Hi guys I know these slicks are tube type, but the sidewall cracks still worry me, the people that are selling them just bought a house and these were there, asking $100obo http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/pts/2880832025.html heres a better up close pic, are these worth it considering the cracks appear to be very minor ?? these people have no clue what they have, planning on checking them out tomorrow around 2pm est, hoping they have very little wear and the "wear dots" are still there and that the cracks are superficial,

-Mike

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I am the Guardian, I hate helos, everything leaks.......

Believe it or not, tires actually have an expiration date, after which they are deemed unsafe and should be discarded. About 6 years is this lifespan, whether they have been used or sitting in a warehouse. The trick is deciphering the code on the sidewall to determine when they were made to find out how old they are. There are several websites that can help do this. Don't be surprised when buying new tires for your passenger car if they aren't already several years old before you bought them.

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!

I'm not sure why but the Goodyears are known for this. My neighbor has 4 stock class cars and his are all cracked. Even the latest radial Goodyears. Some people will use them and won't worry, I would have to think twice. Just a thought.

I'm curious to know where you got the 6-year figure. While it's true that tires do age as they sit some tires in storage as in use are considerably more durable than others. Still, I bought my last tires from The Tire Rack because they don't sit around long.

BTW, the date code is simply the week and year the tires were made. For example, 0111 would be the 1st week of 2011.

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Joshua

I saw a documentary about a crash that killed 2 high school kids that took a trip for spring break. One kids dad bought 4 new tires for his car just hours before they left for their trip. Only 100 miles into the trip,one of the tires delamenated causing them to crash. Naturally, this raised a red flag for the dad who just bought the tires only hours prior to this accident. It was determined that the tires were 6 years old, even though the tire store that sold them only had them less than a week prior to selling them. The NTSB got heavily involved with this documemtary and was also trying to get the DOT to release their findings to the public. Granted, most tires don't last that long, it still shows they begin to break down and deteriorate sooner than was previously thought. Buyer beware I guess.

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!

Most chinese tires are pretty lousy. I'll add that old Firestone LSR tires stored properly, or actual racing tires made in the US are made of stouter stuff than whatever was kindest to the old man's wallet.

It's still good to check the date code. Old tires are more likely to fail. Performance tires aren't as much a problem, but cracks indicate UV exposure. In a low horsepower situation, likely not as much an issue as if you were going to put a big horsepower nitro mill to work on them.

You be the judge. It was enough to make you ask the question. I wouldn't run them. Go buy a new set at the track. Cheaper there. Really! I can buy a set from Goodyear at the track and have them mounted for less than I can get them for shipped to me from Summit.

The internet for things like this, generally, sucks.

CJ

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Thanks for all the help guys, yea I used to work at firestone, so i know about the date codes, i was planning on autocrossing these on my 2dr volare, but again it bugged me about the cracks, but criminey i dont even see this size listed anywhere so they have to be pretty old, so definitely not worth it to me, a smaller (width) good year was about $160 apiece from crubmpit racing, gonna check with my local speedshops and see what they can do for me for prices on aero race 15x8's and some goodyear eagles, like a package deal,

-Mike

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I am the Guardian, I hate helos, everything leaks.......

Mike,
You know about date codes. Just curious, what is the date code on the Goodyears?

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61, 62, 63, 64 Valiants
62 Lancer
64 Darts
66 Barracuda
64 D100
77 Aspen

FYI

old racer told me back in the day @ 75-80
@ the end of the track /tire blew/car rolled/drive had no seatbelt on/flew out car/dead

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slant six's RULE!
http://www.usajon.com

not sure Bruce, like i said the person didn't even know what they had that they were selling, not really worried at this point just going to look at new ones for piece of mind lol

-Mike

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I am the Guardian, I hate helos, everything leaks.......

You will really need to cut up your car or lift it to the sky to fit those tires anyway. Not worth it. I doubt I would ever put Firestone tires on my car if someone gave me a brand new set.

I have used old tires and new tires with only 4 flats in 24 yrs (3 were slow leaks and could drive on it). Not so wild about cracks, although I have driven hard on cracked tires (never racing tires, tho)...

Lou

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