Aging Tires: Road Hazard?

Posted by in Life Rant on Jun 27th, 2008 | 2 comments

Recently bumped into an ABC report on the age of tires and how a brand new tire, max tread can actually be years old (due to the practice of retreading the tire for resale). From the report, it appears the US is one of only a handful of countries that don’t place expiration stamps upon their tires. The lobby responsible for this disinformation claims there is no need but most civilized countries around the world recognize the actual life of a tire is no more than six years. Not six years then slap on another tread. No, six years in total.

Check out the clip here. Interesting stuff. When I took a look at the tires on both my rigs, I found one was two years old, the other four years old. Worth checking on.



2 Responses to “ “Aging Tires: Road Hazard?”

  1. Harvey Brodsky says:
    Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 10:29 am

    The statement by Max, “but most civilized countries around the world recognize the actual life of a tire is no more than six years” is simply not true. How long a tire will last is situational and depends on a number of factors, including whether the tire can pass a careful inspection (shearography, x-ray, etc,) by a retreader.

    The retread industry does NOT want to retread tires that are unsafe or will fail after they have been retreaded. This is not a simple issue and for any readers to this message who would like more information, we will be happy to send a complete Retread Tire Information Packet including a CD & DVD at no cost. The packet can be ordered by calling our toll free number, 888-473-8732 or by sending an email to info@retread.org.

    Harvey Brodsky
    Managing Director
    Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau
    A Non-Profit Industry Association
    http://www.retread.org

  2. Max says:
    Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 10:06 pm

    I was hesitant to post this reply but after a little research, I’m confident this wasn’t a surreptitious attempt at spam.

    People will need to look over the clip and check out the related information kindly provided by Mr. Brodsky. One has to wonder if Mr. Brodsky has a dog in this fight vs. perhaps sensationalized reporting on behalf of ABC. Who has what agenda, if any?

    I do find it interesting a managing director took a moment to post a response on my corner of the world. Part of a centralized informational campaign hoping to rid the consumer market of ignorance, or something else? You decide. Either way, I certainly appreciate Mr. Brodsky weighing in.

    However, it certainly cannot hurt to check the age of tires. From there, it is up to the consumer to chart the best course of action.

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