Tyres - is this just age?

[Billy_Rosewood]

Tyres are stamped as 2018 but this started happening around 2 years ago and I've monitored them ever since. This winter they've gotten to a stage where I think I'll just replace them in the spring.

They are vredestein quatrac 5s..i thought perhaps they were over heating in the summer but have deteriorated over the winter too. We don't do huge motorway miles (total of 6k miles a year of combined driving) and it's the family wagon so doesn't get thrashed.

Rear tyres are fine yet they are older.

Edited by Billy_Rosewood on Monday 3rd February 09:23

[ChocolateFrog]

7 years old so fairly old for a set of tyres. Might be worth a 4 wheel alignment before a new set goes on just in case.

[sherman]

ChocolateFrog said:

7 years old so fairly old for a set of tyres. Might be worth a 4 wheel alignment before a new set goes on just in case.

No where will do alignment on old destroyed tyres.
New tyres then alignment.

[interstellar]

I would be changing them tomorrow, that looks like the tyre has failed. I wouldn’t be driving that anywhere personally.

[kambites]

Very odd failure, it does look like the tread-blocks have just sort of melted into each other. The carcass looks fine so I wouldn't panic, but they clearly need replacing sooner rather than later.

[E-bmw]

sherman said:

ChocolateFrog said:

7 years old so fairly old for a set of tyres. Might be worth a 4 wheel alignment before a new set goes on just in case.

No where will do alignment on old destroyed tyres.
New tyres then alignment.

Tyres don't affect alignment, they are idiots.

Alignment affects tyre wear, not the opposite.

I would be wondering if you have ever driven over any chemical that has attacked the tread as it looks melted.

[Scrump]

The last set of tyres on my motorhome looked just like that. No idea what caused it but I replaced the tyres for peace of mind.
New tyres (different brand) have been on a few years now with no reoccurrence of the issue.

[sherman]

E-bmw said:

sherman said:

ChocolateFrog said:

7 years old so fairly old for a set of tyres. Might be worth a 4 wheel alignment before a new set goes on just in case.

No where will do alignment on old destroyed tyres.
New tyres then alignment.

Tyres don't affect alignment, they are idiots.

Alignment affects tyre wear, not the opposite.

I would be wondering if you have ever driven over any chemical that has attacked the tread as it looks melted.

In this case no amount of alignment is going to help the decay of the tyres.
Its pointless to throw the cost of alignment at these tyres.
Much better to put new tyres on and then do alignment only once.

[GreenV8S]

sherman said:

then do alignment only once.

This seems to suggest that changing the tyres would affect the alignment. It doesn't.

[Matt_T]

I believe that's a common effect you get on winter tyres when you drive lots on dry roads. It's where the sipes allow the block to get torn up. My winters did exactly the same in the summer

I think that the subtle understeer on roundabouts causes it quite quickly.

I think that the best solution is to swap to summer tyres and save the winters for the winter.

Edited by Matt_T on Sunday 2nd February 13:36

[Scrump]

Matt_T said:

I believe that's a common effect you get on winter tyres when you drive lots on dry roads. It's where the sipes allow the block to get torn up. Mine did the same.
I think that the best solution is to swap to summer tyres.

The tyres on my motorhome that suffered the same issue were all seasons so had more sipes than a summer tyre.

[sherman]

GreenV8S said:

sherman said:

then do alignment only once.

This seems to suggest that changing the tyres would affect the alignment. It doesn't.

Theres no point in doing alignment without first changing those already knackered tyres what are you not getting?

[E-bmw]

sherman said:

GreenV8S said:

sherman said:

then do alignment only once.

This seems to suggest that changing the tyres would affect the alignment. It doesn't.

Theres no point in doing alignment without first changing those already knackered tyres what are you not getting?

He is "getting" everything, alas you seem to be under the mis-guided assumption that if you change the tyres it will need doing again.

It won't.

ETA.
At no point did he say the alignment is the issue.

[Matt_T]

I don't think those tyres need throwing away, they should be fine for winter. The performance isn't going to be affected by the torn up blocks and the carcass looks fine.

• Obviously make your own decision**

[sherman]

E-bmw said:

sherman said:

GreenV8S said:

sherman said:

then do alignment only once.

This seems to suggest that changing the tyres would affect the alignment. It doesn't.

Theres no point in doing alignment without first changing those already knackered tyres what are you not getting?

He is "getting" everything, alas you seem to be under the mis-guided assumption that if you change the tyres it will need doing again.

It won't.

ETA.
At no point did he say the alignment is the issue.

I did not say alinment wss the issue. I responded to Chocolatefrog who suggested to try it first.

ChocolateFrog said:

7 years old so fairly old for a set of tyres. Might be worth a 4 wheel alignment before a new set goes on just in case.

You then randomly jumped on your keyboard and attacked me

[GreenV8S]

sherman said:

Theres no point in doing alignment without first changing those already knackered tyres what are you not getting?

You suggested doing the alignment last so it only needs to be done once. This implies that changing the tyres would affect the alignment. It does not.

I don't see any particular reason to suspect an alignment problem here, but if the OP has any doubts about the alignment they could get that checked and corrected whenever they want - no need and no point waiting until after the tyres have been replaced. The condition of the tyres has no effect on the alignment and changing the tyres subsequently also has no effect on the alignment.

I don't know what caused that strange tyre wear, but my guess would be that the tyres have overheated which has made them soft and susceptable to mechanical damage from potholes, road debris and so on. Winter tyres tend to be relatively soft in the first place, and this also makes them heat up quicker if they are under inflated (via sidewall deflection) or over inflated (via tread block deflection).

[E-bmw]

sherman said:

E-bmw said:

sherman said:

GreenV8S said:

sherman said:

then do alignment only once.

This seems to suggest that changing the tyres would affect the alignment. It doesn't.

Theres no point in doing alignment without first changing those already knackered tyres what are you not getting?

He is "getting" everything, alas you seem to be under the mis-guided assumption that if you change the tyres it will need doing again.

It won't.

ETA.
At no point did he say the alignment is the issue.

I did not say alinment wss the issue. I responded to Chocolatefrog who suggested to try it first.

ChocolateFrog said:

7 years old so fairly old for a set of tyres. Might be worth a 4 wheel alignment before a new set goes on just in case.

You then randomly jumped on your keyboard and attacked me

I never attacked anybody at all, I just stated that the tyres do not affect the alignment whereas you were implying (by saying get new tyres fitted and do it only once) that alignment needs re-doing after tyres are fitted.

If you honestly think I have attacked you I have no idea why, I just think you have missed something somewhere above.

[sean ie3]

I for one don't like the look of them and they don't look far off the minimum tread depth so get them changed. Maybe have the camber looked at.

[Billy_Rosewood]

Haven't had a chance to read all replies, will reply again when I have.

Just to add, the tyres have about 5-6mm of tread and have been through two MOT's, to my surprise each time! (this isn't a sudden degradation).

The damage is mostly on the outer edge but also inner (less so).

I discounted alignment issues just based on how long they've lasted!

As mentioned, I'll be binning them off soon, just curious.

[Pica-Pica]

They don’t look good. We had Quatrac 5s on a Fabia, they did not do that, but they did have a circumferential crack/wear groove, all the way round, just a centimetre from the tyre rim (always kept to correct pressure). I changed to Toyo Proxes Comfort, because they were on a cheap offer, and reviews were good enough.