Cracking tyres

[Markymerc]

A couple of months ago whilst in Kent my offside rear tyre (conti) spat a chunk out of itself. It was the size if a 50p. Lincoln MB have sent it back to Conti to try and get money back for the faulty tyre. Had both rear's changed but not Conti's. Anyhow it's booked in for MOT next with Lincoln MB and whilst giving ther car a good going over yesterday in preperation I noticed both fronts (conti's) have started to crack on the shoulders only small stuff at the moment but will no doubt get bigger. The tyres are less than 3 years old and have done 14000 miles and have 4.5/5 mm left on them.

I am going to leave the tyres on and see if they pick them up on the MOT!! If they don't I will be having a few choice words with them.

1 thing is for sure I will never buy Conti's again.

 

[brucemillar]

A word of warning here.

If they are cracking on the outer walls? get to the inside walls very quickly and inspect them. I had the exact same thing happen on some budget tyres and when I looked at the inside walls I nearly pooped my pants. They had gone beyond cracking to actually splitting. When I Googled it ! I found that I was far from being alone - A very common problem. Good luck getting any money back. At that age I suspect they will simply claim normal wear & tear or driver abuse. Tread depth will not affect that decision. They may simply say that you must have parked on grass or in a puddle of oil (and you may well have done so - unknowingly).

Stay safe and get it checked out. I had a blow out on the M11 last week and that was a pants changing experience.

 

[Markymerc]

I know what your saying mate but I won't be using the car until after the MOT now so I'll wait to see if they say anything.

I will be interesting showing them if they don't and seeing what they have to say for themselves.

 

[190]

I once got a 28 year old motorcycle through the MOT on it's original 28 year old tyres. I hope your MOT tester is a lot better than mine was.

 

[flowrider]

My wifes Corsa has tyres manufactured in 2009 that have started to crack between the treads. Tyres are Continental PremiumContact2. Shame as there is still a lot of tread left (car has only covered 2700 miles in last 3 years).

 

[Mike Walker]

Suggest you not what Bruce posted. This type of degradation is a combination of age , wear and usage as I understand it. Tread depth is not the only indicator that tyres are still safe to use.

 

[artyman]

I wonder if the chemicals used in alloy wheel cleaners have anything to do with premature degradation of tyres.

 

[wheels-inmotion]

The side wall cracks are normally caused by petroleum based contamination, then sunlight and then age.

Most cracks look alarming but are considered cosmetic until internal construction becomes visible at which point the tyre should be scrapped.

Contamination, sunlight and age all contribute to the silica hardening denying the normal flexibility hence the cracks. All tyres are dated a deemed to have a six year service life tread depth permitting. Tyres used after the date are done so at the owners risk.

 

[alzieboy]

I wonder if the chemicals used in alloy wheel cleaners have anything to do with premature degradation of tyres.

Could some of the tyre dressing products also be responsible for some tyre wall cracking

 

[wheels-inmotion]

If they are petroleum based then i would say yes.

 

[portzy]

I know what your saying mate but I won't be using the car until after the MOT now so I'll wait to see if they say anything.

I will be interesting showing them if they don't and seeing what they have to say for themselves.

If you are so concerned about this that you are not using the car then why;

a) wait until the MOT to do something about it and....

b) tee up the MOT tester for a barney?

Chances are that you will get an advisory based on the extent of the perishing. In the main it's a natural deterioration, the effect of cheap tyre dressing or the car standing motionless for a considerable length of time. When all is said and done the MOT testers have seen it a thousand times, if it's very bad your car will fail.

 

[tec]

I am going to leave the tyres on and see if they pick them up on the MOT!! If they don't I will be having a few choice words with them.

1 thing is for sure I will never buy Conti's again.

There is nothing wrong with Conti tyres.

Cracks on tyres will pass the MOT as long as the cord/plys are not exposed.

Maybe you are washing your car too often, and should look at how you treat your tyres.

 

[Markymerc]

In my Mercedes I do 6000+ miles so it's used lightly but regularly. My car I use for work does 20,000+ miles the wifes car does 5000+ miles. I never use tyre dressing and in 27 years of driving have never had tyres crack/perish. My tyres are DOT 2012 so it's not down to age or lack of use or putting cheap tyre dressing on them. They are not cheap tyres either.

The reason for not doing anything about the tyres is I was not using the car again till after the MOT as I was away and the fact that MB Lincoln price match tyres and I trust their tyre fitter rather than some kid at Kwikfit so 2 birds 1 stone so to speak.

It's nothing to do with teeing a MOT tester for a barney but ensuring they do their job properly. If they miss easy to spot potentially safety critical issues what else are they missing? I would rather my car gets ripped to bits but is safe than getting a quick look over missing things and be potentially unsafe.

I spoke to the service manager before and after the MOT about the tyres. He told me that they are sending more and more Conti tyres back to Conti and it's taking them longer and longer to process the tyres and generate a report. Conti motorbike tyres have had a massive recall as well so it's looks like there is a problem with Conti tyres!

I have been advised to keep an eye on the tyres and if they deteriorate go back. Mine are not too bad they say. I am getting them changed though. Not Conti's though.