spare tires

[Timmy-The-Ute]

I just had my tires replaced. I got some Coopers to replace my Michelins. Now I had less than 30,000 miles on them but they were over 5 years old and showed a lot of cracks in the treads and side, a sign of rotting. But I checked my spare and though it was older than the set of Michelins I had, it showed no cracking. The spare was a bit stained but the rubber still looked fresh. Though I haven't driven on it, the space is exposed to a lot of weather and moisture and as I said it is an older tire, why was there no cracking?

 

[Bob McDonald]

My first guess would be because since the spare had not been on the ground, it had not experienced any flexing. But that is only a guess.

 

[Yardsale]

Tire cracking is typically from sunlight-caused UV breakdown. Not much sunlight under there.

 

[Timmy-The-Ute]

Will something like this help stop cracking? [Broken External Image]:

 

[Yardsale]

They are supposed to help, but you have to put them on - all four - each time you want protection. If this is your daily driver, it may be an inconvenience.

 

[Richard L]

Tires have a date code on them. Some tires may have sat on the tire store warehouse shelves for 5 years or more before they were sold and installed on your vehicle. When tires start to crack early in their life, it usually means they were old tires.



If you bought those tires more than 4-5 years ago, it is likely that they are just getting old. Also, check the date codes and see when the tires were made. The cracking is accelerated by sunlight, but it is old age that is the main cause.



...Richard

 

[Dre L]

Florida sun has made my 2 year old BFG's show some cracking. The set that was on there before these had 4 years of NY/NJ sun, snow, salt, and sand, and 2 years of FL sun, salt, and sand. They were cracking inside out and all around, but it was the balding edge that made me replace them.



... and you should see some of the tires these Floridians drive around on.