Tyres too old ?

[muskrat]

As far as I can work out... the tyres on my S3 are just over 9 years old... still plenty of tread... just not many miles per year. How worried should I be ?

Mike

[markbigears]

Well my S3C is still on the original RE71 that it had fitted from new in 1991!
I turn them regularly all year and they have no cracks and look in new condition.
Not sure of the long term problems are with rubber this old?

[muskrat]

My googling suggests most manufacturers suggest you replace them after 10 years regardless of condition.

Mike

[gifdy]

I got a bit of a surprise yesterday - I replaced the tyres on mine after ~5 years. They were Pirelli P9000 which still had tread on them but are rock hard ( plus I drive like a big jessie ). When the garage took them off the rims the sidewalls split. I don't know if the guy was having me on but he said the tyre blackener I was using weakened the walls ( the silicon based stuff ). He may just have been a bit enthusuastic taking them off & was covering himself , but I'm glad I changed them. Could have been nasty if they had split mid-hoon.