Almost bought it today !!!

[91_S2]

I was on the Autobahn doing 230 kph (143 mph) playing tag with some new Mercedes when I noticed some strong vibrations on the left side. It was so bad, I couldn't drive further. When I checked my car, I noticed that my rear left tire had delaminated. There was a huge chunk of rubber that had been thrown off and was missing and a lot of the steel radial wires were worn through.

The tire guy told me angels were watching over me. If I had worn through another ply, the tire would have blown. I would probably have hit the brakes instinctively and gone into trailing throttle oversteer. I would have spun badly and they would have had to scrape me off the landscape.

So a word to the wise, we all love speed but remember it comes with a risk.

[*ZenithalRavage*]

Re: Almost bought it today !!!

Wow, glad you're stiil here in 100% working order to share that with us :eek2:

[porkkis]

May I ask what tyres are we talking about here? No need to mention make or model but speed rating would be nice to hear...

[APNess]

I trashed a front pair of Toyo proxes like this. No more than 8k miles since I'd put em on, and 6-10" strips of rubber falling off.

Hey! Lets be careful out there...

PJ

[dan_b]

Tyre delaminated at 140mph :eek2:

Congratulations for surviving

Seriously though, that's pretty damn major scary. Was the tyre proper spec?

I do quite regularly get tyre paranoia when I'm driving at pace - those little fragile black bits of rubber are the only things keeping you on the tarmac and they get an awful lot of abuse.

Look after your tyres, be careful about kerbs, potholes etc, and get the best ones you can afford.

[91_S2]

They were Michelins. But it was not the speed ratings and maybe not the manufacturer either.

It was an unethical dealer that sold me old tires. I trusted him and did not bother to check the manufacturing date. I had enough thread, but the tires were 8 years old.

[dan_b]

Were they winter tyres?

Tyres do go off over time that's for certain.

[Stick Insect]

I have a set of Uniroyal Rallye 340 which are about 9 years old. they have been stored in a cool dark garage since they were removed from the owners 100/S4 (original fitment).

Is the implication they are not safe?

I don't think I will be doing quite the speeds 91_s2 was.

David

[Fat Audi 80]

I can't remember where I read it but old tyres >5years old are dangerous and should not be used. Anyone else shed any light....

[Stick Insect]

I seem to remember that the EEC was wanting to ban 'old' tyres. I thought that it was 10 years old though.

This would cause huge problems with classic and collectors cars. My Minor has tyres which are 6 years old and have covered 5,000 miles.

I don't feel like chucking 5k mile tyres.....

Mind you the S2 is a fair bit slower than my Minor

D.

[AL80]

Glad to hear you got out of that one in one piece!!

I would have thought the conditions that the tyres had been kept in would have an effect. Perhaps age can damage tyres as much as mileage?

[Stick Insect]

AL80,

I know that tyres harden with age, I didn't think delamination would be a problem though.

Tyres should be stored in a cool dark place.

David

[Michel]

Its not recommended to use old tyres in the same way as new ones...

If you have 9 year old high performance tyres I'd be reluctant to use them to their full potential, keep them for concours use...especially if they are original fitment ones.

Remember tyres are designed o be used pretty quickly....a 30,000 mile life should be used up in about 30mths if the UK averages are used.

But for classic cars which are used for pottering about I think there is less of a problem. Certainly I'm keeping the P6000s on the P car until they are 6 or so years old and then I'll see, like the Minor it only does a few miles a year...

[AL80]

Well, i ain't no expert on tyres :wacked: but i agree with dan_b when he said; always buy the best tyres you can afford, and mind the kerb!!

If you are in doubt about using some old tyres, maybe there is a way to have them checked over?

[Stick Insect]

Go to quick fit and ask them if they need replacing.

See what they say

I bet I know the answer!

D.