Dry Rot ... how serious is it? ----

[alwayscode390]

I have a set of tires that cost over $1200 to replace that are starting to dry rot.

They are 4 years old , and only have 5k miles on them.

The outside corners are where the cracking has started.

The cracks are ONLY on the outside corners... not on the center tread, inner corners , or sidewalls (in or out).

Most of the cracks are hairline, but some are looking like they are getting deeper/wider (tugged apart).

I cant tell if its from the sun , weather, or the tire gel I use (probably all 3 things combined).

I have a 2000 mile round trip setup , and dont really have the extra cash for a new set of tires ... PLUS this is really eating at me to throw away a set of tires with 5k miles on them.

A buddy of mine has tires in the same condition , and has put 12k miles on them in the last year ... doing burnouts almost daily with no problems, but he stays in town with the car.

I have 2 spares I can take with me in case I have a blowout.

I wont be going over 70mph, and NO burnouts the entire trip.

Do you think I should be fine , or am I guaranteed to have problems?

THANKS ---

 

[Fighting5thSVT]

Re: Dry Rot ... how serious is it? ----

From 2001 til 2006 I had an 87 S10 Blazer with 88k miles on it. It was in great shape and still had the Laredo Uniroyals from 87 on it. It was my DD. I refused to replace them because that tire was discontunied and I absolutely loved the way they looked with the white letters. Probably not too smart to drive on 16 year old tires, but I live to tell the tale...

 

[GarnetTy1473]

Re: Dry Rot ... how serious is it? ----

I have a set of tires that cost over $1200 to replace that are starting to dry rot.

They are 4 years old , and only have 5k miles on them.

The outside corners are where the cracking has started.

The cracks are ONLY on the outside corners... not on the center tread, inner corners , or sidewalls (in or out).

Most of the cracks are hairline, but some are looking like they are getting deeper/wider (tugged apart).

I cant tell if its from the sun , weather, or the tire gel I use (probably all 3 things combined).

I have a 2000 mile round trip setup , and dont really have the extra cash for a new set of tires ... PLUS this is really eating at me to throw away a set of tires with 5k miles on them.

A buddy of mine has tires in the same condition , and has put 12k miles on them in the last year ... doing burnouts almost daily with no problems, but he stays in town with the car.

I have 2 spares I can take with me in case I have a blowout.

I wont be going over 70mph, and NO burnouts the entire trip.

Do you think I should be fine , or am I guaranteed to have problems?

THANKS ---

You should be ok with small dry rotting. The tires on my '06 Envoy have been dryrotting for 2 years, and we still drive on them. From what I've been told in tire training that I take for work, tire dressing is the main cause of dry rotting. My Envoy is an '06 with 53k miles on it, facotory Michelines have tons of tread, but dry rotted really bad. Plan on replacing them this year if I don't sell it first. We took in another 2006 Envoy on trade a few weeks ago with 74k miles on it. Doesn't look like it's been very well maintained. It's filthy and all beat to hell, but the factory Michelins have less tread than mine, but not a spec of dry rotting. I'm assuming that since they didn't take care of it, no tire dressing was ever used. My tire suppliers have said as long as the cracking is small enough that you can't see the belts, you will be ok. I don't know how much I believe it, but that's what they tell me.

 

[alwayscode390]

Re: Dry Rot ... how serious is it? ----

Awesome, two first hand experiences.

Someone told me I will probably have to worry about the tire going FLAT before it BLOWING on me, is that true?

Thanks a bunch guys ---

 

[GarnetTy1473]

Re: Dry Rot ... how serious is it? ----

Awesome, two first hand experiences.

Someone told me I will probably have to worry about the tire going FLAT before it BLOWING on me, is that true?

Thanks a bunch guys ---

The 2 left side tires on my Envoy lose air, but only maybe 5 - 10 psi a month, but they are cracked really bad. Sidewall has cracking from the tread all the way to the bead, and really bad on the shoulder.

 

[SoCo80p]

Re: Dry Rot ... how serious is it? ----

As long as you're not going to be racing, doing burnouts and other abuse you should be fine.

 

[T-Bone]

Re: Dry Rot ... how serious is it? ----

Someone told me I will probably have to worry about the tire going FLAT before it BLOWING on me, is that true?

Thanks a bunch guys ---

That is in fact true and the leaks, when they begin, will NOT be very rapid at all. In other words, it may take weeks for you to notice a drop in tire pressure has occurred.

 

[Scalarrthu]

Re: Dry Rot ... how serious is it? ----

We buy a lot of RV's, boats and travel trailers that usually have quite a bit of dry rot to the tires and unless the tires are literally coming apart, I have no problem sending them out on a 1300+ mile trip across the border. It's usually never as bad as people make it out to be (especially tire shops).

 

[SYCLONE#1531]

Re: Dry Rot ... how serious is it? ----

This came off my wifes vette that had been sitting in our Garage for 10 years. The scary thing is, We decided to take the car out for drive noticing your normal dry rot on the tires thinking everythings ok, luckily the drive went fine with no issues. Car then sat for two more weeks and 3 out of 4 tires popped apart like this!!!!! This picture is one of the better ones! I know the tires were old but who would have ever thought this could happen!! :rant:

 

[MRKING]

Re: Dry Rot ... how serious is it? ----

If you have to take the trip now and can not afford new tires while still at home , know on the road if an emergency pops up that it will cost you alot more at "joes muffler brake hair salon and gas station diner shop."

2000 miles in a weekend on cracked tires that you put 5k on in the previous 4 years seems risky .
People die from accidental tire ruptures on major highways everyday . Please dont risk it IMHO .

 

[Philntex]

Re: Dry Rot ... how serious is it? ----

The first thing you should do is look at the tire code and get the actual date the tires were made. Could be you have 8-9 year old tires that were sold to you 4 years ago.

 

[blazinmt]

Re: Dry Rot ... how serious is it? ----

I had dry rotted tires on my fullsize pickup this year that showed some cracking on the sidewalls. I came out one morning and they had split completely at the crack and the wheels were just sitting there on the split tires. I was just thankful that it happened overnight in my driveway and not on the road or to my wife while she was driving it. My tires still had tons of tread left too.