MK4 tires, time to change yet?

[SFHGolfTDI]

My MK4 Golf has Michelin Primacy's from the previous owner. Two of them are stamped sometime in 2008, and two are stamped 2010. My car currently has ~116k miles, and I believe the 2010 tires were purchased with around ~68k (let's call it 50k miles on those). The 2008 tires are obviously older, so I'd estimate 60-70k on those.

All of the tires have decent tread left, but are showing some age, including seemingly minor sidewall hairline cracks, etc. Keep in mind that this is California and the car is parked outside, so it gets some sun. EDIT: Also, forgot to add that it seems my rear passenger tire developed a slow leak. So I'd be looking at a repair cost on one of the 2008 tires anyway.

Any thoughts of how long I should push these tires? If I have a chance to get some pictures, I'll post them up later. I'm thinking of going Conti PureContacts. All suggestions welcome.

 

[yatzee]

ideally, when cracks start forming, tires should be replaced. In practice, it depends on ones budget.

I really liked my General Gmax AS-03 - will buy them again

 

[SFHGolfTDI]

ideally, when cracks start forming, tires should be replaced. In practice, it depends on ones budget.

I really liked my General Gmax AS-03 - will buy them again

Yes, budget is the issue, but also we do long road trips and don't want to be dealing with a potential blowout. Also, forgot to add that it seems my rear passenger tire developed a slow leak. So I'd be looking at a repair cost on one of the 2008 tires anyway.

I think General Gmax don't come in 195-65-15 stock size of my Golf. Thanks for the recommendation though.

 

[casioqv]

I'd replace them at 7 years or so, so the 2008 ones are due. If you're on a budget just replace the two older ones, and put the two new tires on the front.

Michelin tires are somewhat dangerous because they last so many miles- often the tread will still look good long after the tires are old and cracked. I've had several cars that looked like they had almost new Michelin tires, and I didn't realize until they blew on the freeway that they were 15-20 years old!

Personally, I don't put a lot of miles on my car so I buy cheap Kumho tires that last about half the miles of a Michelin, but can be replaced more often.

 

[SFHGolfTDI]

I'd replace them at 7 years or so, so the 2008 ones are due. If you're on a budget just replace the two older ones, and put the two new tires on the front.

Michelin tires are somewhat dangerous because they last so many miles- often the tread will still look good long after the tires are old and cracked. I've had several cars that looked like they had almost new Michelin tires, and I didn't realize until they blew on the freeway that they were 15-20 years old!

Personally, I don't put a lot of miles on my car so I buy cheap Kumho tires that last about half the miles of a Michelin, but can be replaced more often.

You're right about the Michelin's keeping their tread but looking dangerous. I just had a closer look and all four tires have significant cracks all along the side where the sidewall meets the tread. I made an appointment to get some Conti Purecontacts on there on Friday. I didn't want to spend the money on Michelin's and at $87/tire for these, they seem like great tires at a very good price, rated for 6 years, 70k miles.

 

[SFHGolfTDI]

$511 out the door at American Tire Depot for set of new Conti PureContacts (mine are date stamped 2415 and Made in France) and front alignment. Free lifetime rotations every 5k, etc. Good to go for a while hopefully!

 

[romad]

Here is the CA law on tires:

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/vctires.htm

Basically as long as there is 1/32" of tread depth left, you're good to go. But if ANY two adjacent grooves have less than 1/32" then the tire must be replaced. A quick reading did not find a time limit since manufacture nor mention of minor cracks.

 

[romad]

These?

CONTINENTAL
PURECONTACT WITH ECOPLUS TECHNOLOGYGrand Touring All-Season

• Size: 195/65R15 91H
• Sidewall Style: Blackwall
• Low Rolling Resistance: EcoPlus
• UTQG: 700 A A

 

[SFHGolfTDI]

Here is the CA law on tires:

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/vctires.htm

Basically as long as there is 1/32" of tread depth left, you're good to go. But if ANY two adjacent grooves have less than 1/32" then the tire must be replaced. A quick reading did not find a time limit since manufacture nor mention of minor cracks.

Yup, those are the tires. Best price I could find installed was at americantiredepot.com, $441 installed, but I did front alignment as well, which put me over $500.

I looked back at the records from the previous owner, 55k on the 2010 tires, and 72k miles on the 2008 tires. With that many miles / years, and the significant cracking on the sidewall, it just felt like a ticking time bomb for total tread separation sometime soon.

With El Nino coming and a few long trips this fall (Sierras, Grand Canyon, etc.), and often my toddler in the car, it was time for new tires regardless of CA DOT minimum laws.

 

[romad]

Please post a review after you have a few miles on them as they are what I'm considering for my next set. How much road noise are they new?

 

[SFHGolfTDI]

Please post a review after you have a few miles on them as they are what I'm considering for my next set. How much road noise are they new?

So far they seem much quieter and absorb bumps better than my worn Michelin's, but that is probably comparing apples to oranges. They seem to offer a nice balance of road feel without an overly harsh ride. I currently have them pumped to about 44-45 psi all around (sidewall max is 51). I have less than 200 miles on them at this point.

 

[romad]

Thanks. The Nexen tires that were put on by the dealer when I bought my Jetta 4 years ago now have about 45,000 miles on them and have a lot of tread left. I'll have to see if I can find a date of manufacture on them. Oh, the Nexens have a max inflation of 44 psi.

Edit.

Well, it took some time to find the date. According to Nexen the date is supposed to be on the OUTSIDE of the tire, but mine are on the outside only on 2 tires. On the other two, I'm guessing they are on the inside. The two outside marked tires are from 0911 or 27 February through 5 March 2011, thus they are 4 years, 37 weeks (8.5 months) old.

 

[dremd]

My experience with very old tires is that as long as they aren't heavily loaded that they will not fail, but will "become square" be noisy, rough, any generally be crappy.
Source: I used to like to buy ultra low mileage cars that were 10+ years old and usually had factory tires.