The shocking quality of newer cars

[Dessieb2022]

I was putting 4 tyres on a 2020 Nissan Micra yesterday. It had only 13500 miles on it.

The tyres:

And then noticed this:

I know the lack of driving will affect the tyres but they are also lacking the quality of rubber from years ago. And couldn't believe that the spring was broken before the first set of tyres has been changed!

 

[bricol]

Pirelli claim it's due to not driving enough to activate a polymer in the tyre, so it breaks down and you see the result - and 13000 miles in 5 years isn't much.

Pretty much all modern cars with none-flattened and ground coil springs (ie cheap) suffer the same issue - puts the max stress a half turn or so up the spring - add in a crack initiator like the corrosion shown there and . . .

 

[gaz1]

that wall crack also indicates low pressure on the tyre so its been driven around on the walls of the tyre

 

[Dilkris]

Pirelli claim it's due to not driving enough to activate a polymer in the tyre, so it breaks down and you see the result - and 13000 miles in 5 years isn't much.

That surely must be an absolute load of bol.....ks !!!!

 

[Melvyn Best]

Range Rover Evoque drive shaft bearing spun in its housing at less than 30,000 miles , new housing , drive shaft and bearing cap needed along with dropping the front subframe to remove the housing. Why? It came out of the factory with an incorrect bearing cap, a known problem apparently but RR will not accept responsibility. Anyone on here that has an Evoque it might be a good idea to check you have the modified cap otherwise you face a large bill

 

[Gritineye]

That surely must be an absolute load of bol.....ks !!!!

If you'd ever owned a camper or caravan you'd know that it's definitely not bx, standing cracks tyres every time.

 

[Melvyn Best]

If you'd ever owned a camper or caravan you'd know that it's definitely not bx, standing cracks tyres every time.

I changed all of the tyres on our motorhome last year even though they all had at least 6mm tread and no perishing because they were 8 years old. Also fitted new tyres to my toy car that were 22 years old but has been stored in a dark garage , again loads of tread with no perishing but ,in both cases a much smoother ride

 

[tom2207]

If you'd ever owned a camper or caravan you'd know that it's definitely not bx, standing cracks tyres every time.

I think a lot of thats the sun , I see many discoverys with tires that still have the brand new mold hairs on them with just the top cracked ,,, hence spare wheel covers.

 

[bricol]

I store my car transporter trailer wheels in a windowless shed after every use (unless I’m using it with a few days) both to keep them out of the light, and for security.

I have a smaller trailer with tyres on it that are around 25 years old – even on close inspection, they still look good, despite outside storage.

I think something has changed in modern tyres as I have a set of wheels from a BMW Mini for use on the new trials car – came with tyres – I noticed they show exactly the same sort of cracking as posted – been in my shed for 3 years.

Yet an NCT2 tyre that came on a scrap kit-car, stored outside for years, and now left outside at mines, looks almost new – I’m guessing that tyre has to be from the last century.

 

[Wozzaaah]

I store my car transporter trailer wheels in a windowless shed after every use (unless I’m using it with a few days) both to keep them out of the light, and for security.

I have a smaller trailer with tyres on it that are around 25 years old – even on close inspection, they still look good, despite outside storage.

I think something has changed in modern tyres as I have a set of wheels from a BMW Mini for use on the new trials car – came with tyres – I noticed they show exactly the same sort of cracking as posted – been in my shed for 3 years.

Yet an NCT2 tyre that came on a scrap kit-car, stored outside for years, and now left outside at mines, looks almost new – I’m guessing that tyre has to be from the last century.

More environmentally-friendly synthetic ingredients in the compounds these days.

 

[dobbslc]

Last half as long and replaced more often...

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I'm surprised the suspension spring isn't made if plastic!!!

 

[RWD3M]

I'm surprised the suspension spring isn't made if plastic!!!

It's coming!

Search for LeeP™ Plastic Composite Springs | Lee Spring

Search Lee Spring's inventory of LeeP™ Plastic Composite Springs by part number or by specifications. Browse by Imperial or Metric units for your convenience.

www.leespring.co.uk

 

[james butler]

More environmentally-friendly synthetic ingredients in the compounds these days.

i seem to recall an article on reducing the amount of Sulphur used in the vulcanizing process of tires to reduce the environmental impact of worn down rubber going into the water supply and not breaking down so getting into aquatic life
but in the process have created tires that break down faster while still on the car

 

[bricol]

It's coming!

Search for LeeP™ Plastic Composite Springs | Lee Spring

Search Lee Spring's inventory of LeeP™ Plastic Composite Springs by part number or by specifications. Browse by Imperial or Metric units for your convenience.

www.leespring.co.uk

Go-ogle Corvette springs . . .

Only just swapped to steel coils (latest version - 2020?) from plastic transverse leafs - from the internet:

FRP springs are advertised as having exceptional cycle life and corrosion resistance A GM test comparing the third-generation Corvette springs found that failure of the multi-leaf steel springs was likely after 200,000 full-travel cycles. The replacement FRP leaf spring showed no loss of performance after two million full cycles.

 

[bricol]

I was just checking some kingpin remoulds last night - I used to use them for trialling, meeting my specific criteria for competition tyres - black (although that wasn't particularly required), round, mostly hole free and cheap. Mainly cheap.

Two were showing signs of cracking - they must be 10, 15 yrs old. Annoyingly, I didn't buy a load for stock - and then they went bust! I'm resorting to putting a gaitor inside one of the last I bought to see if I can continue to use it for single venue, off-road, trials - big tear in the sidewall - my own fault reversing onto a ramp less trailer - put the end of the side of the deck through it. I cannot find any new tyres of similar open tread pattern (max 8mm wide grooves across the tyre required), even if I could force myself to pay 50, 60 quid a tyre - those Kingpins were 22 quid delivered!

 

[Dilkris]

If you'd ever owned a camper or caravan you'd know that it's definitely not bx, standing cracks tyres every time.

No - UV exposure will be the cause of this.

 

[Blobber]

That does look like its been run a bit flat as Gaz stated, its very worn right around the edges

 

[Ubique]

What brand were the tyres? they definitely haven't been looked after, some of it can be attributed to UV, but not the cracks in the centre or inner edges. Interesting to see the DOT codes, it wouldn't be the first time the tyres are significantly older than the rest of the car, usually caused by the seller not wanting to let it go with 'good' tyres on....
The broken spring is generally down to 'sudden decompression / recompression' caused by road surface deterioration - 'pot holes' if you prefer.

 

[Turbo]

I was just checking some kingpin remoulds last night - I used to use them for trialling, meeting my specific criteria for competition tyres - black (although that wasn't particularly required), round, mostly hole free and cheap. Mainly cheap.

Two were showing signs of cracking - they must be 10, 15 yrs old. Annoyingly, I didn't buy a load for stock - and then they went bust! I'm resorting to putting a gaitor inside one of the last I bought to see if I can continue to use it for single venue, off-road, trials - big tear in the sidewall - my own fault reversing onto a ramp less trailer - put the end of the side of the deck through it. I cannot find any new tyres of similar open tread pattern (max 8mm wide grooves across the tyre required), even if I could force myself to pay 50, 60 quid a tyre - those Kingpins were 22 quid delivered!

I remember those kingpin tyres. Very popular for autograss. Used to have a pair of them.