Reproduction Tire Age

[camaronut]

OK...

I've had a set of Goodyear Polyglas repro tires since 1995, and they still look great.  No dryrot, cracks or anything that indicates any failure.  These tires have no more that 3000 miles on them.  The car is always stored in a garage....and the tires have always been given a coating of Meguiers Protective coating - front and back side at least three times a year.

Now for the stupid question........should I replace these guys before something blows?  I'm pretty sure 17 years on a set of tires is kinda risky....

If I replace, I'm going with Radial T/A's.......$1000 for four tires is nuts.

[tmodel66]

If you plan on very many road miles so the tire gets hot I would definitely replace them. If your staying in town and only city driving 5 or 10 miles so the tire never heats up you might be alright.  Yeah those tire prices are crazy. That's why I have the T/A's on my car.  

[69Z28-RS]

Tire companies will tell you to replace them within 5-7 yrs, but they are assuming the car is driven, and is outside in the UV from sunlight a lot.   If you car is a garage queen, and never sees the 'light of day' (ie. UV rays), then the tires are probably OK for reasonable short distance driving, but I don't think I'd go racing or long distance high speed driving with them...     (I've got some Michelin X's on some older cars that stay in a basement garage (no windows), which still look good even though they are over 30 yrs old, and the original spare tire in my '57 Bel Air doesn't show any dry rot or cracks either... 

Gary