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MG MGB Technical - tyres

quick question re old tyres,The tyres on my mg are about ten years old still loads of tread but i noticed lots of cracking to the walls of the tyre, my instinct is to replace them but a friend advised me not to he said "this is a common occurence with classic cars ".Any thoughts on this?
R Henderson

Ten year old tyres are a hazard to your health if you are driving the car. They are ready to disintetegrate and the rubber compounds have hardened and no longer provide good traction. Do yourself and everyone on the raod with you a fovor and replace the tyres, you will be glad you did. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

I fully agree. Not only can they disentigrate at speed but you will be absolutely amazed at the difference a new set of tires can make in ride, noise and handling. It will feel like you just had the entire suspension system rebuilt. I know this from personal experience, as I was in the same situation as you once with an MG.
Steve Simmons

Don't risk it. Had a similar aged tire with tons of tread blow out while my son and I were next to an 18-wheeler. We were in a pickup, not a MG, but I wouldn't want to do it again.
Glenn

I just replace my original '79 Michelins (23K mi) last year for the same reason. I wasn't driving hard or fast, but now that I have new rubber, I just might.

I replaced them with Sumitomo HTR 200s (175-70R14). They were relatively inexpensive on Tire Rack and they handle so nicely (though I still baby the car a bit).
drewb

And do more miles on the new ones!.......You do not appear to be going far enough, they should be wearing out before the sidewalls crack-up !

Mike
Michael barnfather

Sidewalls is one thing, grip is another. I was driving through a rainstorm in my midget some time ago, on 12 year old tyres. Lots of thread, but in the wet I suddenly had so little grip I was really scared.

I believe modern thinking is that tyres should not be more than six years old.
Tore

I have CH51 165/R14 Continentals on my GT that were put on around 1992. They show no signs of and still handle well, 80-90% tread left. They have a harder compound I am told and last longer. Think it's true? Don't want to drive on borrowed time!
Samuel Sullivan

Samuel - I think that Tore's comments are the answer to your question. See what the handling is like on wet pavement and make your assessment on that. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

I had a similar experience to Tore last summer. Ran into a brief rain storm with 10 year old tires with good thread, nearly lost control of the car. Normally, I don't go out in rain, this caught me by surprise because the car handled OK in dry weather. The rubber of the old GoodYears had hardened, and was a problem when wet. Changed over to a set of Yokohama Avids this past winter, noticeable improvement in handling. Well worth the $200 I paid for the set.
Joe D.

well thanks every one for your comments that really does answer that question for me looking forwaed to the new rubber
R Henderson

This thread was discussed between 04/07/2004 and 06/07/2004

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