Just feeling my very old oats (1 Viewer)

Bill low air pressure in a tire can make the tire overheat, more of the tire rubber touches road surface and makes the tire hotter with a possible thread separation.

mooreorless said:

Bill low air pressure in a tire can make the tire overheat, more of the tire rubber touches road surface and makes the tire hotter with a possible thread separation.

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THANK YOU SO MUCH; I learned something. I'll tell my daughter.

Bill

Underinflated tires put a strain on the sidewall produce more heat and w/time can compromise the structural integrity. The auto will not respond as well to steering, wear more on the inside and outside tread and wear out prematurely.

WJC said:

THANK YOU SO MUCH; I learned something. I'll tell my daughter.

Bill

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Off topic but ..........

Bill ..... If your daughter is residing in the AZ desert area, please have her check the date code on the tires or have her take it to Discount Tire and they well be glad to check it for her. You can Google it and find a lot of examples on finding the code and figuring it out.

The AZ summer heat is murder on tires. My general rule of thumb is to not go over 5 years even if there is a lot of tread and the sidewalls look good. The tire can be coming apart internally yet look good.

This is a big safety issue, especially if driving highway speeds on the freeway for longer distances. The faster the speed, the more the heat build up. We have deaths every summer resulting from tire failure at highway speeds causing the car to go out of control and roll. The tire companies my say 7 or 8 years, but not in the AZ summer heat. Vans have it the worst.

https://vimeo.com/80102216

My last set of trailer tires were replaced during the sixth year. The tech showed me where they were coming apart inside even though they had less than 10,000 miles use, were parked in the shade, and looked great. They would have never made my planned trip. These were made in Canada tires, not the cheaper Chinese tires found on so many trailers now.

When buying new tires out here, go to a high volume dealer like Discount and check the date code on the new tires. I won't take them if they are over 4 months old. Sometimes people end up with a tire 2 years old or older. The life is from the date of manufacture, not the date when put into service.

It is not worth the risk of extending the life of a tire if traveling at highway speeds.

BruceH said:

Off topic but ..........

Bill ..... If your daughter is residing in the AZ desert area, please have her check the date code on the tires or have her take it to Discount Tire and they well be glad to check it for her. You can Google it and find a lot of examples on finding the code and figuring it out.

The AZ summer heat is murder on tires. My general rule of thumb is to not go over 5 years even if there is a lot of tread and the sidewalls look good. The tire can be coming apart internally yet look good.

This is a big safety issue, especially if driving highway speeds on the freeway for longer distances. The faster the speed, the more the heat build up. We have deaths every summer resulting from tire failure at highway speeds causing the car to go out of control and roll. The tire companies my say 7 or 8 years, but not in the AZ summer heat. Vans have it the worst.

https://vimeo.com/80102216

My last set of trailer tires were replaced during the sixth year. The tech showed me where they were coming apart inside even though they had less than 10,000 miles use, were parked in the shade, and looked great. They would have never made my planned trip. These were made in Canada tires, not the cheaper Chinese tires found on so many trailers now.

When buying new tires out here, go to a high volume dealer like Discount and check the date code on the new tires. I won't take them if they are over 4 months old. Sometimes people end up with a tire 2 years old or older. The life is from the date of manufacture, not the date when put into service.

It is not worth the risk of extending the life of a tire if traveling at highway speeds.

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Thanks, Bruce:

That was very informative. I think I will send the memo to my daughter in its entirety. She has a proclivity for letting things go as if her world is on autopilot. :cat:

Cheers,

Bill

Our Saab had almost complete tread separation at motorway speeds. A good quality Michelin tyre. Perhaps half the tread parted.
I wasn't driving, but the driver skillfully kept control.
We change tyres well before the necessary 1.5mm tread etc. Also uneven side tread wear and we change tyres.
Always balanced properly.

One day our old Saab 99 was parked at the back. Getting in the car something was odd.
All four wheels were neatly supported on piles of house bricks. No tyres at all or wheels. Strong thieves. We then bought anti thief bolts, but these are not totally safe either.

One day the driver opened the Saab door and was about to start it. It wasn't our car, but an identical one parked very near ours.

Every morning, always, I would go round my car visually inspecting the four tyres.
I repeatedly point out underinflated tyres to drivers. Women go berserk thinking I am about to accost them. They drive off, no doubt to have the tyre fail on the motoway.
Even if I see a tyre low pressure on a parked car I will inform the owner.
It is astounding how many people drive around with faulty tyres.

We anyway keep our tyre pressures slightly high. Better control but slightly less comfort.

The only contact with the road is with your tyres.
Even total brake failure is more acceptable than tyre failure at high speeds.

Also the tyres must be fit for the car's maximum speed.

In Scandinavia tyres fail at minus 40 degrees. The rubber gets too brittle. I suppose Canadian winter tyres are specially made.

I had a set of 4 studded tyres fail from age even stored horizontally.

With binocular FOV. The observer's pupil size also causes changes in measured field sizes.

Aluminum wheels can oxidize at the tire bead and leak there. I know this from having a Chevy Trailblazer. I got new tires and told them the wheels needed cleaned at the bead seat and they did not do it. I never went back to that place.

mooreorless said:

Aluminum wheels can oxidize at the tire bead and leak there. I know this from having a Chevy Trailblazer. I got new tires and told them the wheels needed cleaned at the bead seat and they did not do it. I never went back to that place.

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Steve,

Cleaning bead seats works and it needs to be done regularly with tire changes, particularly on older cars and trucks.

My younger son is in Brazil on a Fulbright for a year. His 2000 Altima is sitting in front of our garage. We couldn't keep 2 of its tires from going flat so I took it up to my garage where they cleaned the bead seats on all the wheels properly and now they aren't losing air anymore.

Bob

I sometimes leave notes on cars with very underinflated tyres.
A complete tyre failure at motorway speeds can be fatal.

I think an abandoned Land Rover was found after 50 plus years with the tyres fully inflated.

Tyre pressures should be higher with heavy loads or higher speeds.
I think the Saab handbook gives different options for tyre pressures.

My Austin 1800 MK II had the hydrolastic suspension pumped up to a higher pressure by the factory as I was carrying half a ton of equipment, telescopes etc.
Also higher tyre pressures and winterised as well with preheaters etc.