SuzukiSavage.com - NOS Tires- are they safe to use?

John in Kalifornia

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NOS Tires- are they safe to use?
06/27/12 at 16:43:20

Are old tires that still have lots of tread on them or are what is called NOS (New Old Stock) safe to use on the road? I mean those that look good, no cracks in the sidewalls, etc. but have been sitting around for a number of years? There are some tread patterns that aren't being produced any more. Or one may come across the "barn find" that has been in the shed for ten years but the tires look good.

Somewhere I read to rub brake fluid on the tire to get rid of the outer layer of "dead" rubber and expose "fresh" material. Sounds bogus to me. I do know that Armorall on the tread isn't such a good idea.

I think I know the answer but want more opinions.

John in the PRC

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Badass94Cad Senior Member Offline This space for rent Posts: 313 Mass-->Jerz-->PA! Gender:	Re: NOS Tires- are they safe to use? Reply #1 - 06/27/12 at 18:05:34 Bias ply maybe. Radial no way.
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Re: NOS Tires- are they safe to use?
Reply #2 - 06/27/12 at 18:17:05

I'd say no... sitting too long without rotation is not good for a tire... even unmounted... petroleum elements in the rubber will migrate and unbalance the tire... and some parts of the tire will be harder than others creating bad wear pattern...
Same thing happens to old vinyl LP records... Audiophiles rotate their stored albums...

... errr, that's what I've read...

I don't trust old tires... 6 years max for a bike... maybe a bit longer for cars...

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WD

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Re: NOS Tires- are they safe to use?
Reply #3 - 06/27/12 at 21:51:57

Shelf life, from a Dunlop tire catalog circa 2005... motorcycle tires :bias ply 2 years, bias belted 3 years, radial 5 years. P type automotive tires: 5 years. LT tires: 5 years. Agricultural tires (including forestry and mining types): 8 years.

I have a set of pre-1999 tires on one of my trucks. Never leaves the farm. I have a set of tube type bias ply tires on another truck, have been on there since sometime before June 1974 (when the truck was parked) that will still pump up and look great, even hold air for months at a time. Wouldn't try to drive on them on a dare.

I have sold NOS tires at the last bike shop I worked for. Some of them had been stored flat in the original shipping jute since the 1950s-70s. IF you got them to stretch enough to insert a tube, and IF you got them to seat to the rim, and IF the thing didn't explode when weight was applied... they still couldn't be ridden on. Rock hard, crack prone...

Safe rule of thumb for most mc tires? Maximum of 2 years post-production or I don't buy them.

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ZAR

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Re: NOS Tires- are they safe to use?
Reply #4 - 06/27/12 at 21:57:49

WD wrote on 06/27/12 at 21:51:57:

Shelf life, from a Dunlop tire catalog circa 2005... motorcycle tires :bias ply 2 years, bias belted 3 years, radial 5 years. P type automotive tires: 5 years. LT tires: 5 years. Agricultural tires (including forestry and mining types): 8 years.

I have a set of pre-1999 tires on one of my trucks. Never leaves the farm. I have a set of tube type bias ply tires on another truck, have been on there since sometime before June 1974 (when the truck was parked) that will still pump up and look great, even hold air for months at a time. Wouldn't try to drive on them on a dare.

I have sold NOS tires at the last bike shop I worked for. Some of them had been stored flat in the original shipping jute since the 1950s-70s. IF you got them to stretch enough to insert a tube, and IF you got them to seat to the rim, and IF the thing didn't explode when weight was applied... they still couldn't be ridden on. Rock hard, crack prone...

Safe rule of thumb for most mc tires? Maximum of 2 years post-production or I don't buy them.

Very solid advice WD !

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Cavi Mike

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Re: NOS Tires- are they safe to use?
Reply #5 - 06/27/12 at 23:03:31

If the tires aren't dry-rotted, they're fine. Of course a manufacturer is going to say they're only good for 5 years, who do you think makes the money when you go buy new ones?

I only buy used tires and I burn them until they're past the belts, never had a premature failure. I've even burned up dry-rotted tires as well, the dry-rot is typically only a few mm deep anyways but you never know.

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Badass94Cad

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Re: NOS Tires- are they safe to use?
Reply #6 - 06/28/12 at 04:58:42

Cavi Mike wrote on 06/27/12 at 23:03:31:

If the tires aren't dry-rotted, they're fine. Of course a manufacturer is going to say they're only good for 5 years, who do you think makes the money when you go buy new ones?

I only buy used tires and I burn them until they're past the belts, never had a premature failure. I've even burned up dry-rotted tires as well, the dry-rot is typically only a few mm deep anyways but you never know.

Wow, I'm scared to know you are sharing roads close to me.

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ZAR

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Re: NOS Tires- are they safe to use?
Reply #7 - 06/28/12 at 05:35:07

Cavi Mike wrote on 06/27/12 at 23:03:31:

If the tires aren't dry-rotted, they're fine. Of course a manufacturer is going to say they're only good for 5 years, who do you think makes the money when you go buy new ones?

I only buy used tires and I burn them until they're past the belts, never had a premature failure. I've even burned up dry-rotted tires as well, the dry-rot is typically only a few mm deep anyways but you never know.

Gee Mike.....I'll fess up to running tires on my truck like that,but at least there are four of them on the truck!

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Tim37 YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 5	Re: NOS Tires- are they safe to use? Reply #8 - 06/28/12 at 08:52:58 i asked a good friend of mine about a "new" tire i had put up in my shed for a bike. he paciently explained to me. "if you have a blow out on a car your probably gonna be late for work, if you have a blow out on a bike your probably gonna get to ride in a ambulance. now is saving a 100 bucks worth it?"
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splash07 Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 911 Charleston, SC Gender:	Re: NOS Tires- are they safe to use? Reply #9 - 06/28/12 at 08:56:04 Always wanted to ride in an ambulance
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ZAR Serious Thumper Offline Rock this town! Rock it inside out! Posts: 961 Kentucky, USA Gender:	Re: NOS Tires- are they safe to use? Reply #10 - 06/28/12 at 09:06:16 splash07 wrote on 06/28/12 at 08:56:04: Always wanted to ride in an ambulance I've been known to drive them in the past but I ain't gonna ride in one by choice......not after thinking about how we drive them .Worse than a NASCAR race!!!!!!!
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Serowbot YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline OK.... so what's the speed of dark? Posts: 28651 Tucson Az Gender:	Re: NOS Tires- are they safe to use? Reply #11 - 06/28/12 at 09:14:26 splash07 wrote on 06/28/12 at 08:56:04: Always wanted to ride in an ambulance Not nearly as fun as you might imagine... ...
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bess227

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Re: NOS Tires- are they safe to use?
Reply #12 - 06/28/12 at 09:15:30

WD wrote on 06/27/12 at 21:51:57:

Shelf life, from a Dunlop tire catalog circa 2005... motorcycle tires :bias ply 2 years, bias belted 3 years, radial 5 years. P type automotive tires: 5 years. LT tires: 5 years. Agricultural tires (including forestry and mining types): 8 years.

I have a set of pre-1999 tires on one of my trucks. Never leaves the farm. I have a set of tube type bias ply tires on another truck, have been on there since sometime before June 1974 (when the truck was parked) that will still pump up and look great, even hold air for months at a time. Wouldn't try to drive on them on a dare.

I have sold NOS tires at the last bike shop I worked for. Some of them had been stored flat in the original shipping jute since the 1950s-70s. IF you got them to stretch enough to insert a tube, and IF you got them to seat to the rim, and IF the thing didn't explode when weight was applied... they still couldn't be ridden on. Rock hard, crack prone...

Safe rule of thumb for most mc tires? Maximum of 2 years post-production or I don't buy them.

WD,

you are a wise man with lots of miles and experience, from this statement, if you owned my 07, that I bought with 1k miles on it, that i have put 1800 miles on since April 14, would you replace the stock tires that are on it now? the tread is still good and no air cracks.

you guys and your ambulance ride statements have this old man thinkin.

thanks for the help.

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splash07 Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 911 Charleston, SC Gender:	Re: NOS Tires- are they safe to use? Reply #13 - 06/28/12 at 09:18:28 I guess i should amend my statement to say "I always wanted to drive an ambulance."
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Cavi Mike

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Re: NOS Tires- are they safe to use?
Reply #14 - 06/28/12 at 12:25:24

Badass94Cad wrote on 06/28/12 at 04:58:42:

Wow, I'm scared to know you are sharing roads close to me.

And it's good to know you buy new tires prematurely - it keeps the stock piles of cheap used rubber stacked up waiting for me to buy.

Blow outs don't just "happen." The factors involved don't even necessarily come from defects let alone age, they come from under-inflation. When you run a tire under-inflated at highway speeds, they generate enormous amounts of heat. Coupled with, say, a 40ton load, now the heat is too much for the glue holding the tire together. (yes, ALL tires are just glued together by the way, not just retreads). Once that happens, the tread rips off. Since the radial-belts are contained in the tread, all that's left are the bias belts so the tire balloons way out of proportion and explodes.

This is exactly what happened with the whole Firestone saga a few years back as well. Under-inflation.

If you refuse to use a tire that's a few years old, by all means go right ahead and replace them, but don't talk to me like I don't have any idea what I'm talking about.

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