Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Tyres choices and advice

Today we had the 5 tyres changed on our year 2000 morgan plus 4

The following may be useful to know
The tyres still had tread remaining and they were Avon ZV1 tyres
mileage on the car is 35,000 miles however the rubber had a crazy paving look on the tyre tread.
We had these replaced with the current morgan factory fitted tyres yokohama blue earth.
We asked for the wheel balance weights to be fitted on the inside of the wheel for some unknown morgan fit these on the outside rim and the weights look unsightly.

Now when we looked at the date code on the old Avons they were dated to 2000 the same year the car was made (16 years ago)!

Krazy Horse of Bury St Edmunds our local Morgan dealership performed an excellent jonb and even purchased a wheel spinner spanner not a wooden type either a pro one that fits a socket for the spinners therefore ensuring they were not damaged.

Another request by me to black the tyres and remove old grease and replace with new on the splines as its well known that if the old grease containing metal swarf is not replaced then premature spline wheel hub wear occurs..

so an excellent job and so much more grip.

No wonder you have more grip! Old tyres simply dont work as well and could , in some situations, cause the car to become intimate with the countryside.
10 years really should be the limit, ideally 6 years no matter what the tread depth is.
Tyres are so important and can transform a car.

Crikey you are lucky not to have had an accident especially in the wet.

My 2005 car has the original Yokohama spare, It has never been on the road, has always had a wheel cover on it, the car is garaged when not in use, and the tyre looks pristine.

Is it safe to keep this tyre as an occasional-use spare of should it be renewed at my next tyre change?

Safe? Maybe, if you drive very gently if/when you need to use it. Wise? for the sake of £100 or so, maybe not. I guess it depends on how skint you are and how many miles you drive.

The rubber gets oxidized , stiff and brittle by ozone & UV.
Replace it.

I changed the rears earlier this year after finding out how old they were - I didn't realise there was a date stamp on them.
The tyres were more than 10 years old and squealed like hell on spirited cornering due to the hardness of the rubber.
New tyres, no squeal and more grip makes for a contented and safe drive.

Yep I did a 360 skid on the 8 year old tyres on the Roadster when I bought it. Tyres changed the next day!

And I suspect your underwear was changed even quicker!

It was a formative experience.