Tires

[72cut]

Found a guy selling 4 new tires for $140, still have plastic wrap on them. I can see Custom 428 A/S on the sidewall. I think they are made by Eldorado? Not familiar with this brand. Anyone have experience with them, good for comanche?

[72cut]

They are 225 75 15s

[jdog]

I haven't heard of the brand but A bit of googlefu says Cooper makes them.

Looks like a cheap tire, do some research and make sure you are actually getting a deal. Only thing I came to say is check the date code, most tire stores will not touch them if they are over 5 years old.

[schardein]

Yep, same advice as above, google how to read the date code on the tires.  If they are more than a couple years old, even if they are brand new/unused, don't buy them.

[Smokeyyank]

3 hours ago, jdog said:

Only thing I came to say is check the date code, most tire stores will not touch them if they are over 5 years old.

 

Yep, this. Regardless of brand tire date would be my main driver for used tires. 

[72cut]

Thanks all

[gogmorgo]

No one cares about the age of a tire other than people who sell new tires. . When inspecting a tire there’s criteria for tread wear and damage, but there’s nothing in the inspection manuals about age other than limiting the depth of age cracks to around 1/8” in the sudewall. If tire age was a serious concern it would be called out during a safety inspection.

 

That said, they’re $100 tires brand new at Walmart. I’m sure they’ll hold air and keep you rolling around if you’re in desperate need and can’t afford anything else. But when all that’s holding you on the road or trail is four little patches of rubber, do you really want to go with the bare minimum? 

[pizzaman09]

On 1/26/2024 at 8:27 AM, jdog said:

I haven't heard of the brand but A bit of googlefu says Cooper makes them.

Looks like a cheap tire, do some research and make sure you are actually getting a deal. Only thing I came to say is check the date code, most tire stores will not touch them if they are over 5 years old.

I ran into this when I asked a tire shop to look into why my spare was leaking.  They wouldn't look at it as it was over 5 years old.  

 

I work in the rubber industry, there is no technical reason why an old tire would be bad if it's been more or less unused.  Obviously look for dry rot, but generally if rubber has been kept in an area where is isn't attacked by ozone, it will be just fine.

Specifically I work in helicopter elastomeric parts, think the rubber bearings that hold the blade to the rotor.  The industry standard is to allow any part up to 5 years after the cure date to be installed.  After that there is no calendar life for removal from aircraft, simply on condition inspection for removable criteria.  Most natural rubber products like tires will stiffen as they age, a lot of this stiffness will break back down with use but the tires will be on average stiffer which is usually not helpful for grip and comfort.

[schardein]

I'll relate a personal experience.  I used to own a 2001 Chevy Silverado 2500HD.  It was high mileage, but in mint condition.  No dents, no rust.  I ran across a set of brand new Michelin tires in the factory size for a great price.  The only downside, they were 5 years old.  I bought them and had them installed at a local place (I live in a very rural area).  Fast forward four months, I make a 1200 mile road trip.  Half way through the trip, the passenger front tire blew out, with a portion of the tread separating from the tire.  The chunk of tread dented my fender, ripped off the fender flare, damaged the plastic shrouding on the top of the front bumper, broke a clip on the lower air dam on the front bumper, and put a dent in my lower rocker panel just below the passenger door.

 

Only blowout I've ever experienced on my own vehicle in my life.

 

I'll never know for a fact that the aged tire contributed to the failure, but that's what I believe.  All that damage to a mint truck to save a couple hundred dollars.

 

I would trust 5 year old tires that came off a running, driving vehicle, before I would trust completely unused 5 year old tires.

[gogmorgo]

I had to go rescue a friend a couple years ago because a new tire that was only six months old did that on the way home from the tire shop. $#!& happens. Didn’t even make it thirty miles home, and she felt it let go before her tire pressure light came on, and then discovered her car only had an inflation kit instead of a jack and spare.

 

I’ve also got a barn-find car parked outside on tires that are date stamped ‘97. Took a bit to figure that one out because they switched from three to four digit date codes in 2000. I’ve had it down rough gravel roads in the mountains. I’ve driven the snot out of the car going up and down steep twisty mountain roads. I’ve had it up over 85 mph. I’ve driven it 200 miles in one go at 65mph on a hot day. I’ve put almost 5000 miles on them in the last four years, still plenty of tread and no age cracking, no issues with them holding air either. I’ve even driven them on snow and ice and while I can’t pretend they’re that great in comparison to the studded Hakkas and X-Ices on my daily drivers, they’re not really any worse than a KO2 either. Its a low bar, I know, but it means they’re definitely not rock hard.
I’m not going to argue that it’s a particularly smart move, and I do intend to replace them, it just hasn’t presented itself as a very pressing concern, and they’re a bit of an oddball size and any time I’ve looked into it I haven’t found a tire I’ve liked. 

That all said, I’ve recently handled some tires less than three years old with significant age cracking. Moral of that particular story is don’t leave your winter tires sitting outside in the sun all year. But it’s also another anecdote as to why regulated safety inspections care more about the condition of a tire than its age.