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On Mon, 22 Jan 2007 10:45:02 -0600, "Ray O"
<rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom> wrote:
[color=blue]
>
><johnyang97@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>news:1169477699.219094.221760@51g2000cwl.googlegroups.com...[color=green]
>> Hi all,
>> First off-- thanks to everyone for their recent help on the Code 25 on
>> my '89 Corolla-- indeed it was the O2 sensor. With your help I was
>> able to test and replace it myself (got a new Denso part off Ebay for
>> $22!) and save a lot of money.
>>
>> Now a tire question-- this is for my wife's 2000 Civic but this would
>> be a question generalizable to any car-- her car has 44k miles on it
>> and its original tires. We use the Corolla 80% of the time, and the
>> Civic mainly for long highway trips, so it sits around a lot and only
>> gets driven about 4-5k miles a year.
>>
>> I was checking the tires on the Civic and they still have plenty of
>> tread left (maybe 5/16") and are wearing evenly. Around the sidewall
>> of the tires though-- I think it's called the "shoulder", some
>> superficial circumferential wrinkling/cracking has developed. In other
>> words, there's multiple superficial circumferential circular lines
>> going around the 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. There are no cracks on the actual tread itself. The
>> tires maintain their PSI fine and only need about 1 lb added per month.
>>[color=darkred]
>>>From hunting on the web yesterday I was unable to find definitive[/color]
>> information on whether this condition is dangerous or not. "Dry rot"
>> is the term used to describe this I believe. Does the rubber on the
>> sidewall/shoulder area contribute much to the structural integrity of
>> the tire?
>>
>> We may be moving next year (to what kind of climate I don't know yet)
>> and I was hoping to wait until next year to replace the tires, since 1.
>> the climate where we move may favor one type of new tire over another,
>> 2. if we need to sell the car, the buyer might have a certain
>> preference for what kind of tires he/she wants.
>>
>> A couple people have told me that tires can always be used until they
>> lack sufficient tread, but I don't know if this is always the case.
>>
>> What do you think? Appreciate your input,
>> John
>>[/color]
>
>The minimum tread depth is 2/32." Passenger car tires usually have 10/32"
>or 11/32" when new, so the 5/16" on the tires is basically most or all of
>the original tread.
>
>If the cracks in the sidewall are 1/16 (= 10/32) inch deep, then the tire is
>not safe to drive on, since the sidewall is much thinner than the tread. If
>you can see any fabric or metal through the cracks, the tire is unsafe.
>
>If the cracks are superficial, then the tire is probably safe. I recommend
>that you have the tires looked at by a competent technician, preferably one
>that does not work for a place that sells tires.
>
>In the future, some things that will slow down tire deterioration are
>staying away from electric motors and generators, i.e., refrigerators in
>garages, keeping the tire out of the direct sunlight, keeping the tires
>slightly over-inflated (4 or 5 PSI over the tire pressure listed on the car
>door also improves fuel mileage and tread life), and an occasional
>application of a rubber coating like ArmorAll.[/color]

I second the 4 to 5 psi inflation over suggested pressure. I get MUCH
better life out of tires.
downsides (if you consider it) is that the ride is a tiny bit harsher
and some tires are more noisy this way. Worth it to me.