Tired Tires

[Frank K.]

How do I know if tires are dry rotted. When is a good time to replace? Has age a consideration of renewal. Is nitrogen a better air source?

[Ed S.]

Re: Tired Tires

Frank,
One indicator of dry-rot tires is the side wall rubber will have a lot of very fine (small & narrow) irregular shaped hair line cracks, you may also be losing air slowly through the sidewalls. Ultra violet light (from direct sunlight) will deteriorate tire rubber relatively fast. If the car has been stored outside in the sun the tires on the side facing the most sun will likely deteriorate first. Nitrogen may provide some advantages at the extreme end of the performance spectrum but for most driving conditions, my opinion is nitrogen is an expensive sales gimmick that offers negligible benefits. Think about it - how many years has the auto industry been putting compressed atmospheric gas in tires with satisfactory results? Others may disagree.

[Michael W.]

Re: Tired Tires

The nitrogen issue has been thoroughly discussed here and dismissed as the gimmick it really is.

[Leif A.]

Re: Tired Tires

How do I know if tires are dry rotted. When is a good time to replace? Has age a consideration of renewal. Is nitrogen a better air source?

Frank,
Both of these topics have been discussed ad nauseam. Search the archives...there is a wealth of information there.