While there’s no federally sanctioned safety guidance on when a tire is too old to be safe, many carmakers recommend replacement at six years from the date of manufacture. Old tires have been the culprit in fatal accidents.
People also ask, what happens to tires as they age?
As a tire ages, small cracks in the rubber begin to develop over time, appearing on the surface and inside the tire. This cracking can eventually cause the steel belts in the tread to separate from the rest of the tire. Tread separation can also happen to defective, underinflated and poorly maintained tires.
One may also ask, do tires get harder with age?
Yes, absolutely. The rubber in a tire gets hard as it ages, just as the rubber in other common materials does. You can even poke at tire treads with your fingernail and feel the difference between an old and new tire of the same brand and model. The harder rubber doesn’t grip the road nearly as well.