Tire question

[soggytaco]

I have a question on my tires. I bought my 96 in December and I have just started driving it since the weather has been great in the North East. The guy I bought the car from put new tires on it when he bought the car 4 years ago they are OEM Goodyear GSCs non run flat they have about 7,000 miles on them. He stored the car in the winter. The tires have plenty of tread left on them especially the front but the back are still very good. They do have one problem they have small cracks in between the tread it looks like dry rot. I would attribute that to sitting all winter on concrete which I think dries the tire out. The tires have no dry rot on the side walls.

The other day I pulled the car out of my garage I noticed fine black dust on the floor in my tire tracks, also behind the rear wheel well on the paint there is a fine layer of the same dust from the tires. I have only driven a few hundred miles. Is this dust normal or do you think my tires are just too dry. I have also noticed the rear tires squeal slightly when I am pulling out of a road hard right or left under just moderate throttle. The tires seem to hookup nicely under straight line acceleration. I can only slightly chirp the tires when shifting hard from 1st to 2nd gear.

• Are these conditions normal?
• Do I need new tires now?
• Any other opinions

Thanks Adam

 

[jsinga]

The tire companies limit manufacture defect warranty to 5 years. Tires as old as yours get hard with age and they can come apart if they get hot. An old tire won't stop in the rain and it won't have decent traction on a dry road.

JS

 

[JEFNLSA]

Adam,

If it were me, I'd replace them. Keep in mind that this advice is coming from a guy who is not happy unless he's consistently dumping money into his car...much to my wife's chagrin. :L

As long as you can trust them not to hard-sell ya', I'd maybe run it by a reputable tire shop and get their opinion. Tire's for our cars are expensive but the security in knowing you have good tread is priceless.

Cya,
Jeff

 

[ZumZum]

JeffnLisa makes a good point. The only thing between your vette and disaster is those 4 little contact patches where the rubber meets the road. Have them looked at by a professional you trust or just get new ones....or just be reeeeeaaal careful. my .02

 

[soggytaco]

I know I should probably replace them, the one problem is I was hoping to get a set of BFG KDW tires but I cant find them anywhere. They are a bit cheaper than the GSD3s. With the money I would save I was going to get some cross drilled and slotted rotors. I guess I will just have to wait on those…..