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On Mon, 22 Jan 2007 08:15:59 -0800, johnyang97 wrote:
[color=blue]
> Hi,
> Thanks for your help! By 1/16 I mean depth. Well, they look more like
> wrinkles than cracks. They run the whole side of the tire (in a circle)
> so the length of the cracks/wrinkles is like a 14 inch circle. I remember
> they were there maybe a year ago though I can't remember if they are
> bigger now.[/color]

That's pretty deep! I'd be looking for new tires. In Mass, they won't
pass inspection and you'll be forced to not drive the car.

[color=blue]
>
> I read online that if a car is not driven much, then the special "oils"
> built into a tire do not get to the surface and dry rot is more prone to
> develop. Is this actually true? I'm curious if I'd put more miles on the
> Civic if the tires would actually be in _better_ shape now.[/color]

I'd think it has more to do with the quality of the tire, but I had some
incrdibly cheap tires on an old Grand Voyager that looked new after 4
years, and some newer, more expensive tires that looked horrible!
[color=blue]
>
> My '89 Corolla has 147k and had its tires replaced about 6 years/50k miles
> ago (good quality set from Costco) and are in much better shape than the 6
> year old/44k mile tires on the Civic. Whether this is because the Corolla
> is driven more or b/c the quality of tires on the Corolla is much better
> or both, I don't know.
>
> I can bring the car to Costco (where I would get tires for the Civic if I
> buy now) to ask the guys there what they think of the tires, though I
> don't know if they are experts in dry rot or not.[/color]


I heard a report on NPR a year or two ago, and then reinforced by one of
the Evening News programs: With current tire materials and construction, 6
years is the MAX tire life. They recommended replacing 6 year old tires
with new ones. It has something to do with the way the compunds break down
over time.

[color=blue]
>
> Just curious--how much profit did the Toyota dealer make on tires when you
> were working there?
> I met a guy who's in the rubber business, when I talked to him last year,
> he said wholesale prices for rubber and tires had spiked something like
> 80% with the increase in oil prices these past couple years.
>
> Thanks again for your help,
> John
>[color=green][color=darkred]
>> > sidewall/shoulder area of every tire. By circular, I mean that the
>> > diameter of the circles is just slightly smaller than the diameter of
>> > the tire. By "superficial," I mean maybe 1/16 of an inch or slightly
>> > more.[/color]
>>
>> 1/16th inch? That's a good size crack. (Do you mean length or width? If
>> it's width, get going!) I've driven on tires with 'dry rot' before, but
>> the cracks were the width of a hair.
>>
>> You don't know where you're moving? Get an all season tire and be happy.
>> Oh, and bring the car to the dealer to have a look. They sell tires, but
>> not as a main business, so they won't be as hard sell. They will tell
>> you if they're safe.
>>
>> I had to laugh...the Toyota dealership I worked at sold tires. They had
>> a four tire stack each of four different sizes. If someone came in
>> looking for tires, they were charged full retail price, and then the car
>> was sent to the discount tire dealer down the street![/color][/color]