Tire Age

My 2018 has Nitto Ridge Grapplers LT265/70R17 Load C on it.The tires will be 7 years old in August. The tires only have 16,500 miles on them. We rarely drive it.
The tires have a made date of May 2018. The tires look brand new. No cracks in the
side walls or anywhere. The truck lives its life in a garage. On Nitto and Bridgestone web site it says to replace tires no matter the mileage if they're 10 years old.
Wife says wait, son (43 years old) says wait. My question is to keep them or buy new ones ?

 

^Tires are not 10 years old yet and have no cracks. What's the problem?

 

Maybe you could get a little trade-in credit towards a new set before your current tires get any older? If not, I'd keep them for a couple more years, especially if they're not visibly aging and you're not planning any cross-country trips.

 

The longest trip would be to see my wifes cousin that lives about 70 miles away.

 

If there’s no cracks and it’s not dry rotting, wait

 

I have encountered the same situation on my low mileage 4R multiple times to date. How i handle it is described on my latest tire page https://www.top4runners.com/ja/2007/tires3.html. Sell them now when they are just below half the total mileage you expect out of them as you will never reach that point at your rate. There is always someone out there who will want a set for cheaper than new, in order to sell their vehicle or because they do a lot of miles per year and they aren't planning on keeping the vehicle long, etc. If you keep them on your vehicle, sure you can get a few more years out of them with no issues, but then when you are past the 10 year mark and they are unsellable, you will begin to notice dry rot and have to dump them before extracting full value. Get a fresh set now, there is nothing like a fresh set of tires.

BTW, I am on my 4th set of tires and I have just hit the 50k mile mark.

 

4th set in 50k? Wow! Talk about wasting money or youre buying some shitty tires. Im still on my 1st set of Falken WPs (bought May 2022) with 50k on them and they have 6/32” tread left.

 

You are missing the point...the goal here (for low mileage vehicles) is to to offload them when you can get 50% of the cost back, before they dry rot and always run a fresh set. I know one set will last 50k, but I am approaching 20 years and just barely hitting the 50k mark on the vehicle. I, like the OP, don't want to keep them on the vehicle more than about 7 years.

 

ok

 

Paul Walker would not have replaced them at 10 years so there is that set of opinions.

His thoughts on tires is always a hot topic.

 

Said another way, you sell them for 50% of cost when they are slightly more than 50% old in years and slightly less than 50% old in mileage, thereby you lose nothing as you paid for what you used and you always have a fresh set of tires on the vehicle for safety purposes.

 

^This.

Keep them until they start to dry rot. Or, replace them sooner if you feel like it.

 

If it lives inside and doesn’t have cracks and dry rotting I would keep them. they’ll obviously last a lot longer.

 

Sell 'em!
Keep 'em!
Sell 'em!
Keep 'em!
Sell em!
Keep 'em!!!

Pfft...flip a coin.

 

He preferred his tires older than his women

 

My personal rule is- I replace the tires on my vehicles at 5 years from date of tire purchase. Even if they have a lot of tread depth left. It’s not worth scrimping on safety in this hot Texas sun down here. I worry about the hot Texas sun baking and rotting the tires over time.

 

^^^This . I’ve owned around 24-25 vehicles in my life and I don’t think I’ve ever driven a set of tires over 35-40 thousand miles.
When they hit 50% they’re gone .

 

The problem is that 10 years is a threshold, the tires at 9 years and 364 days would be as bad.

What happens with age is that rubber hardens. This reduces stopping power and traction in cold. If would not drive anything over 7 years old in bad weather.

IMO, if you can afford, it is time to replace these tires.

 

In the developing world, a tire is no good when it no longer has a circumference.

 

Considering the tires are not exposed to UV light, which is the main cause of degradation to tires there is no need to even consider new tires.

 

Tire rubber has a lifespan of 6 yrs min - 10 yrs max.
Ask me how I know…..I had a tire at 6-7 yrs with no visible signs, came apart.
I would be looking at replacement at the 6 yr mark.
Just me telling my story.
You do you.

 

Well they also see it as normal to defecate in the street.

 

My unused factory spare, at 8 or so years when I needed to use it, had very noticeable dry rot. Lack of use is also a factor, so just a reminder to periodically check your spare.