Cracked Tires

[Del Huebner]

Is there any kind of rubber lube that will help soften older tires and keep them from cracking?
I found all kinds of products that will brighten them up but nothing to soften them up. Way back in the 60"s I worked at a Shell service station and Shell had a product they called Rubber Lube that we used on the shocks and all the rubber mountings under a car to soften them and keep them from squeaking and last longer. We used this on every lube job. Wondering if there is anything like that around anymore?

 

[J.Wondergem]

Here's one: http://www.amazon.com/Camel-Tire-12097-Rubber-Lube/dp/B000CIOM68

 

[Pops1532]

sorry...double post

 

[Pops1532]

(quoted from post at 15:11:26 05/13/14) Is there any kind of rubber lube that will help soften older tires and keep them from cracking?
I found all kinds of products that will brighten them up but nothing to soften them up. Way back in the 60"s I worked at a Shell service station and Shell had a product they called Rubber Lube that we used on the shocks and all the rubber mountings under a car to soften them and keep them from squeaking and last longer. We used this on every lube job. Wondering if there is anything like that around anymore?

I don't think tires crack because the rubber gets hard but rather because it degrades.
Having said that, there are products that will soften rubber. All that I've heard about can cause liver failure or cancer.

 

[Steve@Advance]

I remember my dad would pour brake fluid on squeaky upper A-frame bushings. Sometimes it would buy some time, but not really fix anything.

Sun seems to be the enemy of tires. It draws the solvents out of the rubber and it degrades to the point of cracking.

Best thing for weather cracked tires is to throw them away before someone gets hurt!

 

[Determined]

Like Steve said throw them away.
I went to take a couple of open cows to the auction today and didn't want to hook up the gooseneck for two animals.
Hooked up a two horse bumper pull I have not used in 5 years, tread was like new, checked the pressure and off I went.
Left front let go 5 miles down the road and the right rear made it 12 miles before it shredded off the rim.
Trailer had 2 spares in it, fingers crossed till I got back home.
Looking closer the last two tires have hairline cracks on the sidewalls, they won't see road use again.
Not saying it is right but years ago you could have a tire with cracks big enough to stick your finger in and you could run them till the tread was gone without a problem.
Nothing is made to last anymore.

 

[Bret4207]

Tires are simply too expensive to throw away. I can't see that. But to help them last you'd be best served by covering them from the sun and keeping them properly inflated. Other than that there's not a lot you can do.

 

[EricB]

The tire manufacturers choose exactly how to time their products....I still have Michelin tires from the 70's that don't have one crack in them and they were capable of nearly 100 000 miles before the tread was gone, seldom did they separate internally. I don't know of any tire today that will give you the same. I dare say in this industry dollars come before safety.

 

[Pops1532]

Eric,
Are those radials or bias ply? Bias ply tires will often last decades (or at least the old ones did) while radials will often fail in a few years.

I just replaced 11+ year old Michelins on my truck. I highly doubt the new tires will last anywhere near that long. It seems most tires made today are built to only last 3-5 years.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

You see people with RV's cover their tires. Perhaps, like your skin, the UV rays damage the tires.

I remember cars with vinyl tops, same problem, sun damaged them in about 10 years.

I store my tractors inside. Tires are decades old, very little cracking.

 

[EricB]

The old Michelins I mentioned are radials. At the time (40years ago)
I worked for the automotive outlet that sold the tires. Some years
later I went to Costco and bought a set of Michelins and became so
disappointed, they wore out in short order. Apparently they were
Uniroyals with a name change. Some things belong to "the good old
days".

 

[Pops1532]

It's very unusual for radials to last that long. I've seen 60 year old bias ply tires that I wouldn't be afraid to use. Before the safety police go crazy I wouldn't dream of using the P.O.S. tires made today once they are old, but even the guys running at the Bonneville speed trials have run 70 year old tires at 200+ MPH without problems.

As George mentioned UV light is real hard on tires. So is ozone. If parked outside, protect your tires from the sunlight. If parked inside keep the tires away from electric motors as they produce ozone.

 

[bison]

I used to store spare tires in an old barn that had a dirt floor covered with some old dry manure till i found out that some tires rotted really fast where they were sitting on the ground :shock: