How old is old for tyres?

[Hector2021]

My new to me S2 is currently showing 64800miles.looking back at the service and MOT history it has only covered 10k miles since 2010 and im guessing from the wear that these may be the same shoes it wore back then. Theres still a good amount of tread on all 4 so i dont want to change them unless absolutely necessary. Would 12ish year old tyres be too old, or still ok to use?

[FunElan]

Put new tires on. If you have the space, save the old ones (or just a couple) as spares for when you're in a pinch and need some rubber just to get around. Consider them "last resort" spares.

[exeterjeep]

When I had my S2 wheels refurbed recently, they suggested 2 new tyres as the 2 old ones were old and also a bit hard. They were also the somewhat out of fashion directional ones. Took their advice, seems better on the road. And not too much cash. Whole bill £600. Including 3 of the wheels need straightening.

[Rusty Wishbone]

Somewhere on the sidewall you will find a plate with a 4 digit code. The first 2 digits represent the week of manufacture, and the last 2 represent the year. So 3714 would indicate manufacture during the 37th week of 2014.

10 years is the generally accepted age limit for tyres.

[Saltire]

I’d definitely be thinking about changing them.

I bought my S2 (62,000 miles) in 2015, and refurbished the suspension and wheels three years ago. At the time, I had a mixed set of tyres: two Toyo, one Goodyear and a ditch finder special, IIRC. All were showing minimal signs of wear, and all were at least ten years old. I couldn’t justify the expense of a new set of Pirellis, which is Lotus’ specified tyre for the S2, so - on Simon_P’s suggestion - I replaced them with a set of Avon ZV7, which I’ve been very pleased with.

Don’t forget to check the wheel alignment at the same time, or your nice new tyres will wear out quickly. Ideally, find a garage that has a Hunter Hawkeye alignment machine, because that has specific settings in its memory for our cars.

[Hector2021]

Somewhere on the sidewall you will find a plate with a 4 digit code. The first 2 digits represent the week of manufacture, and the last 2 represent the year. So 3714 would indicate manufacture during the 37th week of 2014.

10 years is the generally accepted age limit for tyres.

Thanks for the advice from all. Following the information from RustyWishbone i went to check the tyres this afternoon. Its worse than i thought!
The two fronts are Yokohama with "EJX2305" shown in the panel. The two rears are Goodyear F1's with "1704" shown in the panel.
I think 4 new shoes are overdue.
I could have done with being clued up on this when i first viewed the car as i would have used it as a bargaining chip. Id better look for a new spacesaver spare too. At 27 years old i doubt this will be a safe bet either.

[Rusty Wishbone]

I'm very happy that you will replace them.

[rip]

I wouldn't want tyres more than 5-6 years old.
I replaced a 5yo set of tyres (Toyo T1-Rs) on my Elan with a new set of the same. The improvement in grip was very noticeable. Different brands & compounds may last longer though.
I like my Lotus because it is fun to drive, so I want it to hold on to the road.
Tyre technology also moves on. What was good 5 years ago may not be so good now. Having said that, there has been a directive in some countries which has forced a compound change which has reduced the grip level. I guess that tech will evolve to claw this & more back in time.

When I bought my daily back in 2018, it was 10 years old. When I viewed it, I looked at the date stamp on the tyres & 1 of the rears seemed to be an original. I decided it was worth ordering a new set of wheels to get these old ones off ASAP & using the originals for winter tyres, so I had them on order before I even collected it.
When I removed the old tyres, the 10yo old had cracks within the tread which could not be easily seen until the tyre was removed. The tread depth was sufficient for it to pass an MOT so I guess this would not have been a problem.

I do not consider it economical to buy a tyre which will last 30,000 miles if this will take 10 years.

[Rambo]

Somewhere on the sidewall you will find a plate with a 4 digit code. The first 2 digits represent the week of manufacture, and the last 2 represent the year. So 3714 would indicate manufacture during the 37th week of 2014.

10 years is the generally accepted age limit for tyres.

Thanks for the advice from all. Following the information from RustyWishbone i went to check the tyres this afternoon. Its worse than i thought!
The two fronts are Yokohama with "EJX2305" shown in the panel. The two rears are Goodyear F1's with "1704" shown in the panel.
I think 4 new shoes are overdue.
I could have done with being clued up on this when i first viewed the car as i would have used it as a bargaining chip. Id better look for a new spacesaver spare too. At 27 years old i doubt this will be a safe bet either.

17 and 18 year old tyres definitely need replacing That could have been a good £500 bargaining point.

[Hector2021]

17 and 18 year old tyres definitely need replacing That could have been a good £500 bargaining point.

To be fair i think i managed to get the car for a good price. the seller had already reduced it by £1k whilst i was following the advert but before i called to view it. I then managed to squeeze another £500 out of her anyway. i guess i'll just put the tyre issue down to 'consumables' and just need to find another £400 for a new set.
Now that i have also sussed how to add images i'll just throw a couple in here:

[Scott J]

6 years is the industry norm these days .

[Saltire]

As an aside, I checked the space saver on my newly acquired Golf R32 today. The car was first registered in November 2008.

The tyre pressure was well down, as I expected - it’s meant to be 60psi.

And the manufacturing date on the sidewall? That said 1008 (week 10, 2008).

Good job I didn’t catch a puncture on the M25 one dark and stormy night

[Dave Eds]

Pretty sure Elan spacesavers will be OK whatever age as long as the pressures are regularly checked, they're kept in the boot out of the sunlight and they don't stay on the car for longer than absolutely necessary. Not sure about any type of spare that's been kept in a wire tray under the back of any car for years though, .....

[Saltire]

Pretty sure Elan spacesavers will be OK whatever age as long as the pressures are regularly checked, they're kept in the boot out of the sunlight and they don't stay on the car for longer than absolutely necessary. Not sure about any type of spare that's been kept in a wire tray under the back of any car for years though, .....

I kind of figured the same, Dave - but it did give me pause for thought. It’s the same in the Golf as the Elan, under the boot floor. The (full-size) spare in my 205GTI was in a wire tray under the floor, and I used to keep it double-wrapped in black plastic for exactly that reason.

I might check the Elan spare in any case - though I’m not sure if you can buy a space saver tyre from any of the usual suspects.

[Essex]

Just put a set of new Michelin Pilot Sport 3 tyres on the Elan. Bought from Costco at a good price taking off 6/7 year old Tyres. It has transformed the ride, really great tyres.

[Hector2021]

I kind of figured the same, Dave - but it did give me pause for thought. It’s the same in the Golf as the Elan, under the boot floor. The (full-size) spare in my 205GTI was in a wire tray under the floor, and I used to keep it double-wrapped in black plastic for exactly that reason.

I remember this terrible stowage idea from when i had my 205GTi. One dark night back in 80 something i got a knock on my front door from my neighbour. He had chased two lads down the road who had taken a set of bolt cutters to the cradle and cut through it. To expedite their getaway they luckily slung the wheel into another neighbours garden before jumping into a stolen XR3. I got the wheel back of course but then removed the cradle and just carried the spare around in the boot.
Back in the days when just about every nice car with alloys was stolen to allow some scallywag to dress up their look-a-like version of the same model

[Hector2021]

Not having used the car very much since buying it, i wasnt overly concerned about the age of the tyres. However i have now booked the car in this coming Saturday for four new tyres and 4 wheel alignment check.
My concern now is do i trust the garage to understand how to jack the car up, or do i risk teaching them to suck eggs and explain the risks of getting it wrong and actuality of how to jack the car up?
If i say nothing and they make a pigs ear of it i could be left with some expensive damage. How have others dealt with garages working on their cars?
In actual fact im a little confused myself as to the correct method since WikiLEC states that on the S2 you should only use the FRONT jacking points in the sill area. I guess the rear should be jacked using the suspension connection points only?
Incidentally i have managed to find a set of four Toyo Proxes TR1, fully fitted for £313.

[Tuga2112]

and 4 wheel alignment check.

i seriously doubt they will do that properly.

the front alignment of the elan requires 2 adjustments done with shims
caster and camber.

one can be done with the shims already in the car.

however the other will need more work.
for the camber each side need 2 shims of the correct size.
caster needs 8 each side which are spaced as required by the machine telling you.


these are the part numbers of the required parts that i just bought a week ago to get mine re-done properly

CASTER ADJUSTMENT SHIM
A100C0025F EACH £3.84 2 £7.68
CAMBER ADJUSTMENT PLATE 10.5 mm
A100C0109F EACH £4.75 4 £19.00
CAMBER ADJUSTING PLATE 12.5mm
A100C0110F EACH £4.75 4 £19.00
CAMBER ADJUSTMENT PLATE 14mm
A100C0111F EACH £4.75 4 £19.00
CAMBER ADJUSTMENT PLATE 11.5 mm
A100C0125F EACH £4.75 4 £19.00

[Hector2021]

i seriously doubt they will do that properly

Tuga, i have my doubts too, however the garage uses Hunter Hawk equipment so any errors should be evident, and they will 'know' what the correct settings should be. It will be interesting to see how they present the before and after printout and perhaps gloss over any none corrected values?
I already know it has too much toe out from the wear on the inside of the offside front, plus the steering wheel is everso slightly off centre.

[Tuga2112]

anyone will do Toe. its the easy one.

camber and caster adjustments require you to lift the car. take the wheels off re-position the shims (camber in specific needs you to HAVE the correct shims... which i suspect only SJ, Lotusbits workshops and myself would have in stock)

my camber was done by a lotus specialist in knaresborough. he did hes best, and got it close. but he rotated my shims to a position that is not meant to be used. reason why i ordered a full set and will be doing it again in future..

unfortunately the machines for this work are upwards from 10k used. an efty investment for a enthusiast... i would have to be providing the service to the whole comunity for years before i got my investment back.... oh.. and i dont run a business. so, all the money would have to be "donated" somehow for taxation purposes.