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Used Tires? Should I run em?

E

elks

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So I have access to a set of 285/70/17s wrangler duratracs.... About 50% tread left. It is a set of 5 and trying to get em for $130... In the past I have always bought new, but with money issues, building a crawler, etc.... A $130 sounds a lot better than the lowest new set can find($834 at Discount)...

So why or why not run a used set? They are load range E. I can get all 5 but really only need 4.
 
gotta look at them
as long as they look good, aren't dry rotted, and have even wear... I don't see why not
 
Everyone is always worried about tread depth...

Read the actual manufacturers date on the tire to find out the age of it. That is the single most important thing about buying an used tire(outside of a lack of any tread at all obviously).

It is a 4 digit combination burn stamped into the tire near the bead. The first two digits can be either letters or numbers, depending on the manufacturer, to usually show month built or series or whatever and these first two aren't that important, and the second two digits are the year. You'll find that burn stamp and see XX06 or something, which would be 2006, which IMHO would be too old regardless of tread depth.
 
looked at some ProComps the other day. It actually had the whole year stamped inside a circle. Said 2003, and looked the part :(
 
My k5 has tires from 1997 on it. they are bald tires but serve the purpose well. Just something to use as I work on the k5
 
I think you'll like the Duratracs real well, I've run a set for 25K, and they still have plenty of bite in them. load range e as well. 130 for 5 is a steal I think.
 
76zimmer said:
I think you'll like the Duratracs real well, I've run a set for 25K, and they still have plenty of bite in them. load range e as well. 130 for 5 is a steal I think.
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Yeah I paid $1250 for 5 33x11s for the trooper new. My biggest concern since theyre radials is whether the guy marked the rotation of them when he took them off. After putting alot of miles on a radial the belts where in in that direction and putting them on the other side of the car can be bad news.
 
I didn't think direction was a big deal anymore? I regularly rotate my tires and switch sides when I do....no problems.
Also I don't think the duratracs have been out long enough to have an age issue.
 
K85 Octane said:
looked at some ProComps the other day. It actually had the whole year stamped inside a circle. Said 2003, and looked the part :(
Click to expand...

NO
The first 2 digits are the week, and the second 2 are the year.
So your 2003 reads:
20th week of 2003.
And if you have letters and numbers not all 4 numbers then it's older than 2000.:thumb:
So yes the more important fact is the age of the tire and technically anything more than 4 years old is not good.
That being said, if you know what you have I am running 10 year old tires that are not dry, have good tread and I know if I hit a wet road with hard brakes I will not stop as well as new tires, but they do fine on my trucks that only drive once a month if that.
Cars that I drive daily will always have tires 2 years or less.
 
76zimmer said:
I didn't think direction was a big deal anymore? I regularly rotate my tires and switch sides when I do....no problems.
Also I don't think the duratracs have been out long enough to have an age issue.
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It may very well not be but I still follow the rule. Im actually gonna do some searching around on this subject. At work though I follow this always.
 
Stomis said:
Yeah I paid $1250 for 5 33x11s for the trooper new. My biggest concern since theyre radials is whether the guy marked the rotation of them when he took them off. After putting alot of miles on a radial the belts where in in that direction and putting them on the other side of the car can be bad news.
Click to expand...

I have heard that and think it's bs. I never had a problem with radial tires because of that. Tires on my tow rig were used and after 12k that I put on them I have not had any problems. 20k on a used set of MT/R's with no issues either. I hear people say that but I know several people that run used tires and nobody has had a problem.
 
wayne said:
I have heard that and think it's bs. I never had a problem with radial tires because of that. Tires on my tow rig were used and after 12k that I put on them I have not had any problems. 20k on a used set of MT/R's with no issues either. I hear people say that but I know several people that run used tires and nobody has had a problem.
Click to expand...

Well after reading a couple articles here apparently it no longer applies. It was a condition caused by the initial way radials were manufactured back in the day and isnt a problem anymore.

I still have to follow the rule cause I work on a lot of older cars that retain their original tires from 40 years ago :doah:


I will say that when it applied it was not BS though. The older mechanic at work had a blowout from the belts being swapped directions back in the early 70s.
 
I agree with that back into the 80's, but for quite a while now it hasn't been an issue with the belts coming apart...remember the Firestone 500 debacle?
 
Well I got the tires... Paid 140 for all 5 in a 285/70/17... they are right at 50% tread when compared with the new ones they had in a slightly larger size. No holes patches etc. and a 2010 date. All in all it was worth the trip. got em mounted and balanced for $50. And I still have an extra one as a spare.

Can't cmoplain. I am glad I asked never thought about build date.
 
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Used tires all the way. That's all I get because i'm a broke kid. I know a guy who runs some 33" thornturds ....from 1985. You can get at least a dime in the dry rot spots. But they hold air! But then again....thornturds.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk
 
I've run many used tires,in fact Ibet I have bought only one brand new set of 4 tires ,many moons ago--Cooper bias ply Discoverer's ,8.75x16.5's,for my 72 K5......I usually scour the salvage yards for good take offs,or better yet,look in the trunks or under the truck beds for never used spares!..they sell them for 15-25 bucks a whack at most yards here.......................................................................................................I feel its a waste of money buying new,especially at todays prices..not when I can score unused spares or like new ones for used prices................................................................................................If I was driving hundreds of miles weekly,that would be different..on my vehicles that sit more than they get used,it would be a real waste of cash watching new tires flat spot and crack.................................................................................................I haven't bothered looking at date codes,so far I've had no problems just looking at the sidewalls for cracks when folding them back--if they look good,I run them..............I think maybe 2-3 tires I had failed,and only one from "old age",the tread separated all the way around the shoulder,and flew off in one peice on one radial I had years ago....the 265/75/16" Goodyear Wranglers on my pickup now I got from a friend--they sat behind his shop after his brother gave them to his dad in 2007,who sadly passed away before he got to put them on his pickup...they still have zero cracks and look soft and flexible,not all petrified,have about 1/2 their original tread...had about 30K on them...my truck rides a lot better with these load range C tires compared to the Steeltex Firestone ones that were load range E too....
 
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