How bad is this cracking?

[Klutch9]

These are Nokian enTyre 2.0s. They have 23k miles on them, wearing evenly, been installed since May 2018 (DOT code 0717). If you look closely, you can see cracking in between the tread blocks, as well as on the edge where the tread meets the sidewall. Normally this cracking doesn't bother me, but after a recent tire rotation, these tires have been quite loud. There are no vibrations or pulling or anything else odd, but the fronts especially make a "wup-wup-wup-wup" noise occasionally at certain speeds. Ride has been rougher lately too, and I occasionally get wheelspin from a wet stop which I normally don't. These were bought off eBay, so no real recourse or warranty in this case. Lesson learned I suppose. What's going on here?

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

There's nothing at all wrong with those. It's cosmetic. Tires live a rough life and that's the result.

 

[LotI]

Nothing to see here...

 

[demarpaint]

No problems there.

 

[Gebo]

Nothing a little 303 wouldn't fix...

 

[domer10]

Sure it's not a wheel bearing or suspension issue?

 

[domer10]

When my front shocks would go on front wheel drive vehicle, wheels would not only spin easily when wet...there would be sort of a hopping as well. And anytime I heard that Womp womp womp, was wheel bearings.

 

[JLTD]

My tires sometimes get a bit louder right after rotation but quiet down soon after.

Those tires look like they've had a rough life, but I've used tires long after they've looked like that, with no issues.

 

[bullwinkle]

That cracking looks like it's just cosmetic, but 2 years is ridiculously fast for it to show up. Crossing Nexen off my list...

 

[2010Civic]

For 23k miles and 1.5 years those tires look terrible. I'd just keep driving them until they wear out.

 

[Nyquist]

Those cracks are superficial at this point, but I would be inspecting every 6 months with that rate of deterioration. Is the car stored around any electric motors or other sources of ozone?

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted by bullwinkle
That cracking looks like it's just cosmetic, but 2 years is ridiculously fast for it to show up. Crossing Nexen off my list...


Nokian, not Nexen.

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted by Nyquist
Those cracks are superficial at this point, but I would be inspecting every 6 months with that rate of deterioration. Is the car stored around any electric motors or other sources of ozone?

The van is parked outside year-round, and carries a decent load when driven (service work vehicle). These tires have a much higher load rating than OEM, so the additional weight isn't an issue. And our roads are generally awful, so there's that too.

 

[daves87rs]

In MI? I'd trash them.....

 

[dishdude]

That tire is perfect, everyone's saying it was a perfect tire.

 

[supton]

The cracking looks normal to me; if anything, the tire appears that it'll be worn out before those cracks get worse. I'd just run a bit longer and replace. Some vehicles, some locals and some patterns of usage seem to lend themselves to frequent tire replacement.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Looks fine to me, and judging from the wear bars you're not too far from a new set anyways.