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Government to consult on ban on 10-year-old tyres to boost road safety


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There have been a few cases in the PSV world of accidents being caused by the failure of old tyres (a quick internet search will show this), I recall (but can't find a link to at the moment) a vintage car which had 20 year old tyres on and one failed causing the death of the owner. 

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I suspect that there are many more failures of relatively new tires, simply because there are many more of them. Does this mean that all tires should be banned ?

Also most preserved vehicles do not travel very quickly and anyone that can't control a blowout at those speeds really should consider whether they aught to be driving.

Just my knee jerk reaction....

David

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A few years ago l had to do a H/S REPORT on tyres  and how they deteriorated with age which had become a problem with museum vehicles when a number of tyres blew out without warning  been a potential risk to visitors. After  contacting a number of tyre manufacturers they confirmed that a tyre would start to deteriorate after approximately  after six years and there was no way of stopping this as most of the deterioration took place out of sight they gave examples such as a spare  wheel that had never been fitted and had stayed in the boot for a number of years painting with tyre black only covered up the problem and did not solve it  This what l found out the vehicles l own have had  all the tyres replaced if they show the signs of cracking

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I hate to fuel a useless debate but I honestly feel that the concept of due diligence comes into play here. In our province here in this colony we do not have an annual vehicle inspection requirement. Frankly I believe we should have it, regardless of year of manufacture or class of usage, end of discussion. As far as the standard that the vehicle should be judged by that is a different kettle of fish, basically I believe that safety is key, worn ball joints and brakes with no friction material are easy to fail a vehicle on but the vagaries of why an ex MOD Land Rover was never fitted with reversing lights isn't for me.

So, an annual inspection should be the point at which that should be revealed. We the owners are wise but a mechanic should have the technical knowledge to be able to judge, based on sensible criteria as in this province, that give a point at which a fail is required.

While we all get up tight about originality and the shade of olive drab I don't want anyone to die over a vehicle that is not safe. I would also extend that comment to include owners being inappropriate in deciding which classification of road they use when driving a vehicle that is not able to make normal road speed and thereby endangers themselves and others.

I pre apologise if I have ticked anyone off, I am told I do that, some don't hear the intonation in my voice when I type.

Our veterans fought for our freedom to say such things and be counted when we do.

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

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9 hours ago, andym said:

As I understand it, a major issue is exposure to sunlight, which bakes the plasticiser out of the tyres and causes them to become less flexible.

Andy

I knew of some WW2 Bedford axles still with tyres fitted - vehicle scrapped 1950's  , in undergrowth but still in sun - never moved in all the years. I used to comment to the owner that the tyres still showed no visible cracking.  I used to run my finger over the treads to leave carbon black, the last time I did this was in early 1980's.  Possibly more natural rubber than butyl  ?   I would have expected any natural or early ersatz blend to crack out early  ?

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As Andy says, the rubber hardens with age, but as well as reducing the flexibility of the tyre, it also substantially reduces grip, particularly in damp or wet conditions. When I acquired my QL it was wearing original 1950's rubber which showed very little cracking, but the brakes would lock or the lorry would slide at the drop of a hat. As soon as I replaced the tyres with new rubber, this problem completely disappeared.

I am all for originality, but surely safety should always come first - bear in mind that some of our vehicles are big heavy beasts and will do a great deal of damage if they come unstuck!

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I wonder how the degradation of cheap Chinese etc ' Ditchfinders ' compares to the major brands and their second line brands often made in the same plants.

Equally for the vehicles listed when in regular use even on trailers do tyres normally last 10 years ?

Someone I used to work with had both tyres of their caravan blow on the motorway during the same ~ 150 mile trip.

While outside this consultation for cars the issue is spacesavers spares as they can not be used like years ago when normal practice was as the first pair needed replacing just a matching tyre to the spare purchased and the best old tyre kept as the spare then the spare replaced with a newer tyre each time a pair was purchased.

For vehicles discussed here if applied it will be hard given both the cost and availability of a new set of tyres.

 

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On 4/7/2019 at 11:07 PM, david1212 said:

I wonder how the degradation of cheap Chinese etc ' Ditchfinders ' compares to the major brands and their second line brands often made in the same plants.

 

I can answer that from experience as the cheap Chinese tyres that Ifor Williams supplied with a brand new horse trailer literally fell apart after just 3 years and about 1500 miles.  The replacement branded tyres are still fine after a further six years with no sign of cracking.

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A friend went on some internet site to check up on a  used Ifor Williams transporter prior to purchase.  I suppose a site supported by Ifor Williams ,  he mentioned that Ifor Williams trailers were now manufactured in China !   -  I suppose he was reliably informed that this was fact ?   I suppose they would be imported in fully knocked down   -  true/false   ?

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26 minutes ago, ruxy said:

A friend went on some internet site to check up on a  used Ifor Williams transporter prior to purchase.  I suppose a site supported by Ifor Williams ,  he mentioned that Ifor Williams trailers were now manufactured in China !   -  I suppose he was reliably informed that this was fact ?   I suppose they would be imported in fully knocked down   -  true/false   ?

I believe Ifor buy certain components from China but almost sure the chassis and assembly are UK.

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9 hours ago, ruxy said:

A friend went on some internet site to check up on a  used Ifor Williams transporter prior to purchase.  I suppose a site supported by Ifor Williams ,  he mentioned that Ifor Williams trailers were now manufactured in China !   -  I suppose he was reliably informed that this was fact ?   I suppose they would be imported in fully knocked down   -  true/false   ?

Probably false. Just look at their website, a new manufacturing plant just opened and a lot of new jobs advertised on their website 

check out www.iwt.co.uk

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On 4/9/2019 at 8:46 PM, radiomike7 said:

I can answer that from experience as the cheap Chinese tyres that Ifor Williams supplied with a brand new horse trailer literally fell apart after just 3 years and about 1500 miles.  The replacement branded tyres are still fine after a further six years with no sign of cracking.

Blimey I didn't think anything could be that bad. I don't suppose you noticed if they were marked as type approved, although if they were was any testing actually done ?

I recall a test comparing Chinese etc tyres to a premium brand. At just 30mph there was a significant shortfall in the stopping distance. Wanli was one of the worst. At the time National Tyres supplied these as their budget range.

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On 4/5/2019 at 8:59 PM, ruxy said:

I knew of some WW2 Bedford axles still with tyres fitted - vehicle scrapped 1950's  , in undergrowth but still in sun - never moved in all the years. I used to comment to the owner that the tyres still showed no visible cracking.  I used to run my finger over the treads to leave carbon black, the last time I did this was in early 1980's.  Possibly more natural rubber than butyl  ?   I would have expected any natural or early ersatz blend to crack out early  ?

Talked to a Chev C8A owner the other day, he still drives around on 1940-dated tyres. "Better than new ones as they were made from natural rubber", he claimed 😨

I just keep my fingers crossed he never causes an accident...

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