Tyre age

[DougX]

Having obtained a 1999 XJ8 3.2L 5 months ago, I have only just looked at the tyres age. As the car has very low mileage and all the tyres have plenty of tread, no bulges or cracking, I assumed they were Ok. However, I now find that three were made in 2007 (12 years old) and remaining tyre is an original (20 years old). I would welcome comments from other members regarding the need to replace these tyres and why.

[ptjs1]

Doug,

If it were my car, I would change the tyres immediately. My reasons?

Tyres deteriorate through a combination of age, UV exposure and use. The compounds in your tyres will mean that the rubber has started to harden. "Block-hardening of the tread blocks will affect the ride, the grip on the road and the ability of the tread to shed water in the rain. Block-hardening can cause tram-lining, vibration and a very unpleasant ride. The UV exposure can cause cracking of the tread and particularly the sidewalls, even if you can't see it. I had some 6 year old Pirelli 6000 tyres on my XJS with great tread but really bad block-hardening. They looked ok to the eye but once removed the sidewalls almost fell off the carcass due to cracking all around the tyres. I had changed them only just in time! Pirellis were so bad at that, with litigation cases in the US, that the 6000 225/55 was discontinued. Also, if your tyres are that old but with good tread, the car must gave been sitting unused for periods of time. This will mean that the tyres also flat-spot due to lack of rotation.

It's a personal choice but I'd be on the internet looking at Black Circles prices right now. You'll sleep easier!

Good luck

Paul

[Besidetheseaside]

Everything Paul said x 2. I fitted new P6000 tyres 10 years ago on my XJ40 and they were well past their realistic use by date at that age. Despite them still having 5-6 mm tread they were cracking up and turning hard and white lining all over the place. I fitted a new set of Falkens and the car was completely transformed, more grip, no white lining and an amazing and very welcome reduction in road noise, and they cost less than the Pirellis did 10 years ago

[DougX]

Following on from my previous post in 2019, I fitted 4 new Accel Ecoplush XL 225/60R16 tyres. Just had the car MOT'ed today and was horrified to see an advisory indicated about my tyres - Quote " Tyres slightly cracking or perishing on outer side walls". On looking for myself, they were all indeed cracking. Obviously, any warranty has expired years ago, but I didn't expect to see this remark after only 4 years and less than 10k miles undertaken. Now need to find replacements. Would welcome suggestions.

[ptjs1]

Doug,

I know that tyre budget and choice is a very personal issue, and I'd not heard of Accelera tyres before. Having had a quick look, you'll appreciate that they really are a very cheap tyre. Their rating on Whattyre.com is a seemingly very low 4.33 out of 10. So maybe not entirely surprising on their deterioration?

There are some very good tyres out there below the price point of the premium brands, but not in the real budget category. I have Hankook Ventus Prime3 on my 4.0 XJS. I've also heard good reports on some of the Falken tyres that some XJS owners have fitted.

Good luck with your choice

Paul

[DougX]

Thanks Paul for the link to 'Whattyre.com', very informative. I have also noted that the tyres on my car are in fact Summer tyres, when in fact I only use the car between October and March, then it is SORN and I get my convertible XK8 out on the road. So obviously I have the wrong tyres on the car. Reading further information on cracking tyres on the Kwick-Fit website (https://www.kwik-fit.com/blog/why-are-my-tyres-cracking) it would appear that as the MOT station didn't fail the car regarding the tyres, only highlighting the issue under an advisory and because I only undertake around 3k miles a year, I will run with them at the moment and just undertake a monthly inspection to see how they are going. When the need arises I will ensure I purchase some winter tyres. I also noted that although I purchased them new from a local garage in March 2019, on inspection of the tyres, I found that they were in fact made in 2017! so they were two years old when I purchased them. Something other members ought to check when purchasing tyres. There are plenty of websites on the 'net' showing how to check the date of the tyres. For me, a lesson learnt!!

[DougX]

I contacted the manufacturers and received this response:

"Tyre shelf life is 5 years and installed tyres life could go up to 3-4 years if the mileage is very low like yours..............It is recommended to change tyres after 2 years to ensure safety."

I would welcome other forum members responses to this comment.

[andypryce]

2 years! Don’t think so, decent quality tyres should be good for at least 5 years, personally I am happy to use tyres up to 10 years old, as long as sidewalls look fine.

[Davidqhog]

I saw a recent repoprt in the JEC mag by Swallows Racing saying they found Yokohama tyres were really good. Don't know if anyone has tried them on a 308 yet.

DQ