Without seeing clear pics of the cracks I can’t say whether they’re unsafe or not.
If there are no cracks down inside the lines of tread and the cracks on the sidewall are very tiny then my guess is that they’re fine and should hold up for you.
If the bulk of your driving is at comparatively low speed (meaning not sustained 75 MPH turnpike speeds) then you should be ok also.
Sunlight has a lot to do with tire cracking. It gets pretty hot here in OK and it’s not uncommon to see a car with one side facing the sun most of the time having cracks in the tires on the sunny side and none at all on the side that is usually facing away from the sun.
Can you at least decipher the age of your tires, based on that link that was provided?
Are you . . . or were you . . . a regular church-going guy?
If so, can’t the other members help you out in some way?
Maybe one of them would hire you, or know somebody who would give you a chance
Perhaps they would let you park your car in the lot, overnight, at least for a short while
I don’t go to church, except to accompany my mom. But if word got out that a regular member had fallen on extremely hard financial times, I would probably fix the guy’s car for free labor
One time, I fixed somebody’s car for free labor . . . a lot of work, actually . . . and my brother paid for the parts. It was pretty satisfying. They literally needed the car to get around, and to survive. And my repairs allowed them to do just that
There are a few helpful people out there . . . or there used to be, anyways
I don’t see the point of asking the community to judge the condition of your tires if you can’t post pictures. Dry rot/weather cracks are commonly found on tires of 4 years and older where I live. I have installed used tires with minor weather cracks on my car and used them for years. I have seen customers cars that had tire replacement recommended a year before due to weather cracks and the tires looked just fine to me. It’s all relative, if the vehicle doesn’t pass your inspection standards replace the tires.
InMyTimeofDying said: “… I’d still like to know whether dry rot and weather cracking are the same thing?..”
Yes, they are, but you have to be very careful as many people are kind of sloppy with the terminology. They don’t always properly identify things and use terms incorrectly - but if those 2 terms are used correctly, they are the same thing. Just be aware that cracking is NOT always weather related, and that’s where many folks get confused.
Personally, I do not like the term dry rot when used for rubber and tires. It seems to imply something that doesn’t exist - “rot”.
As db4690 pointed out, there are people that may be willing to help you get a fresh start.
If you do not belong to a church, joining may be a good way to get established with a group.
They may be unwilling to help a “unknown”, but once a member and involving yourself with parish activities, may just open those doors for you. Join and then offer to help in some way with the parish picnic, or helping paint some elderly members house, may take you one step closer to receiving help.
If a church is not your thing, how about a food pantry, or adult day care.
People are always more willing to help those that have helped others. It’s human nature!!!
Maybe someone will say, " that I.M. Tod (InMyTimeofDying) is such a nice person and has helped us paint old Wilbers house…and even planted some flowers…I heard they need a job. Maybe we could hire him/her for that position when Frank retires next month."
The opportunities are out there, you just need to seek them out…they will not walk up and slap you.
That only happens to those that don’t really need the help. You know the type, the guy that wins the $1000 raffle and owns a 2 million dollar home.