Have an 2-3 year old tire, is it safe to use?

seotaji · May 9, 2004

I had just purchased my car and it came with Michelin MXV4 Plus tires.

About 8K miles I got a nail in the tread and the dealer to me to scrap it (I know, dumb me) and get another, which I did.

Now I have this 2-3 year old tire with a nail in the tread sitting on my deck wrapped in trashbags for water protection.

My question is after all this time, would the tire be safe to use if I were to have a professional patch it from the inside?

It has some dirt inside, like water got in and dried, but otherwise it is pristine.

Opinions?

Also, is there anyway to repair the sidewall of a tire if there are pin sized holes? Someone vandalized my tire recently and it's going to cost $200 plus to get it replaced.

THANKS!

SteveD2 · May 9, 2004

The tire should be fine. If you have it patched somewhere ask them if it looks ok to use. Are you saying it's going to cost you $200 for 1 tire??

I've been looking at tires for my jeep...and the most expensive ones are $130. That's a big truck tire...car tires are rarely over $100.

JustinH · May 9, 2004

Run a search for your tire on tirerack.com before you spend 200 bones. Sounds like a bit of money unless you have 20 inch wheels on your truck.

seotaji · May 9, 2004

the michelin tire 205/60/16 is about $135+ s/h on tirerack or $160+ in store. they are probably the most expensive, worst handling, least durable tires on the OEM market.

the replacement tires that I purchased in dec were bridgestone turanza ls-v for $130/tire in store at NTB (that's with tirerack pricematching).

NTB wants $195.08 for a new/different bridgestone tire b/c they say that bridgestone doesn't make those tires anymore (which is an outright lie, since I've called bridgestone) or NTB stopped carrying them (which is also a lie, considering that it's still listed in their computers).

This whole issue has led me to believe that giving my business to NTB was a mistake. That and they overtorque my lugnuts everytime I go in.

[ May 09, 2004, 07:55 PM: Message edited by: seotaji ]

SteveD2 · May 9, 2004

Michelin MXV4 $121 + free shipping:
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/d...oductType=TIRE&index=4&productCodeIndex=34328

seotaji · May 9, 2004

I'm using bridgestone turanza ls-v now, but thanks for the tip.
Find me a site that sells those cheap.

The OEM v rated michelins XSE's are $137 each on that site.

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findTireDetail.do;jsessionid=AeL0bjvkPOIJ4eYmrZxj3a2ebjOY9eW6fGrF3i2i2cZKw4S0qBFp!-262909266!NONE?step=details&source=size&productType=TIRE &index=6&productCodeIndex=35688

ChrisW · May 9, 2004

if you have a costco by your, they carry the turanza ls-v series.

seotaji · May 9, 2004

darn !!!

only a sams and bj's in my area, have to travel 30+ miles to find a costco.

their website doesn't show the tires.

[ May 10, 2004, 04:07 AM: Message edited by: seotaji ]

CapriRacer · May 9, 2004

While you haven't used the tire in 2 or 3 years, the real issue is how old the tire is.

The latest reasearch I haev seen says the normal tire performance deterioration is time dependent, and not so much usage and ozone dependent. While I have some problems with this, data is data.

So I am currently recommending that folks replace their tires when they reach 10 years of age. Additionally, I'm recommending 6 years in the following states - CA, NV, NM, AZ, TX, and FL. States further north are proportional - example TN would be 8 years.

Assuming your tire is still worth repairing - be aware that the current recommendation from the tire manufacturers is that the repair must be in the tread area EXCLUDING the outer most ribs.

Also the tire should be free of any sign of underinflation - abrasion, cracks, etc.

Hope this helps.

ChrisW · May 10, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by seotaji:
darn !!!

only a sams and bj's in my area, have to travel 30+ miles to find a costco.

their website doesn't show the tires.

if you search by vehicle sometimes it doesn't show all tires availible. but i know they do carry or can order the turanza ls-v tires for you, might have to go into the store or call em. they have a master catalog they can look up.

Firestone will usually (99% of the time) pricematch bridgestone tire prices.

What size are you looking for?

seotaji · May 10, 2004

quote:

While you haven't used the tire in 2 or 3 years, the real issue is how old the tire is.

About 4 years old, it's one of the OEM tires.

quote:

the repair must be in the tread area EXCLUDING the outer most ribs.

Hmm, the nail MIGHT be close to the outside ribs.

quote:

Firestone will usually (99% of the time) pricematch bridgestone tire prices.

What size are you looking for?

205/60/16

not a very common tire size, mostly fitted to honda products.

the local firestone store won't pricematch and were very flippant about doing so. they didn't have a problem quoting me $720 for $520 tires, just tires, no installation or lifetime balancing.

quote:

i know they do carry or can order the turanza ls-v tires for you

I don't know if it's worth it to pay for a $45 membership for tires that I might not purchase next time around. Also the nearest location is too far away to save much money, since I would spend the extra savings by driving to and from their store and I don't know any friends with a membership.

Thanks for all the help though.

Quattro Pete · May 18, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by ZmOz:
I've been looking at tires for my jeep...and the most expensive ones are $130. That's a big truck tire...car tires are rarely over $100.

Heh... it depends. Many high performance summer tires found on todays sporty sedans cost upwards of $150. The Bridgestone S-03s I bought back in 2002 were $170 a piece (from TireRack, which already had the lowest price on them back then). The ContiSportContact2 I just bought also cost around the same.

In addition, anything with a Michelin logo on it will cost even more. They make OK tires (some of them at least), but they're extremely overpriced for what you get.

[ May 19, 2004, 09:42 AM: Message edited by: Quattro Pete ]

Quattro Pete · May 18, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by seotaji:
I had just purchased my car and it came with Michelin MXV4 Plus tires.

An Accord coupe?

quote:

About 8K miles I got a nail in the tread and the dealer to me to scrap it (I know, dumb me) and get another, which I did.

Well, it depends. First of all, a patched tire may not be safe to drive at high speeds any longer. And if you drive at high speed and have a blowout, tire company would refuse to pay for damages if they found out the tire was previously patched. Second of all, if the whole is too close to the sidewall, most likely it can't be repaired at all.

quote:

Also, is there anyway to repair the sidewall of a tire if there are pin sized holes? Someone vandalized my tire recently and it's going to cost $200 plus to get it replaced.

Most likely, no.

MXV4 Plus are terrible tires. I had them on my Accord as well. The sooner you can get rid of them and replace them with something else, the better.

The Turanza LS you mentioned should be a good choice. So would be Falken 512. And you're right, tire selection in that size kind of sucks.

Regards,

[ May 19, 2004, 09:53 AM: Message edited by: Quattro Pete ]

seotaji · May 28, 2004

Acura TL

Michelins are terrible tires, you're right.

The bridgestones are decent, better than michelins, but loud and have really soft sidewalls which is bad for handling.

They also are really rough (lumpy) when cold and only soften up when driving for a couple of miles.

Have an 2-3 year old tire, is it safe to use?

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