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Tire "Life"

Yahoo Message Number: 6320
Many bemoan their motorhome's short tire life. In the Oct '03 issue of *Road & Track* magazine, a reader wrote a letter to the "Technical Correspondence" column reference dried out tires. The following answer was given:

============================================================= "Sure, you can putter around on ancient tires until they rot off the car.
But the fact is, after five years or so, a tire's rubber hardens and provides reduced traction.

"To the typical owner the change is gradual, and on the street the missing grip is rarely noticed because the driver never asks for that much traction in the first place.

"Go to the test track, run at the limits of adhesion and you'll notice a definite lack of grip on old tires. Mount up new ones and the grip magically returns in spades.

"What risks do older tires pose? Tread separation (blowout), or plain old disintegration eventually occurs, although it seems to take around 10 years to reach that point. In the meantime, increased braking distance is probably the most important consideration." ============================================================= So ... the bottom line is that, even if you don't run tires much past the five year point, the hardened rubber decreases their traction, which could lengthen stopping distance or traction loss on a curve, for example. And this is in addition to the potential tread separation/blowout hazard.
Therefore,

replacing tires after the five year mark is a win/win proposition. And it probably doesn't increase ownership cost, 'cause you may be replacing 'em the next year anyway.

Dick (& Geri) Campagna
'98 36' Intrigue #10571
Mfr: 11/97