Ok, Opinions About My Tires
 

You guys have been super helpful and I am going to lean on you once more. (Probably not the last time)

I have a VERY low mileage 03 996tt bought with 8800 miles and now has 9700 and have been using as a daily driver since I got home with it a week ago.

Tires are showing little tread wear. They are Michelins Pilot? I am not sure if they are OEM or not. I cannot find where one of the two previous owners bought new..

Visually tires look great.. no cracking checking or fading of the black rubber. no vibration at any speeds up to 140 (so far) they feel good in turns and hang the road like a scared cat trying to stay out of the bath tub.

The car was kept in a garage for the last 5 years and driven monthly religiously from what I understand.

I want to use the car to drive... work and back, 700 mile round trips on interstate over weekends. and rarely run up over 120. Lots of 80 mph..

I know there is no perfect answer for the exception of Go Get New Tires.. But your thoughts would be appreciated on 9 year old well taken care of out of the sun tires./....

BTW... Car runs awesome.. Its bone stock and just a joy to drive.. no issues yet.. is anyone else getting 25 - 26 mpg?

Check the imprinted codes on the tire to determine the tire manufacture date (typically follows DOT......). I don't know that every mfg follows the same structure but certain digits will indicate the week and year of manufacture.

Bottom line, if you are worried about age / dry rot - bring them to a tire shop for an expert opinion or just keep a close eye on them (meaning, remove a wheel every few weeks and do a close inspection - sometimes you cannot really see inner tire wear while the wheel is still on the vehicle).

Tires are pretty darn important!

The owners manual states that tires should not be more than 6 years old. If the tires are actually 9 years old, I would get rid of them for safety's sake, but that's just me. Everything depends on your tires.

Couple of thoughts -- have you confirmed the age of the tires? I would be surprised that they show little tire wear at 10K miles -- especially the inner right rear. Maybe they're newer?

If they are original, then they're definitely old. It would be a good idea to double check their condition. Also, if the tires are original with the car, then you probably can't get that model tire anymore -- you'll be replacing the whole set when the rears wear down (unless you mix and match, which is not recommended).

I can barely get 25-26 mpg cruising on the Hwy in 6th. But then, you're clearly not having as much fun with the car as you should be. Enjoy!

Thanks for all the input guys..

I will check them out. The tire wear certainly does not indicate 10000 miles even in light driving. Good tread left.. BUT I have not inspected the inner rears. That I will do tonight. great advice. Knowing these tires should only last 18000 miles.

I will look into the date code- should be easy enough..

One note.. the numbering system is current with tires that are on the market now. and the tire is made by Michelin in the same numbering system.

Not concerned about the cost of new tires... Have called the Collection (closest dealer to me) and the have not returned my calls twice now. Told them I wanted new tires, inspection and a alignment.. Oh well....

If anyone knows of a good place to take the car in South Fla. I am all ears. Was hoping to build relations with Collection, seems thats not gonna work.

Yes, I have not been super freaky with the throttle (yet).. Cops here are a bit rigid. Still getting used to the car, and if is has been siting. would rather bring it back to life gradually. The Fuel economy was a bonus.

Thanks again guys.. and if you ever want to know ANYTHING about fast boats... Drop me a line.. I am a huge help there and VERY connected for parts, engines and hulls.

FYI - most say they get @10k (+/- a few k) from the rears and @15-18k from the fronts (again +/-).
Getting 18k from rears would likely be very rare (and maybe dangerous)

Hmmm interesting on that 10k rear note.. If that is the case..these tires are new. They can't have hardly any time on them as the tread is deep, I will measure tonight.
thanks.

I bought new PS2s when I bought my 01 two years ago. I put 50,000 km in that time and I am just starting to feel like I should get new rubber now. Front and rear seem to be wearing very evenly - very little difference between inner and outer on the rears. This really surprised me in view of all the views expressed in this forum. So, it is very possible that those are the original tires given your mileage. I like to have fun but I've only been to one DE and I switch out to snow tires for about 3 months in the winter.

50,000 km =@31,000 miles...wow

Wow is right. Slider, are you running a stock alignment?

Cheers

I haven't had it aligned since I bought it. Whatever the alignment is - I want to keep it that way.

I'll say. I assume you are happy with the handling -yes? I know it has worked out well for you, but putting on new tires without at least verifying the alignment can be risky and expensive. Don't want to ruin a new set of expensive tires prematurely just because the alignment is off.

Cheers

Just a FYI. Good advice, but I doubt that any tire shop is going to suggest that any tires more than 4-5 years old are fine. Liability. If I had a tire shop there is no way I would put myself in a position like that. If they look and act good, they are probably good for another couple of years over the Factory recc [again- liability].

Check ALL the tires. You may be surprised... post them here and we will clue you in. It can be a guessing game and ultimately it will have to be your guess.

Now that I don't put many miles on my cars I am surprised to realize that my tires are getting old so fast! I buy spare rears and they are getting old and haven't been installed yet! [Yes, I know...pathetic..but I am an old guy so gimme a break. I need to either start wearing out my tires or buy a Lexus ++eeer, I already HAVE a Lexus! Oh man... this may happen to you someday folks. Don't feel too sorry for me. I was thinking this out and realized that the choice is being old or.. dead. That makes getting old look pretty good.]

The old tires should tell the whole story about how good your last alignment was. I'm my case the old tires were evenly worn and an alignment didn't seem necessary. The handling is fabulous, but it is definitely time for some PSS10s.

I'm not sure good alignment (for performance) = good tire wear. My understanding is that one of the reasons the inner part wears faster is due to the relatively aggressive alignment (even stock) for our cars. In fact, I'm aware that you're often asked by a good alignment shop -- are you looking for longer tire life (e.g. even wear) or better performance?