Thread: Old Tyres Mmmmm

Date stamp on the sidewall. ??

Date stamp is not the important bit - the important bit is how much has it been exposed to the sun. And what the latitude is.

I have NEVER seen a tyre delaminate like that just sitting on the spare wheel carrier.
I have spare wheels and tyres here that have been sitting in the paddock for 10-15 years and we get temps at 45C+ and they are still intact.
This one of yours looks like it was damaged and then put on the spare wheel carrier to me.

I had a tyre do something similar a few years ago on the back of the Freelander we had. At first I thought someone may have swapped it for their blown out one, but the chances of a Freeo with the same wheel/tyre combo just happening to be in the same place as ours and with the "security key" for the lug nut was just a wee bit slim.

I've seen a couple of tyres do that, one on a parked RRC and one in the spare wheel well of an old Volvo. Both tyres were well over 10 years old and were not in the full sun, at least not for a few years. Leaving full pressure in an old tyre can be quite dangerous.