Marty:
You cannot rely on a visual inspection of the tires to tell you
if they are
in good shape. The rubber loses its elasticity through exposure to
ozone, which is
present in air in small amounts.
Ford (of exploding tire fame) has recommended that tires be
replaced if more than
7 years old for this reason. The date code is stamped in the side of the
tire and
is human readable.
If you tires are 12 years old, replace them. Any cruising even
at moderate highway
speeds is dangerous. Vintage cars like ours are especially prone to
this, as the cars
are driven relatively little, and owners want the correct vintage tire
on them. You can
still buy Michelin red lines for our cars, although I shudder to think
how old they are.
Think safety. Old brake fluid, dried out tires, dim headlights
etc should all
be brought up to snuff. These are small cars, and there are LARGE SUVs
out there that
would squash us like bugs, so the car needs to be up to snuff.
Cheers,
Vance
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-6pack@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-6pack@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Marty Clark
Sent: November 06, 2005 11:43 AM
To: 6pack@autox.team.net; Triumphs@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Replacing Rear Springs - Anything Else At The Same Time?
<ship>
I'm also going to drop by a local Discount Tire store and have the 12+
year old tires checked. The mechanic who got the cars running last
year had told me they were fine, he also said he was amazed they were
OK because he just assumed they would have to be replaced until he
took the time to checked them out, but I think I need to have a tire
person verify that.
Thanks again,
Marty
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