I have a 2012 Audi r8, it doesn’t get driven a lot. The tires are from 2012 but looks fine. I now drive it every week but not very far.The car has 12000 miles it on it. I read that if the tires are 6 years or older they should be replaced no matter what they look like. ???
Location has a lot to do with tire aging but you have an expensive performance vehicle why would you even take a chance on tire failure . The rims on this thing are probably very expensive if a flat damages one.
Yes, they are old tires. Yes, tires age and become less safe as a result because they get hard and don’t grip a wet road like they once did. If the car has been even the least bit slippy when it rains, it is time to change tires.
Another test. Go out to your car, press your thumbnail into a solid portion of the tire tread. Does it feel like you are pressing into a pine 2x4? Time to change the tires.
Check the date the tires were made, they could be even older than you think. What state do you live in?
+1
A friend of mine is incredibly “cheap”, and he has put less than 5k miles on the odometer since he bought his Scion 7 years ago, but even he realized that he had to replace his very “hard” tires in the interest of safety.
Tester
Here’s my take on the subject:
If you live in a hot climate (AZ, TX, NV, CA or FL), then 6 years applies. But if you live in a cold climate (MN, WI, ND, ID, or MT), it’s 10 years.
States in between are … ah … in between.
Based on theorizing and observation alone it seems to me that heat, sunlight, apparently high ozone levels from electrical fields and other environmental conditions cause tires to become brittle and less flexible. A tire stored in a cool, dry and dark location would seem to have a pretty long life.
I have never thrown out a spare because of age. Also, living in the cloud shadow of Lake Erie means a lot less sunlight and moderated temps. We have never hit 100F, not once. Garaging your car also adds life to your tires, All those RVs with sun covers for the tires have them for a reason.