Probably a good thing they're too big. One of the most dangerous things you can do is drive on old tires like that. While they may have been stored bagged, indoors and out of the sunlight, they still deteriorate. And you stand a chance of having a tire failure while you're driving to a car show or cruise in. The only way I'd use tires like that is on a trailer queen.

 

I thought about that and only had in mind trips around here with 45 MPH speed limits at most. The trailer queen car is a good idea. Might put them on ebay for someone that wants the original look.

 

A blowout at 45 MPH can be a not so pretty site. I do believe somewhere on this forum is pics where someone had a tire blowout and the tire pieces did a fair amount of damage to the car itself.

 

MAXIMUM life of any tire is six years.

 

I havent even driven my 65GT in 12 years and my tires are already worn out? lol

 

tires

Too, I would not be afraid of old tires, but I wouldn't use them for anything other than low speed stuff. i have some old ( 25 yrs + ) radials on my fronts that I have restricted to 70mph or less. Those polys are, what 40+ yrs old ? Look them over exceedingly carefully and proceed with caution, LOTS of caution.

LSG

And why do those wheels look so big in one of your pictures ? Did you snap a pic of the tires with the wheel sitting on top ?

 

Too, I would not be afraid of old tires, but I wouldn't use them for anything other than low speed stuff. i have some old ( 25 yrs + ) radials on my fronts that I have restricted to 70mph or less. Those polys are, what 40+ yrs old ? Look them over exceedingly carefully and proceed with caution, LOTS of caution.

LSG

You can play Russian Roulette with a 6 shot revolver and have nothing happen to you 5 times in a row. Does that mean it's safe to do?

 

They do have a shelf life, what that actual life is I do not know. A quick Google search does return a few places saying 6 years. I am sure whatever the shelf life is that it has a decent buffer on it. I have had brand new tires that lord knows how many years sat on a car in a garage and with minimal use just fall apart.

Aren't Poly tires made by some specific places these days or have I had too many beers this week?

 

LSG

And why do those wheels look so big in one of your pictures ? Did you snap a pic of the tires with the wheel sitting on top ?[/QUOTE]

Yes I took the pic standing over tire with wheel sitting on top. Just trying to see what they would look like on the original toque thrust wheels.

 

MAXIMUM life of any tire is six years.
That's news to me I work for one of the largest tire dealers in the us for 28 years I see a lot off older tires that are just fine. They don't just fail because of old age most fail because they are not properly inflated.

 

I agree that most fail due to underinflation. But I've have seen several tires that were properly inflated and failed due to age. Tires don't have an infinite life. They have a finite life.

 

There is nothing in Canada or the US specifically stating what the maximum age of the tires you allowed to use. There are however suggested maximum tire life ages from 5-10 years. Is 5 correct, is 10 correct is 15 correct? Depends on a lot of things from the type of tire, how much it was driven (they claim tires that are not driven as much dry out faster), how it was stored etc. After 5-6 years your tires have probably started to loose some of their performance as the rubber dries out. At some point they deteriorate enough that it can cause a bigger problem as they crack and possibly blow out. Safer to replace in the 6-10 year range than take the risk for me.

 

Most of the larger tire shops won't touch anything over ten years old. Walmart will. I had them turn my whitewalls inside, nobody else would do it. My tires are from 1997. I don't recommend this.

 

I agree with 69bossnine on being in touch with the car and no need to drive over 45. If I could get these to work on my car they would be mounted today and I would be at the Saturday nite cruise with them on my car. As it stands right now I guess they're going on ebay unless I can figure something else out.

 

My experience with Goodyear Polyglasses is that you can't kill them, they're like hockey pucks on steroids.. Not encouragement to be careless, just experience.

The F60-15's on my '69 Mach have been on since around 1996, 7-8 thousand miles on them, including multiple interstate trips into N. Carolina, Georgia and S. Florida for MCA National shows and "Anniversary" shows, and you can hardly see any wear. Hockey-pucks.

 

There must be a lot of people that like to live on the edge. You will note I said the
maximum life of any tire is six years, I didnt say they would fall apart or blow out or self destruct. After six years the rubber compounds will have deteriorated, the belts may have shifted or even fractured, and the UV damage may have occured.
Independent testing labs, such as Consumer Reports and UL have done exstensive
testing on tires and have concluded that after six years of service, most tires are
in need of replacement. Most of us dont drive our classics that much, and we keep
our cars garaged and maintain our tire pressures. I had 1985 Polyglass tires on my
car when I got it in 2010 and watched them crumble as they were being removed
from my rims, it was scary. The guy asked me if I was aware how bad they were when I drove the car to the tire shop, I didn't. I was trying to offer some advice
on how long tires are expected to last, not telling anyone how long to keep
their tires, as every rule has an exception, this one has many. I enjoyed reading
all the stories about how long some have had their tires!

 

Sorry to bring back an old thread..... But how do you maintain older tires (goodyear polyglass)? Is it good to keep they coated with like a tire shine product?

 

I'd say don't put anything on them but i may be wrong...I have a set of original F 70 15 Goodyear polyglass tires i've had stored in a building for many, many years. I've never put anything on them and they still ''look'' good. I know it's best to keep them out of the element's like the sun, etc. That would do the most damage i'd think. Call Coker tire---sure they would know..

 

tires

IDouble, old threads, back from the dead. Cool. I like the tire topic. As stated, i am not afraid of tires that are old, JUST because they are old. A 25-30 yr old tire, made in the USA or Canada, is probably a better tire than a Chinese tire that is 4 or 5 yrs old. Keep in mind that one of the Chinese companies was caught selling tires that were date coded 3 or 4 four years into the future. Age, and age alone, isn't a good indicator of whether a tire is good or not. I 've seen tires 3 or 4 years old, never mounted, that showed dry rot. It depends who made them, where they were stored, in or out of the sun and the heat---You have to inspect the and see how they look. Talk to a tire man, and you'll find that new tires have more petroleum and less rubber than older tires, and they don't age as well. LSG

 

I have 25+ year old tires. They have no dry rot and I do not plan on driving over 45 mph or going very far. So age is not a concern of mine.

I'm just interested in how to best take care of them going forward. Car will be in the garage unless I'm driving it.

 

Kelsey tire sells the tire new, if you really want a period correct bias ply belted tire.
Goodyear Polyglas GT. Personally, I would get a steel belted radial!

 

After 10 years discount tire will not touch a tire unless they are replacing them. But if taken care of correctly, they can last longer. Also, exposure to elements/sun shorten lifespan as noted.

 

Let me see here. Shelf life of tires is 6 years. I presume shelf life is determined by the Mfg date code. Many reputable name brand tires have 6 year x0,000 mile warranty. Some have unlimited time x0,000 mile warranty. They don't specify time limit from production to sale. Seems odd tire makers give a warranty encouraging people to use dangerous tires. Made to order for huemongus lawsuits?

 

Here's a pic of one of the Poly-glass tires I've had for a long time.. I've never put anything on them to protect them. I think the date code is 1994 but not 100% sure on that. Anyone know how to read the date code please let me know..Can't seem to figure it out from what i found on the computer.. I was ''told'' they came off a Boss 302 in the early 70's from the man i got them from.. There are no dry rot/cracks in them at all. They have stored inside since I've had them anyway....If i ever do a Boss clone with my 70 i wouldn't be scared to run them if i decided to..

 

This tire was made in the 9th week of one of the following years, 1974, 1984 or 1994. Because of the way tires were dated prior to 2000 there is no way to know for certain which decade it was made.

 

Thanks Maxum------Guy told me they come off his Boss in the early '70's. Seemed like he was legit.. There's a way to tell if there original takeoffs or repo's but haven't researched enough to tell exactly what decade they may be...Was wondering if there originals or not... I remember seeing where the repo's have some different lettering maybe or something on them....:shrug:

 

Lotta good stuff on Tire Rack site if you enter tire life or tire age.

A tire is a complex assembly of diverse materials whose manufacture involves many hopefully controlled processes.

IMO the 6 yr so called limit is a "safe" estimate that most tires will make under severe conditions. I recommend reading the articles in Tire Rack.

My wife an I have three fairly well controlled examples. Vehicle #1 is her daily drive it to work. She averages 15,000/yr. Parks in a parking building at work and shares our attached 2 car garage at home. Our garage has no electric motors except the side drive (Mustang right rear near ceiling). Insulated, temp varies from 20-90F. No windows. She has put 45,000 on the Firestone Destinations in 3 years. Tires look like new except about 60% tread wear. Vehicle #2 is our occasional driver that is parked outside on the south side of the garage. In the three years of vehicle #1,#2 has been driven less than 2000 miles. The tires on #2 were about 1 1/2 years old with about 20,000 when retired. The two tires on the sunny side are very cracked, looking dried out with well over 1/2 the tread remaining. The two on the north side 2 ft from the garage , no chance for sun have very little cracking.
Other side of the garage is my Stang vert. Has 4 "new" Firestone FR380 white walls. Two are 6 years old, two a 5 years old (on the car). The molding nibs are still mostly still on the treads. Any cracks on these tires must be inside.

I'm not a believer in the no thinking zero tolerance rules. IMO humans have a brain we can use to evaluate a situation. Won't state my deduction...will say this so you can guess...I'm conservative and a registered professional engineer. Prefer to think for myself and come up with my own wrong answer! LOL.