Tyres "perishing"

50Twuncle

My (not quite) 2 year old car - has done less than 12,000 miles and I noticed this afternoon - that between the treads of all 4 tyres - there are small cracks (lengthwise) in the rubber
Could the tyres be perishing already ?
The tyres are Continental 185/55 R16
Is it worth my contacting Continental to ask why ?

hewhoisnotintheknow

during your ownership have you had it cleaned at a drive in hand car wash place?

or were the tyres very shiney when you got it


Ive heard tales of people using brick acid and other odd chemicals to clean tyres up and causing them to perish long term

colino

Have a look at the DOT number on the sidewall of the tyres. If it ends say 0103, that means they were manufactured in the first week of 2003. If the date mark places them older than the car, they've been changed and they are showing their age by perishing. Otherwise it may be an unusual tracking fault that is causing the tyres to overheat and splay.

forgotmyname

Have you owned the car from new? As above could somebody have switched the tyres.

Overinflated?

DTDfanBoy

Are they Continental premium contact 2's by any chance, I have the 195/55/16 91V on one of my cars, they have only done about 10,000miles over two years and also have cracks forming between the treads.

I contacted the company I purchased them off and they said I had to send one in for testing, I'm currently holding off until I fit winter tyres, I'll keep a close eye on this thread.

They have been driven pretty hard, but have always been run at correct pressures. They have worn evenly and the cracking is evident on both the fronts and rears.

50Twuncle

hewhoisnotintheknow wrote: »

during your ownership have you had it cleaned at a drive in hand car wash place?

or were the tyres very shiney when you got it


Ive heard tales of people using brick acid and other odd chemicals to clean tyres up and causing them to perish long term

No - never - always cleaned by hand
And the tyres were only clean - not shiney !!!

50Twuncle

forgotmyname wrote: »

Have you owned the car from new? As above could somebody have switched the tyres.

Overinflated?

I have owned the car from new and never put any air in them ....
The wheels have locks on them - so nobody could have replaced them....

50Twuncle

colino wrote: »

Have a look at the DOT number on the sidewall of the tyres. If it ends say 0103, that means they were manufactured in the first week of 2003. If the date mark places them older than the car, they've been changed and they are showing their age by perishing. Otherwise it may be an unusual tracking fault that is causing the tyres to overheat and splay.

4710 is the code - the car was new in Oct 2011 - so the tyres were hanging about for 12 months prior to fitting them to my car

OK I don't want to have to fork out £300 + to replace 4 tyres after less than 12,000 miles - so want to claim back, at least, part of the cost
Should I be claiming from the manufacturer, the retailing garage (which has gone out of business - but its sister branch is still up and running) or the tyre manufacturers ??
The tracking doesn't look as if it is out - the tyres are wearing evenly - no undue wear to either the inner or outer edge....

espresso

50Twuncle wrote: »

I have owned the car from new and never put any air in them ....
The wheels have locks on them - so nobody could have replaced them....

You have owned the car since Oct 2010 and never put any air in them - what pressures are they now?

50Twuncle

espresso wrote: »

You have owned the car since Oct 2010 and never put any air in them - what pressures are they now?

October 2011 !!
That is correct - my car is serviced annually and they check the tyres at this time
I have never had to top this car up with air
The pressure is still 36 front 32 rear....

espresso

50Twuncle wrote: »

October 2011 !!
That is correct - my car is serviced annually and they check the tyres at this time
I have never had to top this car up with air
The pressure is still 36 front 32 rear....

You should be checking tyre pressures yourself much more regularly. Checking tyre pressures at an annual service is not enough and you would not know if the pressure had dropped during the year.

Should you be driving?