Any tyre guys out there?.......

[KiwiMR2]

Just a quick question for those in the know with tyre's. Today I noticed all 4 of mine are cracking in between the tread. They are Dunlop SP70J tyres (Japanese model of tyre I believe)

I've not seen tyres cracking like this & am wondering if it is normal or weather I should e-mail Dunlop & see what they say? They were on the wheels when I got them so I'm not sure how old they are but the tread is great so I assumed they were not that old.

Here are the rear tyres:





Fronts:





I'm not overly keen on driving on them like this as I imagine there not that safe like this....I've quite possibly been driving on them like this for a few months

Cheers
KiwiMR2

[postfach]

I'm gonna go ahead and say thats really not normal and you should probably do something about it.....those cracks look kinda deep and that isn't good/safe

[thaphatty]

solution = bog cracks up and sell car as prestine condition

[Mr.Phreak]

I've got a set much the same. Heaps of tread, heaps of cracks

At a guess I'd say it's exposure to a chemical they don't like....possibly from sprays during import??

Interested to know the answer anyway

[postfach]

solution = bog cracks up and sell car as prestine condition

shoe polish....lots of shoe polish

[XERO]

solution = bog cracks up and sell car as prestine condition

shoe polish....lots of shoe polish

To much worlds fastest indian for you my friend...

Talk to pete, he'll put you right...

[GorGasm]

replace them. If you bought them with the wheels then they could have been to africa and back. Looks like they have dried out and hardened.

Probably not really the tire/design at fault.

[bluemaumau]

use toyota black sealant, itll hold anything,

but seriously take em back , email dunlop do something, thats not acceptable, unless they were 2nd hand or something

[Ae92typeX]

Had cracks like that on all 4 tyres on an old car, yours look deeper, but it wasnt ever an issue for me for 3 wof's. finally failed on a few small radial wall cracks! lol

[Rick]

there should be a manufacture date on the tyre, I would say that the cracking is caused by old age, take a pic of the side of the tyre with all the writing on it and I will try and find the date.

[Adamal]

solution = bog cracks up and sell car as prestine condition

shoe polish....lots of shoe polish

To much worlds fastest indian for you my friend...

Talk to pete, he'll put you right...

Hahaha thats what came to mind first... What would Burt Munroe do? Haha

And Pete is in Auckland, and KiwiMR2 is in Welly!

But yea, I would definatly say those tyres are very old and haven't been used all that much. Do you know if the car had been sitting for a long time?
If you feel the compound, does it feel sort of dry and brittle?
You only really see them like that on old tractors, and old tractors rarely exceed 15kph! So unless you're planning on driving everywhere at 15kph, I'd say get them off ASAP

[Bling]

they are just the indicators to show that you need to do skids till they pop then buy new ones..... quite common

[ChaosWarrior]

they are just the indicators to show that you need to do skids till they pop then buy new ones..... quite common

agreed

[Jdawg]

Quite normal for Jap imports to have cracks like that, change them before they blow and damage your rims

[TTEETT]

I brought a second hand tire last year to pass a warrant only to fail as it had the same cracks as yours, like said above check the date on the side. The tire I brought was a 1999!!! I learnt that I was paying more then half the cost of a new tire for a tire that had less then half tread and was 7 years old.

[Pies]

they arent over inflated are they andy? id get em replaced. look old and hard to me

[skoty]

That is normally caused by old age, rubber doesnt have a long life span however cracks like that usually occur on the walls of the tyres. The sidewalls on car tyres are very thin and can blow out if there is any cracking/bulges however the tread surface runs a steel belt so is tougher.

If you keep driving on those tyres they will eventually seperate causing bulges on the tread surface. The car will visously shake about.

[KiwiMR2]

they arent over inflated are they andy? id get em replaced. look old and hard to me

Nah, checked the pressure about 3 months ago & it doesn't seem to have changed much.....the wheels are from Japan so makes sense that they are probably old etc.

Managed to get some new tyre's for $60 each all being fitted, aligned, and balanced tomorrow so can't complain

Cheers
KiwiMR2

[method]

Id say they will be alright, its not the sidewalls that are damaged, tyres have steel belts in them as well as canvas holding it together, as long as its only the rubber thats damaged it will be fine.

As long as you just drive normally and don't drive in a agressive manner.

Ive had some seriously dodgy tyres on my daily driver.

My 2¢ but good your replaced them. You wouldn't want a blow out.

Tyres often loose their oils and it will lead to cracking like that, its from exposure to uv rays, some chemicals or just sitting for long periods of time.

[A.D.D.]

I know it's a bit late, but thought I should make a kind of constructive 1st post.
The front tyres on my car looked like that when I bought my car a couple of months ago. During a trip my car started shaking now and then, more and more violently each time.
Got back to Palmy and went to get the tyre balancing done (at this stage I was fighting the car a bit just to go straight). The guys there showed me why I needed new front tyres - I had massive bulges on each tyre because the rubber was separating. If I'd left it a little longer my tyres would likely have exploded.
Poor little Levin now has slightly bent wheels