I'm close to purchasing a new set of All-Season tires, and Michelins' current $70 reward card offer has me thinking seriously about going with their Pilot Sport All-Season plus tires.

My one real holdup is that I've seen a lot of premature dry rot with Michelin tires. I used to work within a service department of a car dealership, and I saw more than a few sets of Michelin tires that had dry rot. Some of them would have signifigant dry rot only 3-4 years after the manufacture date on the tire. This wasn't necessarily the case with all Michelin tires, and less than four years was uncommon. In my experience Michelins dry rotted much quicker than any other tire I was used to seeing. The common OEM tires were Michelin, Continental, Bridgestone and a few others to a lesser extent.

I only run All-Seasons in the winter months, and my current set is on their fifth season. I would hate to pay top dollar for the Michelins if they are no good after three or four years.

Does anyone know of any ways of preventing premature dry rot?

 

the only ways I know of preventing this is to run them on the car, and/or keep them moistened when not in use. use tire protectants regularly to keep the rubber from drying out while not in use. either that, or run them periodically for a day or two every month or so.

another good place to search would be GOOGLE. if you want tips on such a broad subject, it would be a good idea to broaden your search. this isn't an EVO specific concept, so you shouldn't limit yourself to an EVO forum where you're less likely to get the right answers.

good luck

 

bag em in trash bags and keep them out of direct sunlight and the elements....

TireRack has a great write up on their website....

 

Great step by step here Storing Tires

 

Thanks Neal, that is exactly what I was looking for. I love Tirerack, and I love their website. I somehow missed this page. I've purchased at least a half dozen sets of tires through Tirerack over the years, and I plan on continuing to use them exclusively. Great company, great service, great resource!

Thanks, Neal put the link up. Good information.

What is this GOOGLE company you mentioned? I can't say that I've ever heard of GOOGLE, thanks for the suggestion.


I'm obviously joking with you, in case you didn't spot the sarcasm. Of course I researched the topic before I made a thread. I found some discussion of the matter, but not a lot and I found a lot of varying opinions. I obviously didn't find the Tirerack link though. I appreciate your input nonetheless.

 

No problem at all

 

I bought a WRX with 17K on it. The dealership had installed new Goodyear tires. The originals must have been bald. Two years later these tires were checking and had to be replaced.

Next we jump to California where my mother lived - just outside of LA. She bought an old tear drop camper trailer and parked it on her property for use as a guest room. I slept in it on a couple of occasions. This thing was made back in the 50's.

Well, the son or grandson (I don't remember which) of the original owner wanted to buy it back and so the sale was made. When he and his dad came to haul away their baby, they intended on putting on new tires before traveling down the freeway. But, finding none that fit, they hitched up and left. These were the original tires installed when the trailer was made. So at the time of the sale, they were about 50 years old; had been sitting outside in the sun and the California air pollution for all of that time.

So, it appears, when it comes to withstanding dry rot, tires have slipped a little.

 

I didn't experience any dry rot with my PS2's, and I had them for 4yrs. I have seen it on other Michelins though (mom's merc). Don't let that deter you from getting them, Michelin's are fanastic tires. Those PS2's were the best all around tire I've ever owned.

 

I also haven't had any issues with the Michelin's. I used to buy used tires for my Crossfire all the time (PS2's). Using the steps above though the link are VERY important. I try to keep my summer tires inside as well during the winter. Clean/dry them off, seal them up in a tire bag, keep for 6 months, switch!

 

Straight from the lions mouth - ROOOOOOOARRRRR!