mk1-forum.net

are these useable on the streets?

They seem to look OK on the sidewalls at least but the rubber could be degraded. How old are they? How have they been stored? Having to cope with the weight of a car, acceleration, breaking cornering etc after years of inactivity may show up their short comings at the worst possible moment.
I know it's somewhat different but the touring caravan industry recommend changing a tyre - no matter what it looks like - at 5 years.
It's really not worth putting your life and others at risk for the cost of a set of tyres.

The FAQ seems to suggest I can attach a file (as does the facility below) - can anyone see it??

Looks good to me - this USED to be a G'year Rally Special....

Cheers, Ian

Pic worked fine! Which is more than can be said about the tyre!

M

In answer to the original question I thought a picture worth a thousand words....

And it happened on a a smooth urban freeway at about 40 mph. The failure was simply one of age....

At the time I was more worried about the original Minilite it was attached to.

Cheers, Ian

I used to use the tarmac Rally Specials as road going tyres in the 1970's as there were not many 165 section 10" tyres available back then......they are all far too old to use safely now though, modern tyres are date coded due to some old tyres on little used caravans and classic cars causing serious accidents. An MGB driver was killed a few years ago after an old tyre let go on the motorway at speed......grip also degrades significantly after 5-7 years as the rubber ages and goes hard.
More:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1279

"..grip also degrades significantly after 5-7 years as the rubber ages and goes hard..."

I agree but I think we are talking 20 to 30 years not 7

Cheers, Ian

Keep them as show items on a spare set of rims - look good at a static display.
Try something like Dunlop SP Sport Aquajets if you want traditional looking tread pattern - or Yoko A008's if originality is less important.

Bridgestone Advice:
How old is too old?
This is a subject of much debate within the tyre industry and no tyre expert can tell exactly how long a tyre will last. However, on the results of experience many tyre companies, including Bridgestone, warrant their tyres against manufacturing and material defects for five years from the date of manufacture. Based on their understanding a number of vehicle manufacturers are now advising against the use of tyres that are more than six years old due to the effects of ageing.

Tyre Ageing Mechanism
There are three main mechanisms of tyre ageing. The first involves rubber becoming more brittle. Sulphur is used to link rubber molecules together during vulcanisation with the application of heat and pressure, giving the rubber its useful elastic properties and strength. As the tyre absorbs energy in the form of light, heat or movement the tyre continues to vulcanise. This ongoing vulcanisation causes the rubber to become stiffer and more brittle.

The second mechanism of tyre ageing is oxidation involving oxygen and ozone from the air compromising the strength and elasticity of the rubber and the integrity of the rubber to steel bond. Basically heat and oxygen cause cross linking between polymer chains (causing the rubber to harden) and scission of polymer chains (leading to reduced elasticity).

Thirdly, breakdown of the rubber to steel-belt bond will occur due to water permeating through a tyre and bonding with the brass plate coating on steel belts. This causes the steel to rubber bond to weaken leading to reduced tyre strength and reduced heat resistance. If compressed air used for inflation is not completely dry, tyre strength will be affected over time. Even unused tyres will become more brittle, weaker and less elastic with exposure to water, air, heat and sunlight.

The chronological age of any tyre can be found on the tyre sidewall by examining the characters following the symbol "DOT".
For tyres manufactured after the year 1999, the last four numbers identify the date of manufacture of the tyre to the nearest week. The first two of these four numbers identify the week of manufacture (which range from "01" to "52"). The last two numbers identify the year of manufacture (e.g., a tyre with the information "DOT XXXXXX2703” was manufactured in the 27th week of 2003).

For tyres manufactured prior to the year 2000, three numbers instead of four indicate the date of manufacture. Also, during the early 1990s, a triangle was added (▲) to the end of the character string to distinguish a tyre built in the 1990s from previous decades (e.g., a tyre with the information "DOT XXXXXX274 ▲was manufactured in the 27th week of 1994).

miniminor wrote:Keep them as show items on a spare set of rims - look good at a static display.
Try something like Dunlop SP Sport Aquajets if you want traditional looking tread pattern - or Yoko A008's if originality is less important.

.....chuck em rather than use em.. better yet yoko ao32 road race.. stick like ***t.. if u can still get em... foxy52