Tires too old?

[SNAKE BITE]

I still have the original tires on my 94. They have plenty of tread left, but are they getting too old or are they fine?

Does anyone know where I can get tires changed in the rockford, IL area? Or what type of tire machine I need to call around and ask for? Thanks

 

[Wild Bill]

WAY to old....go do some burn outs and replace them!

Bill

 

[GR8_ASP]

Wow! 12 year old tires. Lucky they still hold air. Traction must be near zero with those bricks. You will be amazed at the traction and friendliness of newer tires. Those XGTZ were terrible even when new.

 

[SNAKE BITE]

OK, I was trying to get reasonably priced tires. Will the Kumho v700's be fine? I only put about 500 street miles per year on the car and no track use.

 

[GR8_ASP]

Kumhos are good tires. They last less miles but that should not be an isue with your mileage. The biggest concern with Kumhos is that they will pick up road debris and chip away at your paint. You need some protection to prevent that from happening.

 

[SNAKE BITE]

What do people do for the chip protection? Clear 3M tape?

 

[Asp Man]

Yep. You can get it in various widths. Put it on the leading edges etc., under the rear bumper cover near the wheel wells and so forth.
Body shop supply places should have it in stock, or 'detail' shops and the like.

 

[DarcShadow]

May not be better places but Discount Tire can handle changing the tire. They may have a lift to get the wheel off the car but they do have the machine to get the tire off the rim.

 

[DanAuito]

Maybe I'm on crack but what about Goodyears, I always liked the softness of the Radial TA's. I'll be buying tires in the near future as well down here in the Tampa area.
What are we talkin, about $1500 for four?

 

[Boxer12]

The tire selection will be limited, probably all in the $1300-1500 range per set. Look at Tire Rack website, put in your vehicle and then read the reviews on the tires. I personally like Pirelli Asymetrico's, although they do harden over time like any tire.

 

[GT40DOC]

Man, if you are only driving 500 miles a year, and no track events, why are you buying new tires? If you are doing "aggressive" 500 miles of driving, I understand, but if you are just cruzin with and occasional squirt, use the tires you got. My .02

 

[propsail]

I have to agree with GT40DOC. I have the originals on my '94 (7,000 miles). I don't track the car, but I do what Chuck Tator said, just get them warmed up good. I haven't had any issues.

~Craig

 

[RedEnuf93]

I had original 1993 tires on my RT/10. They are most likely full of cracks/dry rotten and unsafe.

I replaced mine and once I looked inside the tires, I was amazed that they had not killed me at +160 speeds. FULL OF CRACKS!!!
On top of it, once you replace tires, your Viper will handle MUCH better. For example, is your car "darting" from left to right? That will stop or minimize once you get new tires.

For about 800 bucks you'll get Kumho's.
For about 1500 bucks you'll get Michelins.

Would you drive with original 1994 Ford Taurus tires?

Why would you even consider a sportscar with same rotten tires???????

just get them warmed up good. I haven't had any issues.

No, and you wount, yet.... You cannot warm up dry rotted tires. It happens only once and usually without warning. Thats the sad part of it. I hope it happens to you at low speeds.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

At 500mi/yr you probably won't kill yourself but do you really want to be stranded in your Viper because your 12 year old tires finally gave out?

 

[ViperJames]

I had original 1993 tires on my RT/10. They are most likely full of cracks/dry rotten and unsafe.

I replaced mine and once I looked inside the tires, I was amazed that they had not killed me at +160 speeds. FULL OF CRACKS!!!
On top of it, once you replace tires, your Viper will handle MUCH better. For example, is your car "darting" from left to right? That will stop or minimize once you get new tires.

For about 800 bucks you'll get Kumho's.
For about 1500 bucks you'll get Michelins.

Would you drive with original 1994 Ford Taurus tires?

Why would you even consider a sportscar with same rotten tires???????

just get them warmed up good. I haven't had any issues.

No, and you wount, yet.... You cannot warm up dry rotted tires. It happens only once and usually without warning. Thats the sad part of it. I hope it happens to you at low speeds.

Agree...Tires are dry rotted and need to be replaced...You can get a complete set of BRAND new Michelins on EBAY for $1,200.00 on a good day...Have seen them priced very often at that price, even less if you are lucky...

 

[SNAKE BITE]

Thanks everyone! I ordered a set of V700's and a few other goodies for my snake

 

[Randy]

At 500mi/yr you probably won't kill yourself but do you really want to be stranded in your Viper because your 12 year old tires finally gave out?

While this is definitely true, you might want to consider this also: in a car with as much power and torque as a Viper, you would probably want *more* traction, not less, than a normal car. 12 year old tires definitely qualify as *much* less traction. Or, think if it this way: which is cheaper to do, replace a "fender" and repaint, or keep decent tires on the car? (Also keeping in mind that you can't get the hood for your car anymore, and Gen II hoods are right around $20k). Think of new tires as cheap insurance.

 

[SNAKE BITE]

Well I just found out the v700's are out of stock so I went ahead and ordered the Michelin Pilot Sports. Can't really see the extra $500 being worth it...but what you gonna do

 

[Danno]

Hey Snake bite, it will be worth it. My 97 had the original tires on it and it was equivalent to driving in the rain all the time. I thought thats just the way its supposed to be due to the torque. (I have never had a car where the tires got too old before, I just wore them out) I just put on new pilots and it made a huge difference in 1st and 2nd gear. I know they are not as sticky as Kumho's but from what you are used to, they will feel like it.

 

[thebigsnake]

How do make tires live so long on a car designed to rip tires.

 

[joe117]

Will the Kumho v700's be fine?

Too bad you didn't get them.
They would be perfect for your low miles per year.

I have them and they stick.

 

[SNAKE BITE]

Will the Kumho v700's be fine?

Too bad you didn't get them.
They would be perfect for your low miles per year.

I have them and they stick.

Jon at partsrack told me they would not be good for my low miles and would harden much quicker than the pilot sports. Most likely would only last me 2 years as opposed to 7 or 8 with the michelins. Since I know nothing about tires, I had to go on his word.

 

[Randy]

How do make tires live so long on a car designed to rip tires.

Well, if few miles are put on the tires before they get hard, they'll last a long time.

I bought my previous '95 RT/10 with 14k miles on it in October of '97. I put another 13k miles on it, and it still had half of its tread life to go on the OEM XGTZ's. However, on the track with them, I could not apply power I needed to, and had to tip-toe around corners. Like many, I didn't know any better. So, when I spun out on the track, I figured that was it. Put new tires on it, and found what it meant to to be able to corner and apply more than half throttle.

 

[radta7]

I just replaced the originals on the 97n I bought. Only had 3500 miles but, were completed dry rotted. Scary thought. I agree with the above after 4 years time to replace.