There is a Ford Contour abandoned in a barn on a property I look after. From the plates, it seems to have been sitting there for about 10 years. It has four nearly new tires that look real good-no cracking or other signs of deterioration- and would fit nicely on my Focus. It’s been stored in a dry, mostly dark place. Do you think I should give these tires a go, or am I asking for problems with them sitting in one place like that for so long. Also, the steel rims will work for my car, so I won’t have to put any money into changing them over. What do you think?
Barn car tires worth saving?
- Thread starter subaru1991
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if it's not too much (cost) to swap over to your car, give it a shot.
Normally, even under ideal storage conditions, automotive tires rubber compound will become harden after 7~8yrs time. (My pirellie hardened after 4th year of use, and I blame them on the Brazillian rain forest rubber....)
If you don't get the kind of traction you come to expect from fresh new tires, might as well chuck them. Afterall: you could be into life-n-death situation (during emergency situations) where your thousands of pounds of car's stopping ability relies on 4 contact patches from your 4 tires,with each no more than 1/2 or 1/3 size of a post card contact area.
(*I guess that's where the "stopping on a dime" term comes from*)
Q.
Normally, even under ideal storage conditions, automotive tires rubber compound will become harden after 7~8yrs time. (My pirellie hardened after 4th year of use, and I blame them on the Brazillian rain forest rubber....)
If you don't get the kind of traction you come to expect from fresh new tires, might as well chuck them. Afterall: you could be into life-n-death situation (during emergency situations) where your thousands of pounds of car's stopping ability relies on 4 contact patches from your 4 tires,with each no more than 1/2 or 1/3 size of a post card contact area.
(*I guess that's where the "stopping on a dime" term comes from*)
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Whose car is it? Someone should be able to figure it out. Your getting used tires which are not worth a whole lot. You would need to know the diameter for the bolt holes and offset to see if they would fit.
Wheels are the same. Car has a long ago lien from an out of state bank. They didn't reply to my inquiry. Aside from the age factor, would having the tire sit in one spot for so long create a permanent flat spot? Thump, thump thump, I'm thinking. Probably should just leave them alone, as eventually it's going to have to be towed out of here anyway.
Originally Posted By: subaru1991
Wheels are the same. Car has a long ago lien from an out of state bank. They didn't reply to my inquiry. Aside from the age factor, would having the tire sit in one spot for so long create a permanent flat spot? Thump, thump thump, I'm thinking. Probably should just leave them alone, as eventually it's going to have to be towed out of here anyway.
worth a shot if they're nearly new, same bolt pattern so no money to lose. The flat spots may or may not work themselves out.
Wheels are the same. Car has a long ago lien from an out of state bank. They didn't reply to my inquiry. Aside from the age factor, would having the tire sit in one spot for so long create a permanent flat spot? Thump, thump thump, I'm thinking. Probably should just leave them alone, as eventually it's going to have to be towed out of here anyway.
worth a shot if they're nearly new, same bolt pattern so no money to lose. The flat spots may or may not work themselves out.
NO WAY! If the tires were stored properly off the car, maybe. Had a guy once that wanted me to mount his "great deal" $100 junkyard tires that looked like new tires other than they weren't round at all. Looked at the date code and they were 10yrs old and had sat flat for who knows? Went to balance, and all 4 had well over 1/2 inch of run-out and took a ton of weights. He called me a week later, and said order 4 new tires. Spent a lot of money for nothing, and had to do everything twice.
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Yeah run away from this "deal."
Is your life, the life of your family, and the life of the motoring public worth it to save a few bucks?
Just because it was last registered 10 years ago doesn't mean the tires are 10 years old. Those tires could be 14-15 years old.
They would be OK for a farm car that runs around the farm, but not on a daily driver car that gets used on public roads/highways.
Is your life, the life of your family, and the life of the motoring public worth it to save a few bucks?
Just because it was last registered 10 years ago doesn't mean the tires are 10 years old. Those tires could be 14-15 years old.
They would be OK for a farm car that runs around the farm, but not on a daily driver car that gets used on public roads/highways.
I'll bet it's a V6 with the famous cam drive problem.
I agree with those that say it's not worth the risk.
OK, I'm convinced. The tire stay on the Contour.
They are in fact 4x108, but that's what a Focus uses also, up until very recently when they switched to a 5 bolt pattern. I might use the 14" rims for some 185/70r14 snow tires-a real cheap and effective size for snow tires on this car.
Originally Posted By: subaru1991
Wheels are the same. Car has a long ago lien from an out of state bank. They didn't reply to my inquiry. Aside from the age factor, would having the tire sit in one spot for so long create a permanent flat spot? Thump, thump thump, I'm thinking. Probably should just leave them alone, as eventually it's going to have to be towed out of here anyway.
That happened to me. Took some tires off an old truck that had been sitting for a few years, (no idea how many). The tires looked brand new, but when I put them on my daughter's van, they had developed a flat spot. It wasn't so much "thump, thump, thump" as it was "hop, hop, hop." Especially in the morning when the weather was cool or cold.
My solution was to air them up to 45 pounds. That took the "hop" away, but over time, they started to crack from the high pressure, and, I assume, the age.
Wheels are the same. Car has a long ago lien from an out of state bank. They didn't reply to my inquiry. Aside from the age factor, would having the tire sit in one spot for so long create a permanent flat spot? Thump, thump thump, I'm thinking. Probably should just leave them alone, as eventually it's going to have to be towed out of here anyway.
That happened to me. Took some tires off an old truck that had been sitting for a few years, (no idea how many). The tires looked brand new, but when I put them on my daughter's van, they had developed a flat spot. It wasn't so much "thump, thump, thump" as it was "hop, hop, hop." Especially in the morning when the weather was cool or cold.
My solution was to air them up to 45 pounds. That took the "hop" away, but over time, they started to crack from the high pressure, and, I assume, the age.
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Also the lug pattern is a weird 4x108 or something that only fits Contours and Tempos.
I'm running a 19 year old tire I found under the bed of my F150, former spare, now daily use. No cracking on it, holds air, has traction, all you want.
I've got a 12 year old tire on the ever faithful "Bluesmobile." Looks brand new but it's hard as iron.
A couple of years ago, someone gave me two tires to put on the ever faithful "Bluesmobile." They had been barn stored in a dark, cool place. They even still had the stickers on them and had never been used. Not a crack on them. But they were so hard, no amount of hammering would make them flex enough to go on the wheel. I ended up destroying the bead on one of the tires trying to mount it. I finally threw both of them in the trash. Broke my heart.
Also the lug pattern is a weird 4x108 or something that only fits Contours and Tempos.
I'm running a 19 year old tire I found under the bed of my F150, former spare, now daily use. No cracking on it, holds air, has traction, all you want.
I've got a 12 year old tire on the ever faithful "Bluesmobile." Looks brand new but it's hard as iron.
A couple of years ago, someone gave me two tires to put on the ever faithful "Bluesmobile." They had been barn stored in a dark, cool place. They even still had the stickers on them and had never been used. Not a crack on them. But they were so hard, no amount of hammering would make them flex enough to go on the wheel. I ended up destroying the bead on one of the tires trying to mount it. I finally threw both of them in the trash. Broke my heart.
JHZR2
Staff member
Holy flatspot...
No way. Age, chance of rot, cracking, flat spotting, cost to mount/unmount, etc. False economics.
No way. Age, chance of rot, cracking, flat spotting, cost to mount/unmount, etc. False economics.
My Impala was garaged for 6 months sitting on a dry concrete floor and when I went to use it again, I had a noticeable thumping at lower speeds due to flat spots on tires. The summer heat did not make them reform to a smooth shape again and I just put on 4 new tires and all is well. When the flat spots were at different positions, I thought my rotors were warped because the steering wheel would shimmy. I vote "don't waste your time doing this". My 2 cents....
Originally Posted By: subaru1991
Wheels are the same. Car has a long ago lien from an out of state bank. They didn't reply to my inquiry. Aside from the age factor, would having the tire sit in one spot for so long create a permanent flat spot? Thump, thump thump, I'm thinking. Probably should just leave them alone, as eventually it's going to have to be towed out of here anyway.
Originally Posted By: subaru1991
Wheels are the same. Car has a long ago lien from an out of state bank. They didn't reply to my inquiry. Aside from the age factor, would having the tire sit in one spot for so long create a permanent flat spot? Thump, thump thump, I'm thinking. Probably should just leave them alone, as eventually it's going to have to be towed out of here anyway.
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