Four year old tyres - Avons

[stephen low]

So chaps have seen some supposedly 4 yo Avon tyres barely used for sale. What is the likely risk with these in respect of tyre degredation - hardness or any other issue?
cheers

[Gav]

They will be fine for the right price!
You won't be needing brand new rubber to begin with one would think.

[stiffy]

Flash,

Pete's son has been running my old 5 year old Avon's at the Nationals
For the past 2 years, he is still faster.......

They wil be fine, the best 15 inch tyre in the World.


Stiffy

[guye]

Just check they are only 5 yo from manufacture and not that the owner has only had them 5 years!

[stephen low]

Thanks lads.

Just an opportunity I saw but might not take but thought I'd ask the question anyway.

Where is this manufacturing date moulded into the tyres Guy?

[750hp]

As Gav says, for the right price they're definitely worthwhile.
This is an Avon CR6ZZ
"0506" is the 05th week of the year, 06 is 2006.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/pr...A=w443-h332-nc

[tomcat racing]

Old tyres are fine as long as you dont thrash them, i bought the last set of Bridgestone steel belted 60s the old tread pattern, available in Australia in about 1994 for my XY ute, when they discontinued them, they are now over 20 years old and still on the car and now they look quite nostalgic, very rare. The key to preserving old tyres is to lanolin grease the sidewalls, it preserves the rubber and keeps it plyable, the car was in storage for 11 of those years, just my 2 cents worth.

[albanycobra]

Avons are great tyres, i have them on my 40, they grip so well and look so right.

[Tom Wells]

Stephen,

How lucky do you feel

Used tires are at best a dice roll.

Deterioriation can take place internally due to aging, temperature and/or impact.

Cracks can appear in the surface, but can also grow unseen in the interior, as rubber compounds are "alive," that is, changing over time. Tires are vulcanized at the point of manufacture but this does not necessarily freeze their physical and chemical structure at that point. Further changes will occur as they age, even in ideal storage conditions. Adhesion of the rubber to the embedded tire cord, or between the layers of rubber can change and weaken over time.

If tires are to be used as "show car only" where the vehicle isn't driven any appreciable distance and then only relatively slowly, using elderly tires is likely OK. If the tires see use on the street or on the track that's another thing entirely.

Tires over about six years old are suspect. This is not to say they will inexorably fail, but the odds of a failure due to age-related internal weakness does increase. Some track-oriented organizations limit the tires age to three years or less.

The mode of failure in elderly tires can be anything from a slow leak to a sudden scattering of the structure over the landscape.

So, are you feeling lucky?

LOL

Tom

[750hp]

This might look as though it's recently rolled off the Summernats burnout pad, but it was just a really (really!) old Pirelli Cinturato tyre that looked in perfect condition one minute and lunched itself in a blaze of glory the next.

[Donunder]

Well now I've seen it all.

No, not the tyre..... but what's a detailing kit doing in your garage?

[750hp]

Hahaha you smartie!
I thought you would have spent more time noticing the Ohlins forks and the 20L avgas container. I hope that's not a pair of jocks on the left hand side of the picture.

[mikeinatlanta]

I would contend that 5 year old tires are about the best you can get...for a burnout contest.

[SPF1061]

Avons are very expensive and I definitely understand the the temptation of a deal. I personally would not buy them. One or two years old? Sure. Four plus years old? No thank you.

[albanycobra]

I think 4 years old will be ok. Any older I wouldnt think about it, if you want the grip out of them then dont purchase as these will be hard. In saying that i think 4 year old Avons will still be much better than a lot of new cheaper tyres.

I bought a set of tyres recently and when i got them I realised they were very old ,close to tens years i think. Now they sit in the rafters to remind me not to waste money.....