Old winter tires - good tread, no cracks - would you use?

[El Chupacabra]

Curious how long you'd use old winter tires that still have good deep tread, no cracks, stored indoors when not in winter. Tires are a set of General Altimax Arctics, with DOT date code from 2014, mounted on a second set of wheels. I've had these tires their entire life -- apparently I don't drive enough in winter in this car.

Tire Rack says useful life between 6 to 10 years:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret...sp?techid=183&

Michelin says 10 years:
https://www.michelinman.com/auto/tip...ar%20indicator.

General says 10 years:
https://generaltire.com/our-world/la...place-my-tires

[Dexter Rutecki]

If you're going to be driving reasonably on them (not cornering at 90 mph) I don't see why you would be concerned. Another three or four years maybe rethink that, IMO.

[JayPowHound]

Good tread and no cracks, stored indoors? I'd say go for it. Guessing those life limits are based on wear and/or marketing.

This isn't a climbing rope, a failure won't kill you.

(Just my opinion.. Definitely not a rubber expert by any means)

[XXX-er]

running dedicated winters and summers maybe 5000 km a year on the winters (only 25 km up the ski hill) it was not that hard to put 10 yrs on a set IME

get extra rims cuz swapping tires on rims twice a year is not only expensive but hard on the tire bead,

it was a long time ago but IME Michelen tire beads were more delicate

[alpinevibes]

Lady I bought our Blizzaks from had managed 14 years on her previous set. She only drove 1000mi per winter and stored them properly.

Just store them well and give them a good eyeball every month when you’re driving them.


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[jmedslc]

This isn't a climbing rope, a failure won't kill you.

(Just my opinion.. Definitely not a rubber expert by any means)

Yes you’re definitely not. And yes a failure could certainly kill you. What a dumb thing to say.

[XXX-er]

yes ^^ the snow tire is a life saving product made of rubber as is the Condom

but you ever notice most people talk about the price of a snow tire not how effective a snow tire is, they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

[nickwm21]

Sounds like the manufacturer says 10 years and you’re on year 7. I’d inspect them thoroughly but keep using them. I wouldn’t use them much past that 10 year mark regardless of how good they look.


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[El Chupacabra]

Sounds like the manufacturer says 10 years and you’re on year 7. I’d inspect them thoroughly but keep using them. I wouldn’t use them much past that 10 year mark regardless of how good they look.


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I think this is what I'll be doing.

[bodywhomper]

I started a season doing that ^^ several years ago on a set of blizzaks. I noticed they had pretty bad performance in wet early season pavement (after the initial roadway flush), like they’d cut loose really easily in corners. So I got new tires. They were 8 seasons old.

[Bozo T. Clown]

When my snow tires were like 11 years old, I tried to do a little research on this, and what I was told (I think by a salesman at the Tire Rack) is that the issue is the softness of the tire compound. The chemistry changes over time, and the tires get harder than they should be for snow tires, which you want to stay soft at low temperatures.

An A B test, between your tires and new snow tires, with a durometer would be the full nerd way to go. I just got some Blizzaks, and have been glad that I did.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shore_durometer
https://www.amazon.com/Hardness-Test.../dp/B0748C9JNQ

Guys named Ulf and Jerzy seem authoritative:

"During a tyre’s lifetime, the rubber hardness of individual tyres may increase by up to 15 Shore A, which is an equally large range as new tyres may differ in hardness due to construction and material design differences."
Influence of tyre rubber hardness on tyre/road noise emission,
https://www.researchgate.net/publica...noise_emission

They reference Olle:

The friction on wet smooth ice for new and used winter tyres. An investigation concerning the influence of age, tread depth, tread rubber hardness, stud protrusion and stud force,
http://vti.diva-portal.org/smash/get...FULLTEXT01.pdf

Which has an English abstract. It's not like they couldn't publish an English version of the whole thing. I was once told, "There are Swedish guys at work, I understand their English better than yours."

Which I guess is a segue to an Awkwafina joke,
"People ask me what my father sounds like. I tell them that he sounds like Donald Trump: an old guy from Queens."

[Danno]

What's the worst that could happen?

[Danno]

Alternative answer:

You're gonna die.

[rideit]

Or he won’t come to a complete stop as fast as he did before at an icy intersection. Upon which he changes them.

[1000-oaks]

I'd run 'em without much thought. Always funny how my winter set of tires squeals around corners the first ten miles or so, guessing the surface of the rubber hardens while stored and has to wear off to get back to the "good" rubber.

[waxoff]

They reference Olle:

The friction on wet smooth ice for new and used winter tyres. An investigation concerning the influence of age, tread depth, tread rubber hardness, stud protrusion and stud force,
http://vti.diva-portal.org/smash/get...FULLTEXT01.pdf

Which has an English abstract. It's not like they couldn't publish an English version of the whole thing.

^^^^^On pages 9-10 in the linked report there's also a summary in English.

N.B. the report itself is 17 yo. The tyres tested in the report are manufactured well before the report. I.e. not with the best current compounds. However, whether the current compounds are superior, or not, compared to that era's is outside of my knowledge...

[krp8128]

They're not going to blow up or spontaneously disintegrate.

But the rubber/compound is likely harder then ideal. Snow tires should be soft (which is why you don't run them in summer) for best traction.

[Pinned]

They're not going to blow up or spontaneously disintegrate.

But the rubber/compound is likely harder then ideal. Snow tires should be soft (which is why you don't run them in summer) for best traction.

The rubber and casing both harden and become much less flexible, which can lead to blowouts or tread separation. That's the biggest reason to avoid using old tires. I have had it happen on the highway with a tire that was ~7 years old but had been installed about 6mo prior to having the entire sidewall blow out. After that I started checking the date codes on all tires religiously - even though the tire blowing out was a freak thing, I think it's worth changing out tires just for peace of mind.

[johnnyg82]

Some (most?) winter tires have a couple different wear bars in the tread. One taller, which they would say under that isn't good for snow/winter, and then one deeper which would be the end of the tire life for dry/wet (not snow) conditions.

Look for these on the tire, if they are ok, you're golden: