About six months ago i bought 4 power races for a bargain. (yes.. i know you get what you pay for). 3 rears and 1 front. One of the rears was cracked so i tried to get in contact with the seller for a couple of weeks..finally got a hold of him. I sent back the 3 rear tires to be replaced. After about a month of trying to get a hold of him again, I finally receive my 3 tires after i put a spot payment on my credit card.
Now this is a couple of months dealing with this and when i receive them back they all were made in late of 2005.
This was was second race weekend and I was running 1:12s at lightning. You guys think i should think twice about running these older tires?
by the way.. I was running pirellis this weekend.
maybe for a trackday I'd run-em
Quote from: mx558 on July 30, 2009, 05:21:13 PM
maybe for a trackday I'd run-em
Why not your brake pads are 3 years old!! LOL
I was running takeoffs and I was running 1:10's :) Got 3rd in the MW GP AM race on Sunday. I wouldn't run tires that were made in 2005 at the same time a lot of racers wouldn't run takeoffs in a race.
I get my takeoffs for a really good price each usually have 8-16laps on them. I run D211's.
There should be no problem running these tires. Use warmers, take a little more care to scrub the exterior rubber off perhaps. I have seen some tires crack when not stored properly or going from real cold to hot or something like that.
FWIW.. i bought a BUNCH of 16.5" slicks that had been discountinued LONG ago. These were nearly 5 years old. $35 PER TIRE as a closeout, how could you go wrong? They were awesome..! In fact, one of our FL region Unlimited champions bought a pile and ran ONLY those tires all year.
It's rubber (or some chemical concoction that looks like rubber), not a loaf of bread.. 8)
Quote from: jigs on July 30, 2009, 05:43:05 PM
Why not your brake pads are 3 years old!! LOL
they are only two years old
It has everything to do with how they were stored. Race tires like cool and dry conditions. The hotter and the more humid, the faster they deteriorate.
Whenever storing race tires for long periods, they should be chimney stacked on wood or plastic, and kept cool and dry, and out of the sun.
The sun's ultraviolet rays are damaging over long periods of time, as is moisture and heat.
Never leave them on concrete for long periods. The concrete acts like a sponge, transferring moisture from the ground into the rubber, which is why you should place a piece of wood between the tires and the floor.
Properly stored, race tires can last longer than most people would be comfortable running them, it's just unusual for people to store them properly.
Definitely bake them on the warmers first, and then keep an eye on the tires after every session. Look for cracks in the rubber or sidewall, which is usually an indication the tires were frozen at some point.
Best of luck either way.
I'll echo some comments. Yes, depends upon the storage totally. Run 'em? Sure. There have been some old tires that really, really fast guys have used that they liked better than current production stuff.
Now, what did you get? Some close out old stuff might not be the favored tire at all even though it was a "deal". That might be good question to ask.
Me, personally, I wouldn't run them unless I was the one who stored them. Even then, I'd probably be hesitant to race on them. I always adjusted to the latest compounds & constructions of the tires I ran, and couldn't see going backwards.
That's just me though...
I got my balls busted for running brand spanking new 2-3 yo tires, could have been Summit Point moreso but about 5 yrs ago, I broke my right scapula in turn 1 due to what I (and my friends) believe were those brand new OLD tires.......since then I wont run anything over a yr (2 max) old.
Thanks for the input guys. The concerns about storage is the whole reason why i sent back the three rears instead of just the one that was cracked. My thought was if one of them was cracked why can't the other ones be shitty also.
Also i only noticed the crack in the first one after one session at a damp trackday. Didn't notice it at all before had. Is it possible for that tire to crack after being through a heat cycle or was it definately there before hand and i just missed it.
i've got a set of 125 bridgestones brand new in the blue tape that came with the bike 4 yrs ago and knowing the rider the were about 3 yrs old then so they sit in the tire rack in the shop keep thinking of a track day but when the time comes i chicken out and buy new ones . maybe i'll let skidmark burn them up one of those days
Those tires were junk 4 years ago, stick with your Pirelli's.
come on' i'd don't even know how to spell perlli.
My rule of thumb is that if I wonder about my tires it is time to replace them!
Confidence in your tires is paramount to having the confidence to take that corner with authority!
Even if those tires were stored properly the question is would you buy 3 year old tires today? No there is your answer you want fresh tires. The money you lost on this purchase is nothing compared to hospital bills (yours or someone else).
Trash um or sell to some street SQUID so he can wear out the centers ::)
Most riders will never push a set of good DOT rubber to the limit. Why else are there top national riders on DOT race rubber running 20 seconds per lap faster than others? Cause the rubber is that good and the rider is that good.
So.. for those that would say a few year old set of race rubber (when properly stored) is nothing more than an express ticket to the hospital even for novice and intermediate riders, please show me some proof as to why ..
of course there is a bunch of us that buy take offs going on the opinion of the rider that there is nothing wrong with them yet they are taken off early . in that respect we had good luck at the beginning of the season it was cheap r&d we found that the last front mark bought from you made a world of difference now we are on new skins but moving through the different tire designs was a whole lot cheaper on take offs and if i didn't buy a set of take off Michelin's at daytona we would not have found a really good dot tire and with your help mark and I are sold on them Walt owes you a steak.
Quote from: Ducmarc on August 02, 2009, 12:24:16 PM
of course there is a bunch of us that buy take offs going on the opinion of the rider that there is nothing wrong with them yet they are taken off early . in that respect we had good luck at the beginning of the season it was cheap r&d we found that the last front mark bought from you made a world of difference now we are on new skins but moving through the different tire designs was a whole lot cheaper on take offs and if i didn't buy a set of take off Michelin's at daytona we would not have found a really good dot tire and with your help mark and I are sold on them Walt owes you a steak.
LOL.. No doubt Mark. Thats why they pay me the "big bucks" right? (just without the bucs)..
Take offs are an excellent way to try tires, provided they are not totally spent. Unless your getting them for nothing it pays to trust how many laps they have and how they were taken care of. Take offs are not as good as new, and for riders running around that 5 second off lap record pace (rule of thumb) they will see a slight drop in grip and overall performance..thus they "take off" the tires and get new again, leaving a pretty darn good set for riders running a bit off that pace that will serve them quite well for a fraction of the price. However some take offs are not worth mounting so buyer beware..
Mark T. said he liked em and glad you do too. There are a bunch of choices with the Michelins this season from 180 and 190 rears, to firm and soft fronts, it kinda makes it a bit confusing but trust the tire guys to hopefully steer you right.