Shackleton Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I'm stealing the tyres off a Defender that I gave to my cousin who subsequently ignored for the last 2 years. Whereas the tyres have more or less kept their air, one or two have gone a little soft and have some crazing in the sidewalls. I could be being diplomatic. You could describe it as light cracking. Are these tyres perished and dangerous or should they be ok? They were new when the car was laid up and cost a hell of a lot of money. Money I don't have right now. They're Yokohama LT Radial 811's (thats exactly what they say on the side wall - they're not the newer 'Super Diggers') Anyone have any experience with this tyre? (235/85/16 on RRC Rostlyes) I'm not really offroading much, mostly at the beach, but main driving is on tarmac. One other quick Q. I was chattin' here about that Miata tyre calculator. It tells me there's a 9.7% difference between these new tyres and my outgoing 205's. Can I apply that 9.7% directly to my mpg or are things a little more complicated then that what with extra wheel weight, contact patch and mathematics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 MOT spec for tyre perishing is if you can see the cords inside the cracking, then it'll fail - otherwise an advisory. Remould tyres are 'expected' to crack, so the inspection is more tolerant of cracking. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 One other quick Q. I was chattin' here about that Miata tyre calculator. It tells me there's a 9.7% difference between these new tyres and my outgoing 205's. Can I apply that 9.7% directly to my mpg or are things a little more complicated then that what with extra wheel weight, contact patch and mathematics? MPG and gearing isn't that straight forward. In theory a 9.7% difference in gearing should relate to a similar MPG increase but in practice it means you'll be using different gears at different times and may well find yourself having to change down a gear to hold your speed on uphill sections. You'll be slower on acceleration, tempting you to use the lower gears for longer and you'll find your brakes aren't as effective. You should get an increase in MPG though, particularly if you do long runs on good roads/motorways. On short runs you may find MPG decreases though depending on your driving style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJB Serenity Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 As Dave says, it will be harder to pull away but you will be able to cruise at higher speeds with lower revs, although the difference won't be too noticeable unless you go up in size by a significant amount. Your mileage reading will be incorrect too. Be wary of cracks in your side wall, I had some on some old tyres and one of them disintegrated while travelling at 40 mph. It wasn't fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRK Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I had some Michelin primacy sport tyres that had crazing on the side walls of all 4 tyres and over 2 consecutive MOTs only once was it noted as an advisory. Those tyres were probably at least 10 or more years old, possibly as old as the car (1993) so its to be expected on a tyre of that age. If your tyres are not that old then I'd say they were not worth buying - if so then its a 'sign of the times' that products are being built to a price, rather than a quality standard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted March 20, 2011 Author Share Posted March 20, 2011 Thanks for the feedback guys. RE the cracks, in the meantime I've been to two tyre specialists. One told me: "you only have them on the car and they'll blow out". The other one told me: "I can't tell you they're ok but if it were mine I'd keep driving it". Thing is I'm not crazy keen to spending €500+ on four corners right now. Realised that a Defender I had gifted a cousin 2 years ago was still sitting unused with what was €700 worth of 4 brand new Yokohamas on it just before it was laid up. So I nicked 'em and left the Defender on blocks Here's to hoping there's a few miles in them yet. Observations since fitting... Not crazy keen on the look of them or the O/S rub due to that RRC problem of leaning to the drivers side BUT - it's much more composed inside already. Yes the accel. has lost it's punch and yes the brakes have gone from pretty damn good to pretty poor. All in all it's gone from being very chuckable (HD & Police Spec springs) to needing a little more anticipation. Bit more roll but still handles well. Engine has to work harder but the revs have dropped considerably. Oh and I reckon my speedo now reads right! It'd had been up to 20% out because I'm running RRC axles driven by a Td5 and Defender R380. Where as it was showing 80mph which would have been in reality about 65mph at around 3000rpm it's now showing 65mph at around 2500rpm and I reckon it's actually doing 65. have to get a GPS or a pal to outride. Best part is that all the lovely RRC magic carpet ride that I lost when I put the new springs and poly bushes on has largely returned. Not perfect but much less crashy and harsh. Excited now to get it tracked and have my Rostyles blasted and powder coated. Thinking gunmetal is the way to go. Cheers for the help fellas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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