PCA1983

Your tires might be OK for my Mom to drive.
She always drove at around 2/3 of the speed limit.
Is this how you drive?

SinkRate

Pretty much agree with the masses here, the only life left in those tires is the mileage you need to put on them to get the car back to the shop for a new set of shoes.

timothymoffat

1. You won’t burst into flames if you drive the car. Just don’t do 180 mph on a hot afternoon.
2. Climate and where the car gets parked have a massive impact on tires
3. Cracks DO mean replacement is the smartest move.
4. At 6 years, a tire is most definitely not anywhere near as good as when new. You own a 911. Using old tires is like using 87 for gas only with a safety question mark on top of decreased performance.

CSK 911 C4S

Does your car sit outside or in a garage?

Any tire that starts to crack needs to be replaced regardless of age.

What make and model of tire are you running? Someone might have some used tires with some tread left for you to help get your car sold.

cbredesen

Also worth mentioning (not sure if any of the replies have done so) that as tires age, most (all?) get harder and degrade the ride quite a bit. On my 997 I replaced at 6 year old set of cup2s with brand new ones and was amazed at how much nicer the car felt.

Kitc2246

I was stationed in Germany many years ago. There was a number of bad accidents to include fatalities on the Autobahn involving US service members and their families. The investigations determined that many were the result of catastrophic tire failure at high speeds. As a result a very strict inspection criteria was established for the tires on cars coming from the states. As predicted accidents from tire failures dropped .

As already stated tires with sidewall or cracks between the treads should be replaced. Six years is a rule of thumb for replacement. Environmental conditions can shorten or lengthen the six year period.

Many state inspections will not pass a tire with cracks.

IXLR8

Depends on vehicle use. For a grocery getter or daily driver, not an issue. I'll get 8-10 years out of my daily driver on my factory all-seasons.

For a performance car, I would not push my luck and if you are on the track, definitely NOT. And if you are selling as you mentioned, drop the price and let the new owner pick his tires.

Tires harden with age and that means less traction.

IXLR8

I spent 27 years in Europe during the summer motorcycling in the Alps and while there I saw what is involved in a TüV inspection and that applied to cars, trailers and campers, etc. Damn thorough inspctions testing suspension and braking efficiency to name a few and not the Mickey Mouse inspections I have seen on this side of the pond. Of course I feel a lot safer when I am driven around a KIA SUV doing 120 mph.

Zhao

6 year old tires are 100% fine to drive on, depending on the condition of the tire. I track on old stuff, no issues, but that's if age is the only thing wrong with the tire.

It depends how you use the tires too, but cracking really should = toss. Cracking means the rubber has already broken down to the point where it is garbage. It's probably fine forever around the city but at sustained high speeds it's likely going to result in a tire failure. At the very least those tires probably have almost no grip left, meaning you're basically driving around on greased tires compared to new grip.

If you normally have a ton of tread left at the 6 year mark I would not buy michelins, dunlops, or pirellis. I find those tires heat cycle out very quickly and become actually quite dangerous with age (personal experience was dunlop was the worst for heat cycling out, and even michelin all-season tires weather cracking by the 4 year mark). I'd pick a bridgestone personally as I haven't found a bad tire in their lineup, or I would go with a cheaper option and change them sooner. I find there is even logic to buying Chinese branded tires depending what you're getting.

If a tire performs slightly better when new but falls off a cliff for performance and ends up far worse than a cheaper tire over the majority of the time you're using it, what was the point of buying it for it's better initial performance?

lgusto

I've mentioned this before on several threads....

As a professional mariner I know that the time to put on your life vest is when you first start wondering when you should put on your life vest. Aside from the obvious safety gains you free your mind to think about other things you should be paying attention to.

Granted, I track a lot.

Emefef

I sold my 996 to someone in another province. I had the original receipt for the tires so I know when they were replaced, and mileage was very low and the tires in good shape. It passed the safety inspection in Ontario, but in Saskatchewan they wouldn't pass it because two tires were just over 5 years old. No cracking, no visible deterioration, just purely because of the date.

IXLR8

Googling, I have seen "should" and "recommneded" but that does not mean they have to be replaced. I'd want the dealer or shop to show me that policy in writing from the department of transport for the state or province

4 Point 0

Having the same set of tyres on any car for 6 years is not a brag, its neglect.

Having tyres on a 911 longer than 2 years is commuting not driving.

Regardless if you track or not, its a performance car. Having crusty old tyres on it is dangerous. Unless you drive it like a Camry. This is how Paul Walker was killed. Someone gets in your crusty old commuter, mistakenly thinks its a 911, and puts their boot into it and has an accident.

Anyone who tracks the car and drives it like it should be driven has had 10-20 sets of tyres in the last 6 years.

IXLR8

Don't know about that being 49 years accident-free and claim-free and have never had a tire failure either.

Zhao

I don't disagree with what you're saying but there are exceptions. I had over 100 tires/wheels when I counted at the end of track season, some of which are older left overs that I eventually use up at lapping days or test and tunes. There are tires I've used for track that are 4+ years old that were legitimately just as sticky as fresh ones, the re71r's being one. Re11a's being another. I know guys I road race with that also ice race that have horded blizzaks from over 20 years ago, because they're still the grippiest winter tire on ice for their class.

So it's not an absolute that 6 year old tires are garbage, even if it's almost guaranteed.