Old tyre on old van
Discussion
Hi
We had a blow out in our 1982 T25 van about a month ago in France. The wheel was replaced with the spare which had been under the van for at least 12 years.
We drove back from France on it and it has driven fine ever since.. There are no cracks or visible signs of aging, just a bit mucky.
Obviously, I need to replace the blown tyre, but would you keep the installed spare as a spare? Or replace both tyres and install on one axle? The other tyres still have plenty of tread on them with about 4000 miles wear on them.
We had a blow out in our 1982 T25 van about a month ago in France. The wheel was replaced with the spare which had been under the van for at least 12 years.
We drove back from France on it and it has driven fine ever since.. There are no cracks or visible signs of aging, just a bit mucky.
Obviously, I need to replace the blown tyre, but would you keep the installed spare as a spare? Or replace both tyres and install on one axle? The other tyres still have plenty of tread on them with about 4000 miles wear on them.
The old tyre if not cracked etc...will probably live happily as a spare for many years.
I'd probably leave it as the spare and replace the others.
If you get a new tyre for a spare, chances are it'll be cracked in a year or two. Modern rubber just doesn't seem to last the same as the dozens of threads on here attest to with cracked tyres.
I'd probably leave it as the spare and replace the others.
If you get a new tyre for a spare, chances are it'll be cracked in a year or two. Modern rubber just doesn't seem to last the same as the dozens of threads on here attest to with cracked tyres.
Tyres age and become "hard". In normal use under good conditions and sensible speeds, we might not notice. But when friction levels are low, like in the wet, especially in the cold, that reduced limit of grip becomes painfully obvious. Tyre manufacturers say that after about 6 years of age, one should consider replacing tyres, regardless of tread depth. This is probably pessimistic for most tyres but my own experience suggests that 5-6 years could well be realistic for some products and 10 years is probably a age one shouldn't exceed.
As you probably know, the German car magazines do loads of tyre tests so information about new tyres is abundant here. A few years back now, the ADAC summer tyre test winner as a Fulda model (Goodyear second brand) and they were fitted to our cooking Impreza Wagon. They were absolutely fine when new but within 5 years of summer-only use, they went so hard and noisy that it felt like the drive train was falling apart. I couldn't spot anything faulty and the the dealer checked every thing over and also couldn't find anything wrong. He suggested that we swap to the winter tyres and see if there is any change. The car was back to normal. 5 years was long enough for those tyres to go hard.
The FIAT Coupe was for a long time my daily, but with low winter use the winter tyres were 10 years old with good tread. When it almost refused to turn on a smattering of fresh snow at very normal speed for the conditions - pretty slow - I realised that I had been pushing my luck. The winter before, they seemed to perform adequately.
The conclusion matches the manufacturers' guidance. Tyres age and hanging on to ancient rubber isn't the wisest thing to do.
As you probably know, the German car magazines do loads of tyre tests so information about new tyres is abundant here. A few years back now, the ADAC summer tyre test winner as a Fulda model (Goodyear second brand) and they were fitted to our cooking Impreza Wagon. They were absolutely fine when new but within 5 years of summer-only use, they went so hard and noisy that it felt like the drive train was falling apart. I couldn't spot anything faulty and the the dealer checked every thing over and also couldn't find anything wrong. He suggested that we swap to the winter tyres and see if there is any change. The car was back to normal. 5 years was long enough for those tyres to go hard.
The FIAT Coupe was for a long time my daily, but with low winter use the winter tyres were 10 years old with good tread. When it almost refused to turn on a smattering of fresh snow at very normal speed for the conditions - pretty slow - I realised that I had been pushing my luck. The winter before, they seemed to perform adequately.
The conclusion matches the manufacturers' guidance. Tyres age and hanging on to ancient rubber isn't the wisest thing to do.
Interesting about the Fulda/Forester combo.
They were fitted to our Forester XT when bought, still loads of life in them and grip was excellent (can't coment on winter grip because separate winter set), however by 6 years they were noisy and gave a harsh ride.
Replaced by a set of Falkens which were on Tyreleader at such a ridiculous price would have been madness to not buy them, that was 3 or 4 years ago and as summer and wet weather tyres i can't fault them, they don't wear as well as the Fuldas but much quieter and better ride.
I too would keep the VW van current spare as a spare, what i did with the spare under my Hilux was wrap it in a thick black polythene sack to keep it clean and safe from the elements, would do the same again on a vehicle with an exposed spare tyre.
They were fitted to our Forester XT when bought, still loads of life in them and grip was excellent (can't coment on winter grip because separate winter set), however by 6 years they were noisy and gave a harsh ride.
Replaced by a set of Falkens which were on Tyreleader at such a ridiculous price would have been madness to not buy them, that was 3 or 4 years ago and as summer and wet weather tyres i can't fault them, they don't wear as well as the Fuldas but much quieter and better ride.
I too would keep the VW van current spare as a spare, what i did with the spare under my Hilux was wrap it in a thick black polythene sack to keep it clean and safe from the elements, would do the same again on a vehicle with an exposed spare tyre.
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