cracking tyres
 

there seems to be a lot of tyres cracking , especially in the tread depths lately reported. i have read a little regarding the chemicals used during the manufacture process which contributes a lot to this problem. the E.U clamped down on the use of certain polluting chemicals during manufacture. i am wondering if these laws were applied to the japanese tyre producers , toyo etc. if they were produced abroad they may still have the good old way of making a lasting tyre ... without cracks appearing after a few years only .. :shrug:

Precisely. I had to throw away a set of Michelins recently and have heard folks say they've had Avons and some other Euro tires cracking prematurely, as well.

Asian tires don't do it. I just bought a set of Nexen tires to replace the cracked Michelins. They were made in South Korea. There are a few Korean tire makers and all seem to be good. But, be careful because even they do offshore manufacturing - some also made in China and the Czech Republic. Pretty sure the Czech plant will also be following EU rules.

I can confirm Avon tires crack. I need to replace all four of mine because they are all cracked, which is so annoying since there is a lot of tread on them. Probably something like 7 to 8 mm.

The car had Hankook when I bought it , and I wore these out. I'll be going back to Hankook tires, which are South Korean.

My recently purchased 75 came with 4 badly cracked tyres, with seemingly legal tread depth, however the MOT history showed very low mileages for recent years. When I checked the dates on the tyres, 2 (Landsail) were 2009, 1 (Avon) was 2008, and one (unknown) was 2007... Safety first so 4 new tyres (Autogreen SC1) fitted now. I don't do high speeds, or racing line cornering.

The condition of the original tyres was a bargaining chip in negotiating the price I paid for the car from an advertised £950 down to £800, so this largely covered the tyre replacement price of £220.

it makes you wonder about paying the extra for premium tyre brands. whats the point if you are at risk with cracking tyres only a few years old ? hope you fare ok with your new tyres , but at £55 a corner , i have my doubts that they will be on there for a good while. ... all the best with that. .... ;)

The ten year old Hankooks on the rear of my Sportage had cracks in the treads but that is to be expected!!!:D Lots of reports of cracked Avons at well below the six year mark. Hard tyres = long miles but cracking may well occur if you don't do the mileage.:shrug:

cannot grumble at 10yrs service ! are they asian made or EU ? seems to me that the clean environment strategy from the EU was not thought through very well for the european market. the limitation of certain chemicals during manufacture has resulted in a boost of tyre production and profits. But were was the advantage to the environment by doubling production quantities and energy usages and polluting even more ? not to mention delivery pollution aspects. no wonder the manufacturers welcomed the move. sounds as good as the petrol v diesel pollution enforced by the E.U a few years back.

Just a few disconnected thoughts .

Put a set of Nexens on my Tourer in 2014, and they are just starting to show signs (according to my MOT tester, but not necessary to change for another 5k miles he said). Spread my mileage each year between a number of cars so will need to consider what to replace them with if cracking becomes more common - I used to expect 10 yeas at least! Just checked the tyres on my Triumph 2500, which were last replaced in 2005, and no sign of cracking - it is always garaged, so perhaps this makes a difference.

How do you rate the Nexens?
I don't drive my ZT hard, but I do cruise it at 70mph regularly.
My Avon's will be due for replacing next year I feel, so I'm interested how the Nexens fair in the wet etc please?

I see tyres cracking a lot and in most cases it’s cars that have little use or the tyres are old. Also, in most cases the cracks are only superficial and only an mot issue if cords can be seen.