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Snow tires how old is to old to use

Alloy wheels and tyre discussion
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Piper1
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Snow tires how old is to old to use

Post by Piper1 » Tue May 22, 2018 2:25 am

I know there’s threads on old tires change out after x amount of time on every day tires but got me thinking. Not that they’re going on any time soon but I’ve got a set of snow tires that I’ve had since 2012 and a lot of tread left. They haven’t been mounted on the car since the end of 2014/15 season but when should I look at them being too old. Condition by the eye looks great with never any curbing to them.
03 Z4 2.5i
ESS VT1, Racing Dynamics SS headers ceramic coated, Full Super Sprint system, 4.10:1 LSD, K Sport BBK, Koni yellow/eibach combo, and lots of other bits
07 e86 3.0si stock for the moment

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Chris_D
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Snow tires how old is to old to use

Post by Chris_D » Tue May 22, 2018 10:12 am

My Nokian winter tyres are from 2011 and still going strong. I use them approx4-5 months over winter and then store in a dry shed.
Visual inspection shows no cracking, damage or delamination effects. Will prob replace after next winter tho purely out of caution.
E85 3.0i roadie (03) 'Benny'. E93 320d M-Sport Cabrio (11) 'Bob'.
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ekimj10
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Snow tires how old is to old to use

Post by ekimj10 » Tue May 22, 2018 2:51 pm

I would echo exactly what what Chris_D has said, mine could be older but appear near perfect and I asked the local tyre guy whether they are considered too old, his response was to use them with a bit of caution, these were on our Series 1. Expected him to say, get rid and buy another set! missed sales opportunity.
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Snow tires how old is to old to use

Post by Pbondar » Tue May 22, 2018 10:33 pm

Continental suggest 10 years max....depending on condition...I would imagine any sidewalk cracking indicates a change is required on a high performance car!

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Piper1
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Snow tires how old is to old to use

Post by Piper1 » Wed May 23, 2018 8:44 pm

:thumbsup: Cheers guys thanks. Got to love honest salesmen. I was hoping to get a few more seasons out of them so gives me a good idea of what I’m looking at. When I change them out I always dig out my log too and write down date and mileage to know exactly what's been put on summer/winter tires when swapping them around it gives a good piece of mind knowing just how much you put on them to how they last.
03 Z4 2.5i
ESS VT1, Racing Dynamics SS headers ceramic coated, Full Super Sprint system, 4.10:1 LSD, K Sport BBK, Koni yellow/eibach combo, and lots of other bits
07 e86 3.0si stock for the moment

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Snow tires how old is to old to use

Post by Ewazix » Wed May 23, 2018 11:38 pm

Interestingly tyres age and side-walls will start to crack when they are not used, sunlight and atmospherics do relatively little harm. When they are used the oil based carbon black in the compound 'lubricates' the material keeping it supple. I once bought a garaged 3 year old car with 250 miles on it and the tyres were cracked to hell, conversely I found two tyres on a low mileage but regularly used 12 year old car were original and fine.
2003 2.5 SE, low miles, Sterling Grey, 108's & Eagles, no stubby here! Unmolested.
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