How much weather checking ( dry rot ) is to much on tires ?
Not much - how old are the tires (you need to decode the number on the side)? What conditions have they been in (sun, etc)?
It’s very hard to describe how much is too much in words, so it would be best to have someone knowledgeable look at the tires.
- BUT -
Recent bulletins from the tire industry indicate that tires degrade simply due to time. The age of a tire is important even if the tire is unused. There some disagreement over how to best express this age limitation, but my take is:
If you live in a hot climate (AZ, CA, NV, TX, and FL) then the limit is six years. If you live in a cold climate (MN, ND, WI, MT, etc), then the limit is 10 years. States in between are … ah … in between.
Here’s how to tell how old the tires are:
First locate the letters “DOT” on the sidewall of the tire. Nearby will be the DOT code. DOT codes are 10 to 12 digits long. BTW the digits can be numbers or letters.
The first 2 digits are a code for the manufacturing plant.
The next 2 digits are a code for the tire size.
The next 3 or 4 digits are a code for the type of tire.
The last 3 or 4 digits are the date code. The format is week/week/year/year or week/week/year. These are always numbers.
Starting in the year 2000, the date coding used was 4 digits. That means the largest number you should see for the year is 10. Before 1999 the format was 3 digits. 1999 and 2000 are transition years, so you will find both 3 and 4 digits.
The date code only has to be on one side ? and it is permissible for there to be a partial DOT code, so long as one side has the complete code.
If you want more detail about the coding:
If you can see checking, the tires are unsafe.
Tires are the single most important safety component you have. They’re all that keeps you connected to the pavement. Tires also absorb an enormous amount of impact every time you hit a bump or a pothole with your 3,000 pounds of automobile moving at 40mph, 70mph, or whatever your speed. To be safe tires need to be able to take an amazing amount of abuse. Dry rotted tires cannot be relyed upon to do so, and a sudden blowout could cause an accident that will change your life forever.
get new tires.