Old tyres can seriously damage your fun...

[Simos]

The need to replace your tyres even if they're not warn out has been noted before but I thought I'd update you with the control experiment I conducted this morning.

 

There are those with soft tyres to whom this will never apply. However I'm sure there are plenty who buy the car fitted with Michelin's and 5 years later, still with 5mm of tread left cannot bring themselves to re-use them as planters on the patio and shell out several hundred in folding for some new A021's, ACB10's etc.

 

Well here's the story.

 

My station car is an 12 year old golf. On the passenger side the recommended tyre which has been there for five odd years.

On the drivers side the exact same tyre but 4 mths old (due to sidewall puncture).

 

The experiment:

Accelerate car to 60mph (late for train) and then introduce large truck into the road from a farm entrance without stopping, looking or in any way announcing intention to completely block the road and drive toward me.

 

Experiment intended result:

Stop the car in a straight line, smoothly and with no drama.

 

Experiment actual result:

Locked front left with a scream instantly and repeatedly as I cadenced braked toward his radiator grill pulling to the right all the while. Observed a lovely morse code pattern of black marks on the road from the left front as i reversed up to allow the plank to get past.

 

Conclusion.

My left front at 5+ years old is probably as hard as granite. It has tons of tread left. If this weren't a 4 miles per day station car I'd get a new tyre just to stop me crapping myself in a similar situation.

 

On a Seven the similar situation means you're destroying your cornering and braking potential, reducing the fun factor and increasing the cars instabilities for the sake of about 5 fill-ups of your tintop !

 

Recommended course of action:

If your tyres are 3years or older; sign up for a Brooklands day, go to the handling area and spend 20 mins doing donuts and figure eights until they're warn out enough for you to justify replacing them.

 

😬 Simon.

[Peter Carmichael]

Are you sure the left hand damper is OK?

[Joe 90]

When my tyres felt hard but still had tread a racer I knew suggested I get them scrubbed down, as there should be something soft underneath. As UV (well we do get some sunshine ) hardens rubber, I thought there might be something to it. So has anyone tried it 🤔. On the other hand, donuts sound more fun 😬

 

99,000 miles so far

[fastforward]

I had 15 year old technology tyres on my car and was happy to do the donut thing at the Brooklands tarmac thingy. Rubber as hard as granite so adhesion was less (as it turns out) New Yokos have transformed the car's handling for the better 😬. So less smoke more fun for me. I guess they will not last more than three years anyway. BTW donut in both directions to make the lubricant in the back axle, of the live variety, go back where it belongs

 

Fastforward in a xflow

 

brian.fyfe@prospect.org.uk

[Simos]

Hi Peter,

I doubt the dampers are great, but about as great as each other, 4 mths ago both wheels behaved the same (i.e both crap). They behave well enough down my bumpy road. The rears let go a while ago (original) and that introduced some VERY interesting handling across the bumps !

 

The tyre in question is as hard as hell, notwithstanding other technical problems and the fact that the passenger side is probably a bit less loaded, I'm certain that the above problem is due to hardness. In fact after writing the above and checking with my sister (previous owner) I might have to add several more years to the age of the tyre.

 

I thought it a nice experiment to illustrate the point - tyres do go hard.

 

After returning from some years abroad I had old old set of michelins. I took them to Brooklands and donutted for ages. It did not even wear them out they were so hard and I junked them with 4mm of tread.

 

I do actually follow my own advice 😬

 

I replaced them with 032's.