old tires

[Fozzer]

A careful examination of a very old tyre will reveal cracks in the walls of the tyre, especially when deflated under the full weight of the vehicle..

In England, the annual, compulsory, MOT (Ministry of Transport) vehicle examination test of all road vehicles, involves an examination of the condition of the tyres.

Any faults will result in a vehicle failure and the offending tyre(s) must be replaced, and the vehicle submitted for a re-test before it can be used again on the roads.

Paul.... ...!

[Hagar]

I was also under the impression that tread separation was a radial tyre problem and not a cross-ply. You will be hard pressed to by a radial in Europe today.

Matt

Did you get this right? The last time I saw a cross-ply tyre on a car was at a vintage car meeting.

[firemonte007]

thank you for posting this...I know quite a bit about cars but was new to me....this even made me curious about how old my new tires that i just put on my jeep last month...I was suprised that they were not as new as i thought...they were made in the december of 2008

[DaveSims]

I have been in the States regularly over the last 20 years and driven more freeway miles that I care to think about. One thing that I always notice is the amount of tyre rubber that can be seen. It would appear that you cannot drive a mile or less without seeing a dead tyre or the remains of one. This is something that you just don't see in Europe. As for tread separation, it is something that is almost unheard of here. When ever I have seen a car that has had a flat in the USA, by the time the car had stopped the tyre is just about shredded. Again in Europe, when this happens, the tyre stays together and quite often is repaired. This brings in the question, does the USA employ different build standards/methods. I was also under the impression that tread separation was a radial tyre problem and not a cross-ply. You will be hard pressed to by a radial in Europe today.

Matt

Most of the tires you see on the highway come from the large commercial trucks.  They often are using retreads on the trailer, and when one tire of 18 goes, are not likely to notice it. 

[expat]

I was also under the impression that tread separation was a radial tyre problem and not a cross-ply. You will be hard pressed to by a radial in Europe today.

Matt

Did you get this right? The last time I saw a cross-ply tyre on a car was at a vintage car meeting.

Sorry you are right. I had just come home from night shift and got it arse about face. Now refreshed, I realise what a load of bollox I had written

Matt