Cayenne Is Not Getting Any Younger And Neither Are Your Tires (Aging Tires)

Cayenne here and can you think of anyone who enjoys aging, even us canines? Wrinkles where you don't want them, gray hair, eyes that won't focus anymore, hearing loss, and no stamina. Now, I must say, my nose is still everything at 16 years of age (that's dog years), so it makes up for my other senses, which are not as acute as they were when I was a young pup. Where am I going with all this.....your tires.

Believe it or not, your tires age, too, and they don't get better the older they get. And here's the important thing to know, even if they can still pass a tread depth test, they may simply be too old to be safe

Here's the best way to understand this. Have you ever found an old deck of playing cards with a rubber band wrapped around them? Try stretching the rubber band. SNAP! It's all cracked and brittle. And you haven't stressed that rubber one bit since the time you put them in that drawer.

Now you know what's happening to your tires. Rubber ages. Just like us, the day we come into the world, we start to go downhill (no pun intended). Oh, engineers can make a tire last longer than ever before. But that gas that keeps us alive—oxygen—seems to love to chemically mix with some components in rubber. Oxidation causes rubber to become hard and brittle. The rubber band test.

Is there an age test that can tell you when a tire is too old to roll? Well, not really. They don't all age the same. Hot climates can make tires wear out more quickly. Some experts say a tire can last up to 10 years, but it should be inspected every year after age 5. Others say tires should have an expiration date of 6 years.

Since no one would ever ask a tire its age, how do you know how old one is? Believe it or not, tires made after the year 2000 have a date code stamped on either the inside or the outside of the sidewall. It's a four-digit number; the first two tell you the week, the second two tell you the year. So if it has the number 1916, it was made in the 21^st week of 2016.

Another way to find out whether your tires still have enough life left is to have your vehicle service facility inspect them. They look for signs of age, such as developing cracks in the rubber, the condition of the sidewalls, and, of course, that old standby: tread. If it's time to "retire" them, discuss options with your service advisor.

I leave you with this funny quote about aging

"The older I get, the more clearly I remember things that never happened." — Mark Twain

Cayenne

Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Pickerington
1223 Hill Road N.
Pickerington, Ohio 43147
614-751-0111
www.tuffypickerington.com