Are these tires shot? Is the tire shop trying to screw me?

CyberEric said:

I found it, it's 2713, so 27th week of 2013. Doesn't seem that bad to me! But again, maybe I'm too lax.

I’m tossing tires from 2015 that have great tread tomorrow due to less cracking than that.

Good to know, thanks for the reference point. I just hate wasting tread, but I'll do it.

In reply to CyberEric

Shot.

And with all due respect. You like living Dangerously? 

CyberEric said:

My wife took our Camry in to have some wheels/tires I bought on CL balanced (vibrating at 70mph). The tire guy just texted me these pics saying the tires are shot, and wants to sell me some new tires for 625$ including alignment. 

The tires have decent tread life left, and I didn't think the sides looked great, but wasn't too concerned. What do you guys think? Go somewhere else, or have him re-shoe the car?

Throw those tires the heck away.  That is no longer rubber, but something much closer to the plastic tires on a Big Wheel.

I'm not thinking about blowouts, I'm thinking about safety.  The cheapest no name all seasons will feel like R-compounds compared to that junk.  What tires do you want when you need to make an emergency maneuver?

CyberEric's tires were tires in the academic sense, in that the were round and had once been made of rubber. 

I hate to be condescending, but how is this even a question? How did you let them even get to that point? 

Sorry, tires are one of those things I replace immediately and not with knock off brand stuff. I had a cut tire on my car last year, the left rear still had plenty of life left, probably at 6/32 but a fresh tire on the right rear would be 8/32. 

So they were both replaced. Not cheap, but what's your safety (your wife's!) worth?

When I still had a motorcycle and guys would complain about how much the top of the line Shoei or ARAI cost, we would always say, "Well, how much do you think your head is worth?"

Donebrokeit said:

I would have those replaced. What is good tread worth when the tread blows completely off them in one piece?

FTFY

I would lay money on the fact that they are already coming apart and/or egg shaped.  This is why they feel like they are vibrating.

Throwing onto the pile, I’m not even sure I’d let those pass tech inspection at an auto cross. Actually, I’m sure I wouldn’t. 

Toss those now!

Drive very carefully to the tire shop and get decent rubber - you'll find it is a lot cheaper than hospital bills and collision repairs.

I have too many cars. I used to put maybe 5,000 miles on a new set of $1,000 tires before they 'aged out' and I had to replace them.  I'm looking at replacing tires on three cars in the next year, for safety reasons.  If they get to 6 or 7 years old, they harden up and lose grip; if the get to look like your tires, they are an accident waiting to happen, no matter how old they are. 

Fill the cracks with black shoe polish.  If it worked for Bert Munro and his 200mph Indian,  it can get you past mtn's tech inspection.

In reply to z31maniac :

I'm trying to wrap up grad school, as I said in an earlier post, I bought them off of CL and hardly noticed them. I saw that the tread depth was good and that they were round and cost 180$. 

My wife and I are living on one income in what is probably the most expensive part of country. I was trying to save us some money. In my haste, I messed up. I used to be the guy who spent thousands of hours researching the perfect tire, now I hardly have time to notice if they are round and black. Frankly, I have never seen cracked tires in my entire life I have been so anal about them in the past. That's where I'm at with life right now. Not saying it's "right" just saying that's where I'm at. I came here for help, and I got it. If you came in here to be condescending, I wish you wouldn't.

No condescension intended - you came for information and got it.  If money is currently an issue, consider going to a larger tire dealer and asking if they have any 'take-offs' in your size they could give you a really good deal on if you come bck and buy new from them when you are able. They would probably have less tread but much better sidewalls.

We've seen several accidents (as well as deaths) in the vintage car world, some where tire failures were implicated.

In reply to wspohn :

Thank you for the tip. I didn't think you intended condescension.

In reply to Appleseed :

I think I might be getting a little too "Bert" as I age!

In reply to CyberEric :

In your tight situation, I recommend to put the new set back on CL. You said they are attached to nice alloys. Are the alloys nice enough that they alone could bring you back the $180?

Start over on used shopping. Now with new gained knowledge. 

Or, buy a set of Westlake brand tires off Amazon and find a cheap local guy to mount/balance them for $15 each. I bet this would cost you near $180 total

CyberEric said:

In reply to z31maniac :

I'm trying to wrap up grad school, as I said in an earlier post, I bought them off of CL and hardly noticed them. I saw that the tread depth was good and that they were round and cost 180$. 

My wife and I are living on one income in what is probably the most expensive part of country. I was trying to save us some money. In my haste, I messed up. I used to be the guy who spent thousands of hours researching the perfect tire, now I hardly have time to notice if they are round and black. Frankly, I have never seen cracked tires in my entire life I have been so anal about them in the past. That's where I'm at with life right now. Not saying it's "right" just saying that's where I'm at. I came here for help, and I got it. If you came in here to be condescending, I wish you wouldn't.

Don't worry, he obviously didn't read the thread.  Carry on.

Nothing wrong whatsoever with used tires. You just have to be a little more vigilant when inspecting them. 

Now you know where to find the date codes. If these particular tires weren't cracked I would run them with that date code. 

Look for cracks, any cracks is a hard pass.

If they are not mounted on wheels check the inside for plugs and patches. One or two wouldn't concern me too much but pass if they are close to the side wall. They should only be in the meat of the tread. 

Speaking of sidewalls check the inside for signs of being ran too low. If they have been ran low enough to cause the sidewall section to be a dull matte finish that doesn't match the sheen of the rest of the interior of the tire, or you see a bunch of tiny rubber inside that looks like dust walk away. That tire is junk.

If it's mounted on a wheel or after you get it mounted and aired up check the sidewalls inside and out for any bubbles/raised spots. I've seen some the size of an apple. I've also seen bubbles in the tread close to the sidewall so look all around. Check the tread area for signs of a broken belt. It'll be a sunken area or you'll see a definite deformation in the tread pattern. 

If you see any of the above issues walk away, those tires are not safe. 

If you don't see any of those issues and purchase a set Inspect them again after a short while. 

Every decent sized town I've ever been in has had at least one or two small little used tire shops. Usually they can get you into a safe set of tires for a hell of a lot less than new. But you Absolutely have to check them out before you can trust them.

Local inspection regs used to say (25 years ago..?) something like "if the cord is visible in the crack, the tire is unsafe".  Of course we didn't care how old a tire was back then either...

In reply to John Welsh :

I am thinking exactly this. I think I might be able to get my money back just on the no-name alloy wheels (they are pretty nice looking and fairly light). And thanks for the idea, Amazon has some good deals on tires. Thanks John.

In reply to Nick Comstock :

Very helpful info, thank you!