perishing tyres after 5 years and 33,000 miles? Replacement Advice Please.

[Oakmaster]

Yesterday I had my 65 plate Puma 110 Utility XS  MOT ed.

Its on the same Continental Crosscontact 235 /85/R 16s that it left the factory wearing.  and after 5 years and a mere 32,850 Miles, 3 tyres are perishing (with 7.4mm tread left on the back axle pair) 

I've had no complaints up until now, but I'm not impressed with the thought of replacing them.

I'm wondering what to go for next, I have a 1979 V8 110  with BF Goodrich All Terrain T/As for getting muddy, so I prefer an M&S or Road biased tyre.  I really want tyres that are going to last more than 5 years / 32,850 miles.  Recommendations Please.  

[Snagger]

How bad is the perishing?  If it’s only just getting started, some tyre shine products will help by blocking the UV (primary cause) and may make the rubber a little more supple again.

[reb78]

As Snagger says. How bad is it? Sometimes I wonder if the MOT folks just feel they should pop down the odd advisory and its not all that serious when you take a look. 

[Ex Member]

If I read right new tread depths is 13.6 mm.  Zero depth id 1.6 mm. That puts you at 48% depth.  So the wear rate sounds pretty normal.

[Oakmaster]

Thank you Guys - TBH - I haven't even looked - haven't seen it in daylight to be honest, - but I like the idea of the tyre shine products - great tip.

Interesting comment about the MOT inspectors - 2 weeks ago my wife's X3 picked up comments about perishing tyres, I wonder if its The Tip of The Month for MOT inspectors?  

Back when I were  a Lad (and Shep were a pup) On my 96 110 CSW Tdi 300 - I got 68,000 miles of a set of BFG Commercials (looked very un cool) - at the same time my late wife on her 99 90 CSW Tdi 300, got an incredible 123,000 off a pair of Michelin M&S ( back then I used to rotate the tyres (and had a 110 V8 to off-road too) 

Any recomednations for the replacements when the time comes?  Roadish, 235 85  R16, decent - is there anything on the market that is long lived? 

[reb78]

I run BFG ATs on the 110 so cant recommend any road biased tyres from my experience. My last set got to 120k miles when I changed them. Fuel economy is fine, they aren't too noisy and suit dry, rain, snow, tarmac and off tarmac. So not the recommendation you were after but thats my opinion! 

[Retroanaconda]

I would concur. I’ve never been able to note any difference in noise or MPG between BFG ATs and road patterns such as Conti Cross Contact or Michelin’s XPC & Lattitude Cross.

[smallfry]

Purely out of interest, have a look at your tyres to see where they were made. Most manufacturers have plants in various countries, and I suspect that the quality of the rubber varies.

For example, I have a Fiat van with Michelin (Turkey) tyres on it, and they are really badly perished on the sidewalls and in the sipes at five years old, but the Michelins France) on my other van were made in 2003, and look as good as new, apart from the tread wear.

I have to say though, that Contis I have had in the past seemed to perish, which is why I will not buy them again.

Have also seen plenty of perished BFGs, but to be fair, they were all quite old.

The Goodyear MTRs on my 90 were made in 2004 and are not at all perished. 

[smallfry]

2 minutes ago, smallfry said:

 Michelins France) on my other van were made in 2003, and look as good as new, apart from the tread wear.

 

Sorry, meant to read 2013, but I am unable to edit.

[Troll Hunter]

My General Grabber AT2s were bought in 2009 and show no sign of perishing, and approaching 200k km.  They were made in Mexico.  One thing to be aware of is that all tyres have their manufacture date on them.  From tiretrack.com:

"Since 2000, the week and year the tire was produced has been provided by the last four digits of the Tire Identification Number with the 2 digits being used to identify the week immediately preceding the 2 digits used to identify the year."

So, before you buy, check the date of manufacture, since you may be offered old stock, especially if it's highly discounted.

Mike

[Snagger]

My BFG ATKOs had much better grip on wet and wintry roads, including treacherous frosty block paving, than the road biased Michelins fitted by LR to my wife’s 2009 90, and I could brake far harder with those with no ABS than she could with her ABS and I still wouldn’t skid.  The same type BFGs were also very good on my RRC.  I think they’re an excellent tyre.  I haven’t tried their ATKO2.

[Escape]

I agree the BFG AT is a very good tyre, and long lasting. On a Defender that is. On the Range Rover V8s we found they had problems putting down the power in the wet. The General ATs seemed better.

[Snagger]

On my 109, the BFGs last over 90k (miles).  On the RRC, they manage about 50, because of the viscous unit in the Borg Warner scrubbing them a bit on tight turns - mine got used a lot for town driving.  It had no problem with grip, but it’s a Tdi, so doesn’t have the performance elf the big V8s.

[qwakers]

On 10/28/2020 at 5:42 PM, Oakmaster said:

 

Interesting comment about the MOT inspectors - 2 weeks ago my wife's X3 picked up comments about perishing tyres, I wonder if its The Tip of The Month for MOT inspectors?  

 

must be. last week dads slk was in for a mot, advised all four tyres perished and cracking. strange, as they are about 6 weeks old....

[Snagger]

You need to find an honest tester, then.  It might be worth reporting that one to VOSA for fraud.

[Nonimouse]

My mate runs Continental Cross Contacts on his G wagons. A LWB and a SWB, they both tow all up most of the time. They are G's so heavy. One is a 200bhp 606 Turbo, the other a 165bhp 605 Turbo. He gets 60-70k out of a set. Loves them. Used to buy all the take off sets he could find, then store them in a dark, cold barn

[Snagger]

I just bought a set of Continental CCs for my XC90 a fortnight ago.  So far so good.  They have much better grip than the Dunlop X50s they replaced, and the Pirelli’s before them, and will cope with the winter rains better than the very dry-biased tyres that dominate here.  

[elbekko]

There's also a huge difference between different sizes - especially if you happen to have the misfortune of having an LT size.

The BFGs I used to have were extremely terrible in the rain, but they were a 265/75R16LT, hard as nails. Most likely a non-LT size would've been much better.

[qwakers]

23 hours ago, Snagger said:

You need to find an honest tester, then.  It might be worth reporting that one to VOSA for fraud.

well theres the issue. advisorys are totally at the testers discretion they can advise that the dont like the paint colour if they like, the dvsa  will do nothing unless the advisory is offensive (like the joke ones you see on line)

Edited November 3, 2020 by qwakers

[Retroanaconda]

I picked up a set of new take-off Continental Cross-Contacts a while back and ran them on the 90, but I was disappointed with the wear rate. They were down to the limit in less than 30,000 miles which is not acceptable in my view. I was doing a fair amount of miles on unsealed stone roads which may have been their undoing. Swapped to BFG ATs and haven’t looked back.

[Maborgeneral]

5 hours ago, qwakers said:

well theres the issue. advisorys are totally at the testers discretion they can advise that the dont like the paint colour if they like, the dvsa  will do nothing unless the advisory is offensive (like the joke ones you see on line)

mot testers put advisory comments on the ticket to show they have noticed it , purely to cover themselves to protect their job . if they miss items they can loose their ticket .

[Dr Strangeglove]

10 hours ago, Retroanaconda said:

I picked up a set of new take-off Continental Cross-Contacts a while back and ran them on the 90, but I was disappointed with the wear rate. They were down to the limit in less than 30,000 miles which is not acceptable in my view. I was doing a fair amount of miles on unsealed stone roads which may have been their undoing. Swapped to BFG ATs and haven’t looked back.

Apart from the west rate, how were the cross-contacts for road holding and stopping in the wet and dry. Also where they noisy?

[Retroanaconda]

I never had any problems with road-holding or braking. They were quiet, same as any AT. But my car is fairly well soundproofed. 

[Dr Strangeglove]

14 hours ago, Retroanaconda said:

I never had any problems with road-holding or braking. They were quiet, same as any AT. But my car is fairly well soundproofed. 

Thanks for that. I do very few miles but I like the look of the tread on those. It looks like it will get through water but the tread is aggressive enough for a bit of off-road.