to flubber, or do miracles. Do not ever put any of this stuff inside a tire... that is plain stupid as the inside of tire contains coumpound materials, layers and cords that were not designed for chemical abuse or weakening by chemical treatment. You will get hurt doing that eventually and it will not help you so don't do it.
I did in my research find a chemical that does work. I know guys at GP Speedway that invented this great product for asphalt racing that really works. You paint it on with heavy gloves, (it very well may come from Oak Ridge and is sold without label like moonshine) it does eat rubber and when it is sitting on the tire, you will see fumes and heat radiating off the tires (read that as " a REAL chemical thermal reaction"). When you move the tire after it has cured, you will see black rubber dust in solution on the floor of your garage. It will melt your checkerboard vinyl tiles in the garage floor and if you store the chemical in a milk jug, it will last a week before it eats through that. If you use too much on a tire, it will eat through the tire and blow it out. After you have used it, you will see a definite improvement in the durometer of the tire... once. After that, further treatment does little improvement and actually the treatments seem to have the opposite effect after 2 and 3rd. It costs $30 a jug and I bought small amounts to be used within a few days. I don't inhale or let it touch my skin in any way shape form or fashion. It is some dangerous crap and not worth the risk.
Bottom line, there is no treatment anywhere that can get your tire back to as soft as it was when it came out of the mold. The naptha, wintergreen, waxs and oils cannot be put back in through any process known by man and there is no such thing as "re-virginizing" a tire. Buy good rubber, take good care of it... when the rubber gets hard? Save the money you would use on treatments and use it to buy more good rubber. All of the best race drivers I know have the number of their tire "dealer" on speed dial and they are all addicts. Tire treatments are expensive, dangerous to apply, not the secret to eternal tire youth nor will they cut seconds off your times. New rubber can help with that. Go buy more good rubber.
Just my opinion. Thanks.
Ted
: Reason is...once the tire blew, you can tell if it de-laminated or had imperfections, you can see bald spots, you can see plugs and patches, you can see skid marks that lead to debri, furry road kill or potholes... but you can't look at a blown tire and tell how much air it had in it.