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It all happened quickly and all I can say is thank goodness for roadside assistance…
Cautionary tyre tale
Lorraine Middleton
I own a 1960 Pop Top, these tyres looked to be in good condition, no cracks etc, passed WOF at VTNZ no problem.
Passing over a bit of road where the rumble strip had been removed but not filled in, my tyre got stuck in the rut and shredded. I had been warned about this bit of road but the rut had to be passed over. It all happened quite quickly and all I can say is thank goodness for roadside assistance as my son didn’t think it was safe to use the car jack on the poptop.
I have since learnt from my tyre man:
That tyres should be under 15 years of age and should have a date printed on them or you can google the serial number. (if you can’t find any information on the age of your tyres they are probably too old and only suitable as a spare).
Tyres with tubes can pop and deflate quicker than modern tubeless tyres.
Nitrogen in tyres helps stop them overheating and are less likely to have slow leaks (the gas is denser than air).
I ended up replacing tyres and rims as it wasn’t that much more expensive than buying just tyres and tubes for the old rims. They are ones made for large jetski trailer and work well and don’t look out of place and we did have a nice roadside picnic while waiting for the AA. ◼️
Editor: My tyre man offers a more conservative story. Seven years max (or 70,000km). If you remove the tyre from the rim and inspect the insides, you can discover if it can go on longer, he told me. Collyn Rivers on p20 suggests 7–10 years.
Photos: ©2024 Lorraine Middleton
9 Spring 2024
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