Car care tips/advice

[mcolford]

So I just replaced my tires, and I had mentioned to the folks at Tire Barn that the last two sets of Coopers I had bought weather cracked really bad fairly early into the tire life (Under 20k of a 50k rated tire).... Only tire I have ever had that happen with, but they claim its because I use a tire foam to keep them clean (used after driving through heavy mud, etc when they were just straight filthy)

Brings me to my question, do you guys use something to treat the rubber, or just leave them be (just wash with the soap from carwash and call it a day).




Side note, I went to the Mastercraft AXT this time, as 2 rounds with that particular tire p****d me off doing that.

 

[mrjarrell]

Just soap from the carwash here and I've never had an issue with my tires cracking on any of my vehicles. I don't bother with the shine 'em up stuff, either. Not worth the time and effort.

 

[eldirector]

How old were those tires? Do you park outside, or in a garage? Sun and water (mostly the sun) can really do a number on tires. I replace my trailer tires due to age (cracking) long before tread wear. It sits outside in the weather 24x7, though. The cars are garaged, and I've never replaced a tire before the tread wears out.

I occasionally use the foaming tire shine stuff. Never had an issue with it.

 

[mcolford]

They usually start cracking right around the 2 year mark.

 

[rosejm]

ElDirector nailed it. Age combines with UV exposure is hell on tires. And they may not have been on the vehicle long, but it's the age since creation (or Born on Date).

I'm not sure if the laws have changed in recent years, but there were no restrictions on selling old tires in the US. Other countries (UK? CA?) limit their age to 5 or 6 years. You can check the sidewall for a date code (usually 4 characters: Tire Date Code on Tire Rack) to determine exactly how old they really are. New doesn't mean 'new', it just means previously unmounted.

And, for better performance/longevity maybe consider a better quality tire. Those Cooper balloons (Mastercraft is a subsidiary of Cooper) aren't exactly top-tier rubber. You do get what you pay for.

 

[Jaredjosh]

ElDirector nailed it. Age combines with UV exposure is hell on tires. And they may not have been on the vehicle long, but it's the age since creation (or Born on Date).

I'm not sure if the laws have changed in recent years, but there were no restrictions on selling old tires in the US. Other countries (UK? CA?) limit their age to 5 or 6 years. You can check the sidewall for a date code (usually 4 characters: Tire Date Code on Tire Rack) to determine exactly how old they really are. New doesn't mean 'new', it just means previously unmounted.

And, for better performance/longevity maybe consider a better quality tire. Those Cooper balloons (Mastercraft is a subsidiary of Cooper) aren't exactly top-tier rubber. You do get what you pay for.

Excellent INFO. Practically the post I was thinking of creating when I was reading the original post. ^^^

 

[pute62]

Problem #1 dealing with Tire Barn

 

[churchmouse]

#2 is buying Cooper tires.

 

[jimmythang]

Do you store fertilizer where you park?

 

[CountryBoy19]

The only tires I've had crack pretty bad are the tires on my truck and thats because it sits outside and gets used once every couple weeks. The tires on it are super cheap for that reason. I will NEVER burn through the life of the tread so I'd rather put cheap ones on and replace them when they crack too bad.

FWIW, tires WILL ALWAYS crack a little. Even if the crack isn't noticeable there are surface cracks there. The depth of the crack is what is more critical and that is what differs with different quality of tires.

I've never had a problem with Michelin, Goodrich, & Uniroyal tires. They really have their stuff together when it comes to making tires. My last set of Uniroyal Tigerpaws on my daily driver went over 70,000 miles and were replaced with the exact same tire for hopefully another 70,000 miles (if the car lasts to that point it will be a good car for one of my nephews or something...)

 

[JettaKnight]

I just replaced my Michelin LT2's after four years - still plenty of tread. The cracking was premature enough for an $89 buyback per tire.

Why? UV exposure. One of the Michelin trained QA engineers looked at them and nodded, "Yep. That's just how it is." Everything in engineering is a tradeoff. Want great performance? Then the life will be reduced.

From what I've been told Michelin has change the compound since then to reduce the cracking. I'm looking into UV protection spray.

 

[mcolford]

I just replaced my Michelin LT2's after four years - still plenty of tread. The cracking was premature enough for an $89 buyback per tire.

Why? UV exposure. One of the Michelin trained QA engineers looked at them and nodded, "Yep. That's just how it is." Everything in engineering is a tradeoff. Want great performance? Then the life will be reduced.

From what I've been told Michelin has change the compound since then to reduce the cracking. I'm looking into UV protection spray.

If you find something effective, I would love to know more about it!

 

[Leadeye]

My show car has Cooper Cobras on it, gets tire shine all summer when it goes to shows and then back in the garage. No problems so far.

 

[mcolford]

Im planning to start parking the Jeep inside more, as during the summer, the Harley is my primary transportation. During the winter, I lose my garage spot to the wife, no questions asked. Other garage bay is home to the Harley and the four wheeler..

Hopefully that will help some.

 

[JettaKnight]

I just replaced my Michelin LT2's after four years - still plenty of tread. The cracking was premature enough for an $89 buyback per tire.

Why? UV exposure. One of the Michelin trained QA engineers looked at them and nodded, "Yep. That's just how it is." Everything in engineering is a tradeoff. Want great performance? Then the life will be reduced.

From what I've been told Michelin has change the compound since then to reduce the cracking. I'm looking into UV protection spray.

If you find something effective, I would love to know more about it!

Come back around to this after talking with the Michelin QA guy.

He said just leave them alone. Any spray will prevent the rubber's natural oils from moving in and out and doing its job. The tire is designed to protect itself as much as possible.* His last warning: never use ArmorAll!




* See post #11

 

[Brandon]

What shiner are you using?

 

[Informed Decision]

Like Leadeye , my show car also has Cooper cobra's on it. I also use tire shine but instead of spraying the tire, I spray onto a sponge & wipe it on. My tires are about 6 years old. They do have cracks but they're very small. I have heard never to use ArmorAll on tires. I remember some of the old guys, (older than me) used to wipe cars tires down with brake fluid. Problem is... Any protection we ever do put on will only be to the outside. Only people I've seen do the inside is guys with jacked up trucks/big tires.

My Cooper's have probably 30000 miles on them.

 

[Vamptepes]

Friend of mine is a Manger at tire barn. He said he's seen a lot of tires come back for cracking. Only yo find out the people were using armor all on them. Which I guess is a petrol based product so it eats at rubber. Also I know from experience that tire slime is better than fix a flat. Fix a flat softens the inside and makes a nasty mess to fill in the hole.