Am I Crazy to Replace These Tires?

[kam327]

Vehicle is used by my wife to cart the kids around. 40,000 miles and 3 1/2 years on the tires. Couple of gouges in the sidewall. Doesn't appear to dig deep into the white underlayer, but still a little concerning. Of bigger concern is the weather cracking around the entire perimeter at the tread/sidewall interface. A tread separation concern?

Leaning towards replacing them with Destination LE2's while I still have some bonus money left over but it kinda kills me since they still have 6 to 7/32nds tread left. Could probably wait until next year's bonus to replace them but also want to make the family car as safe as possible. I'm in Florida so wet traction is the main concern.

What do y'all think? Replace to be safe or give 'em another year?


CRACKING AROUND PERIMETER

SIDEWALL GOUGE

GENERAL SHABBINESS

 

[2TimingTom]

What kind of tires are these? Yokohama Geolander H/T-S?

If so, I have a set of those on my VUE- also dried out and cracked. I ran them for a couple years like that. Mine also still have a bunch of tread left.

The problem with them is that when they are dried out and cracked, they will probably outlast the life of the vehicle- at the expense of traction (especially in the rain or snow) and increased noise. And in theory, they could out-right fail (most likely at highway speed) because of the cracking. Yours don't look quite that bad yet.

I've removed my tires in favor of some winter tires and I will run my winter tires until they are worn out. My Geolanders will not go back on my car.

 

[kam327]

Bridgestone Dueler H/T's.

And the noise has not increased noticeably over the past 40k miles. Actually pretty pleased with them overall despite the negative user reviews out there. Of course I've never been in the snow with them.

 

[edwx]

As cheap as I am, I probably would keep them until they won't pass inspection.

An old guy told me a story a few years back, that there was one good set of tires in the neighborhood and they would all use them to pass inspection, and then they'd all put their bald ones back on.

My wife has Generals on her Colorado, and I really like 'em. They're wearing great! Might be my next tires.

 

[kam327]

No inspections in Florida so I could run them until the belts show. I'm cheap too but I also like my ride to look good and these tires are looking pretty shabby to me. But I guess I gotta accept that no one else notices them and there's certainly other things I could spend my money on.

Thanks for the feedback Ed!

 

[edwx]

Funny, I ran some tires until the 2nd steel belt was showing. One night someone said to me, "Hey, what are those sparks coming off your tire?"

Just put some Armor-All on 'em and no one will know but you.

 

[JerseyMark]

They look fine to me. Nothing in those pictures would make me want to replace them.

If you do end up replacing them, remember that it is imporatant to look at the date stamp on the tires before the dealer installs them. My wife got ripped off on a set of "new" tires a few years before I met her. They were on the dealers shelf for almost 3 years before they were installed onto her car.

 

[kam327]

They look fine to me. Nothing in those pictures would make me want to replace them.

If you do end up replacing them, remember that it is imporatant to look at the date stamp on the tires before the dealer installs them. My wife got ripped off on a set of "new" tires a few years before I met her. They were on the dealers shelf for almost 3 years before they were installed onto her car.

Sure. Luckily the Destination LE2's I'm eyeing have been out less than a year I believe.

Funny, I ran some tires until the 2nd steel belt was showing. One night someone said to me, "Hey, what are those sparks coming off your tire?"

Just put some Armor-All on 'em and no one will know but you.

I haven't done anything close to that since my '85 Tempo in High School!

 

[Flag Gibby]

Most tire shops and manufacturers reccomend you to replace after 3 years because the rubber slowly looses the oils that keep it flexible, but the small cracks in the sidewall near the tread is typical for a tire of that age. The Dueler H/L's are a high mileage design so the tread doesn't wear very fast and tread depth is not a good indicator of the life left in the tires.
Just my opinion, but considering the age of the tire, sidewall scuffs and the warm temps that you drive in all the time; I would replace with new.

 

[kam327]

Most tire shops and manufacturers reccomend you to replace after 3 years because the rubber slowly looses the oils that keep it flexible, but the small cracks in the sidewall near the tread is typical for a tire of that age. The Dueler H/L's are a high mileage design so the tread doesn't wear very fast and tread depth is not a good indicator of the life left in the tires.
Just my opinion, but considering the age of the tire, sidewall scuffs and the warm temps that you drive in all the time; I would replace with new.

Actually I've recently read that most manufacturers recommend replacing at 6 years and some, like Michelin, even go as long as 10 years.

Three year replacement cycle is universally impossible given the average of 12-15,000 miles driven and 60-80,000 treadwear warrantees.

The age of these tires, being less than 4 years, is the least of my worries.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Vehicle is used by my wife to cart the kids around

What's more important? Safety of your wife & kids or money? I wouldn't want my wife & kids riding around with those tires.

 

[2TimingTom]

Three year replacement cycle is universally impossible given the average of 12-15,000 miles driven and 60-80,000 treadwear warrantees.

The age of these tires, being less than 4 years, is the least of my worries.

They've been installed less than 4 years, what's the date code say on the sidewall?

And as eluded to above, tires don't really age with miles so much as they age with time. And certain environmental conditions can accelerate that process.

Prior to the Yokohamas I mentioned above, I had a set of Bridgestone Duellers installed. They were also pulled out of service early due to sidewall cracking (and horrible traction and noise).

I'd say your tires are near the end of their safe useful life.

 

[kam327]

They've been installed less than 4 years, what's the date code say on the sidewall?

And as eluded to above, tires don't really age with miles so much as they age with time. And certain environmental conditions can accelerate that process.

Prior to the Yokohamas I mentioned above, I had a set of Bridgestone Duellers installed. They were also pulled out of service early due to sidewall cracking (and horrible traction and noise).

I'd say your tires are near the end of their safe useful life.

March '09, so yeah, just less than 4 years old. I have a hard time believing 4 years, 40k miles and 7/32nds tread is the end of their useful service life. Which is really the crux of the dilemma.

 

[kam327]

What's more important? Safety of your wife & kids or money? I wouldn't want my wife & kids riding around with those tires.

Safety of course but the basic question I'm asking is does the weather cracking and sidewall chip render these tires unsafe? So far the consensus is no, unless someone has a story of tires in similar condition blowing out at highway speeds or something.

 

[Turdle]

Your truck is a 2006. Tires are 2009. The first set went 3 years. Just sayin.

I'm on the fence. Children push me off the fence to the side of replacement, just because this is the internet, and we do not want any blame should something go wrong.

 

[kam327]

Your truck is a 2006. Tires are 2009. The first set went 3 years. Just sayin.

I'm on the fence. Children push me off the fence to the side of replacement, just because this is the internet, and we do not want any blame should something go wrong.

Ha ha I can see the court filing now. Kam327 vs Turdle, 2TimingTom, Flag Gibby et al

Yes it is curious why the previous owner who only put on 21,000 miles in 4 years had to replace the tires. I believe the originals were Michelin Cross Terrain based on the full size spare. Maybe all the tires were slashed at some point?

 

[Flag Gibby]

I have never had a set of tires on the vehicle from the factory last more than 30K or 3 years. So, it is possible that they got replaced because of issues (bad wear pattern, etc.). As an example: the BFG Rugged Trails on my vehicle from the factory only lasted 3 years (tread was at 4/32) before I put something a little more suited for snow and dirt roads on.

 

[backroads]

I don't replace mine untill I can see the air in the tire

 

[colintrax]

I'd say replace em, they'd probably be alright but there's a big difference between worn out tires and tires with some good tread.
If it was my truck, I'd still be driving on them. But I'm broke as a joke and have no kids....

 

[GRNMACHINE]

Not sure anyone here has the correct answer. There are some members here that work for Discount. Maybe they can chime in. Age of tires isnt always indicative of when to replace. I am currently running some over ripe Pro Comp Xterrains. They show no cracking or wear but they have mostly sat in a dry basement. Not saying they are "safe" but they appear fine. Explorer isnt my DD this winter though. Cant say I would want to use them if it was driven for family etc. Tire Rack claims new older stock is acceptable if they were stored inside properly conditioned warehouse.

Those cracks to me are a cause for concern though, I would want to have them looked at a tire shop that is trustworthy.