Old tires being sold as new.

[sunkistcamaro]

I just got this sent to me by a friend.
Check the date on your tires!
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

[novaderrik]

this again? this has been circulating around the internet for about 5 years now.
i remember watching this when it first aired- the commercial break right in the middle of the story was for Firestone- a company that has a little bit to gain by making people paranoid about the age of the tires on their cars...

[Yoda4561]

If it's a safety issue I think I'd rather have old BFG's than new firestones.

[Jim Nilsen]

If it's a safety issue I think I'd rather have old BFG's than new firestones.

You make me feel better already!

Now I can wear out the ole BFG's without worry.

[MonzaRacer]

For one Yoda that is an asinine comment(sorry but its true), Bridgestone/Firestone tires have not had ANY positive proof of tire failure from construction due to bad design/construction.
As for the recall that was a big bunch of CRAP. Of all the tires under recall approximately (as of the last time I got a monthly up date flyer from BFRS) the total number of ACTUAL blatant failures of the recalled tires was listed at 144 sets.And the big issue WAS Ford labeling vehicle tire pressures wrong.
As for all of the tires sent back for periodic testing over 80% were inspected and showed every indicator for abuse/neglect, ie under inflation damage, lack of proper rotation and out of balance, the rest were listed as serviceable with no physical defect.
The tires recalled for the most part had to have the DOT numbers cut out and sent in with paper work, and for the record I know of probably 25 or 30 sets ,with DOT cut out and still being driven, daily!
The recall was idiocy that wasted so much of Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone money its pathetic,,,all because the owners/drivers followed the drivers door pressure spec over the tire spec. Want to know the minimum amount of air the SHOULD be ran look up the load index of the tire, then weight the vehicle for each tire loaded, then each tire has a chart of which pressure should be used for that wheel load.
Now this is the MINIMUM you should run, loading, area temps, and riving habits will dictate your actual needed pressure.
Most quality tire to day on everyday drivers are 44psi tires, but about 20 yrs ago I went to a tire training class for a large tire installer/reseller and you know what EVERY tire engineer told me, for best tire life, ride and safety keep your tire at least 80% inflated of the max cold psi and this would put 44psi tires at 38, Load range C at 40, D at 50 and E at 65 minimum.
I see people EVERY DAY come in with tire under inflated and no edges lleft on the tire and blame the manufacturers, or place of purchase or on low profile tires get multiple impact breaks in sidewalls and most from running a tire that calls for anywhere from 44 to 51 psi in the 30-35 psi range.
And as for tires getting old(yes a 25 yr old set of bias ply tires MAY develop issues due to improper storage) but my stepmother bought a set of Bridgestone Dueler AT Revos for her truck they come in around a year old as they are curing for at least 3 to 6 month before release and continue to do so as they are shipped, hard to believe but her truck put 54,798 miles on them wore the 2 rears out and still had 8/32 on the fronts with no rotation at all(yes she had front end aligned, this is why they wore good), s owe simply rotated old tires to rear and put 2 new ones on front, she sold that truck and it still had those same tires one it.
Tires properly stored are not subject to anything but normal chemical drying of the rubber, ie the old Firestone wide Ovals your Grand daddy had in barn are now plastic, not rubber. BUT if your tire is 5 yrs old or less, drive them UNLESS your getting some issue that would lead you to believe the tire is defective.
Back in 90 I bought 2 old (yet new)(70s vintage) G7014 Tigerpaw bias ply tires and only issue I had was that straight tread 70s bias tires WONT go in snow, period. I sold those tires to a guy for his show car and he has probalby put more miles on them than I did, no problems and the place selling them had ZERO comebacks.
As for quality, in 3 1/2 yrs of working for Bridgestone/Firestone I can tell you that the bad tires due to defects I could count on MAYBE 2 hands. I worked for a Goodyear dealer and we would have atleast one set a week come back ,junk. unbalanceable, out of round, pulling, loud, vibrations, etc.
We sold Kuhmos, had quite a few of those come back the early 2000s, seemed to have gotten quality in check.
Place I work now our house brand tire is built by Cooper and those are the WORST tires ever produced.
Common sense is out the door and most tire retailers want monkey to throw on tires ,not tire techs. take this from a former tire tech now a Master Technician.

[LS6 Tommy]

There's nothing wrong with Firestone/Bridgestone tires. What's wrong is Ford dealers telling their customers to reduce the inflation pressure to try to get a better ride quality...

Tommy

[jocko124]

Thanks 4 sharing.