Wheels / Tires: Whitewall Repair

[paintim613]

One of our whitewalls has developed some noticeable cracks in spite of our car being stored inside and driven only 1500 miles. The other three look fine. The tires are about nine years old. Any ideas on making the cracks less noticeable?

[showbizkid]

Yes... replace it! A tire that old and showing cracks is past its service life. Mount new ones or it'll make you unhappy when its least convenient!

[studegary]

The cracks will be "less noticeable" when the tire blows out. Nine year old tires should be replaced, especially in the heat of AZ. Miles has little to do with it. I have replaced tires with more than half of their tread remaining.

[55s]

I also confirm that the tire must be replaced.

Radial whitewalls seem to break down even faster due to sun, wire reinforcement and the bulging form the tire takes when it contacts the road. The tire will shred without notice and take the side of your car off. We have had at least one serious reported failure (Bill 56J). Check out the Corvette site. Typically there is a 6 year life, which is an expensive pain when you are not putting on many miles. You should also check out the date code on the tire. It may have been old when installed.

[Green 53]

Best to replace them Tim. I replaced the ones on the Avanti & the 53 because of age. In Nebraska it was not as critical.

Denny L

[DEEPNHOCK]

Donate them to an auto museum for a nice tax write off....and buy new tires.

[thunderations]

Tim, Please replace all of the tires. It's a very cheap insurance policy for such a nice car. I've had customers cars in my shop that had blown a tire on the road and the repairs can run into the thousands very quickly. Some people have a set of correct tires/wheels for show and another set of modern tires/wheels for "GO".