JHZR2
Staff member
Tires are old Dunlop sport A2, which is a type that I have had very good luck with. These are in the size 195/70HR14, on my 1981 Mercedes 240 D; don't have a date code with me but I think the tires are roughly 2002-04 vintage.
In early September I caught shrapnel in one tire on the interstate. It slowly lost air because we did not feel any real change or noise right away. But when we coasted down to a stop and saw the tire it was very warm to the touch.
Fast-forward to today when I'm actually trying to get the tire repaired. The car has sent since that event in my garage, because it is just a pleasure vehicle that we used to go to the beach and other pleasure trips. It has a full size spare and metal hubcaps so it looks exactly the same and the tire that was on the spare was an exact match. But I just haven't driven it until last night.
Imagine my surprise when I pulled the tire from the trunk and saw that the tread the surface was very discolored. Keep in mind we had driven on the tire with low or no hair for a little bit at interstate speeds, and as mentioned was a bit warm to the touch. The car maybe sees 1000 miles a year if that, and it is mostly trips between 30 and 50 miles away on the local highways and generally not outside of 150 mile radius. I'm not sure if that makes a difference regarding the antiozonant and UV chemicals inside of the rubber.
The sidewalls of the tire look just fine, it is evident that there was someway on the sidewalls when the car was rolling, but they are a healthy normal black color. It is only the actual tread surface where it meets the road. The tire was stored inside the trunk of the car inside of an unheated garage.
So what do you make of the discoloration of the tire? Is this a sign of heat damage? Heat induced oxidation? Or is this just normal oxidation of a used tire which I would never otherwise see because the tires never sit unused for that long?
Thoughts? Thanks!
In early September I caught shrapnel in one tire on the interstate. It slowly lost air because we did not feel any real change or noise right away. But when we coasted down to a stop and saw the tire it was very warm to the touch.
Fast-forward to today when I'm actually trying to get the tire repaired. The car has sent since that event in my garage, because it is just a pleasure vehicle that we used to go to the beach and other pleasure trips. It has a full size spare and metal hubcaps so it looks exactly the same and the tire that was on the spare was an exact match. But I just haven't driven it until last night.
Imagine my surprise when I pulled the tire from the trunk and saw that the tread the surface was very discolored. Keep in mind we had driven on the tire with low or no hair for a little bit at interstate speeds, and as mentioned was a bit warm to the touch. The car maybe sees 1000 miles a year if that, and it is mostly trips between 30 and 50 miles away on the local highways and generally not outside of 150 mile radius. I'm not sure if that makes a difference regarding the antiozonant and UV chemicals inside of the rubber.
The sidewalls of the tire look just fine, it is evident that there was someway on the sidewalls when the car was rolling, but they are a healthy normal black color. It is only the actual tread surface where it meets the road. The tire was stored inside the trunk of the car inside of an unheated garage.
So what do you make of the discoloration of the tire? Is this a sign of heat damage? Heat induced oxidation? Or is this just normal oxidation of a used tire which I would never otherwise see because the tires never sit unused for that long?
Thoughts? Thanks!