My Mustang just turned 6 years old. I have 17,000 miles on it. I only drove it 1500 miles last year. I've noticed some age cracking (very small) on the edges of the tires.

I've heard that old tires can be as dangerous as worn tires. Does anyone know about aging of tires?

Thanks

 

I was told you should change them if they are 5 to 6 years old. I don't know if that's true anymore.

 

That is still generally true, especially for tires that are mounted on a car year round and face all kinds of weather. Tires stored unmounted in a climate controlled environment may be good for longer, but I try and change my tires no later than 6 years after the build date code on the tire, regardless of how much tread is left or if there is any cracking. SOunds like the OP should be buying a set of new tires soon. I believe there is more info on tire aging on the Tire Rack website in the tire tech section.

 

The tires are the only thing between you and the road, that's how i look at it.

 

You should change them out. even though the have low miles on them they are relatively old. i look at it as a safety thing not a money thing. new tires may be a little costly but it's cheap insurance.

 

Believe me when I say you don't want a blowout!

 

FoMoCo recommends 5 years max on tires. When I'm doing 99p inspections at work, I look for age and cracking regardless of mileage. Rather have a safe customer than a dead one.

 

 

The Michelin TRX tires on my '82 GT are original and are not cracking (it is not stored outside) but I would not drive a long distance at highway speed on them since they are so old.

The tires on my wife's car were 6 years old and needed to be replaced due to significant cracking.

 

Thanks for all the responses. I live near Las Vegas and it is brutally hot here in the summer. I've been looking for some GT500 Take offs, but I need to check the manufacture dates before I buy them. I am only going to drive around town until I get some new tires.

 

Gotta love that heat. What's the altitude in Vegas?

 

About 2000 Feet, it 2300 here.

 

I think it really varies on manufactures. Some seem to show cracking a lot sooner than others. I would not worry too much about the F1's that are on those GT500 take offs.
My winter beater is rolling around on 12+ year old Goodyear snow tires, no issues.
I am taking off my rear F1's today as a matter of fact. DOT code 3807, and the new ones that just came from Tire Rack are 4907, a whopping few months newer, lol. I have confidence in Goodyear tires when it comes to age. Michelin, not so much. Thats about 19 years of experience in the tire industry.
I generally wear my tires out before they get too old anyway, lol.

 

As owner of several older, low mileage vehicles, I've done some research into this issue in the past. (Once even had a letter published about this in Road & Track!)

IMHO, the greater "danger" in rolling on older tires (meaning 5-8 year-old range) then an increased chance of a blowout due to cracking is a deterioration in handling due to the aging rubber.

But 25+ years old is a whole other story. There's a lot to be said for "originality" but personally I would never have tires that old on a vehicle that I actually drove. Whatever you're worried about on a "long" drive could happen on a "short" one, right?

Just my two cents...YMMV.