Tires take a serious beating—constant 'stretching' as they roll along the road, exposure to harsh chemicals (gasoline, oil, acid, etc.), UV rays and heat. That rubber is suffering so that you can travel! Almost all tires will begin to exhibit small cracks in the sidewall after a short period of time. Is it time to worry?
The outer layer of rubber on the sidewall is simply a sealing layer to keep the elements away from the inner (structural) part of the tire—in other words, those unsightly cracks are purely cosmetic. If your tires start to get really deep cracks after 3-5 years, you might consider replacing them for peace of mind. If you haven't worn out a set of tires in 5-8 years, it's worth replacing them for safety's sake, even if there is still good tread left on the tires.
It is important to note that recreational vehicles—like your VW camper, maybe?—are more subject to tire cracking than everyday drivers. Long periods of 'sitting' causes the rubber to dry out, and when you take your camper out for a drive, the rubber 'splits' as it gets worked on the road. Again, this is nothing to worry about unless the cracks are exceptionally deep.
The bottom line is this: In almost every case we've seen, you do not need to worry—you just need to get out and camp!
Michelin Tires Cracking Between Treads Warranty
I just replaced all 4 tires on my 2000 Olds Silhouette (van).
All 4 tires had heat cracks between each tread all the way around.
At first I saw small cracks starting, then after a few months and one trip down to MB, South Carolina and back (2200K miles) those small cracks all joined up (end to end).
Those tires only had about 35k miles on them on tires with a 75k expected life.
None of the mileage was done on any road other than asphalt.
Are high speed driving and UV rays the only reason for this failure?
I have BF Goodrich Precepts on now and find these great for holding the road in heavy rain.
Plus, they are quieter than the old ones (which turned out to be noisy from the get go).
- When it comes to cleaning tires, we recommend you follow this advice from our friends at Michelin: “Avoid the use of petroleum based tire cleaning products as they can exhaust the tire's oxidation and weathering agents within the rubber compounds, resulting in cracking.
- Put another way, cracking of rubber is to be expected as the tire gets old. But the real problem is not what you can see on the outside. It’s the rubber on the inside that’s holding the tire together.
Michelin Tire Cracking Warranty
We have sidewall cracking on all outside mounted tires (Michlin tires 255/80R22.5 XRV (DOT B6H6 AK3X 3805)). Crack depths average approx. 5/64'(1.9844mm) determined by inserting the corner of a paper strip into cracks, scribing the.