Hello
I am using a VW Vanagon, and the car is about 12 years old, which was kept in the garage for a very logn time. It is driven for nearly 25,000 miles on them. Lots of tread left, but last week while inspecting them prior to a weekend trip, I noticed some small splits/cracks in the sidewalls of several of the tires. Let me clear you that this is a standard van, not the big heavy campers with all the gear and kitchen stuff.
Let me clear you that these splits are horizontal to the wheels, about midway from the bead to the tread, and the largest, about 1/4 in length, the worst tire has three of these in the sidewalls. I did slide under and look at the other side of each tire and found no splits.
Similarly, this vehicle gets parked in the winter, and spring is going to be a better time financially, but I do not really want to risk injury to me, or other drivers. Seems that local tire stores only want to sell me new tires, plus, the kids who run the places, are not even as old as my van, so I think their answers might be a bit skewed towards raw profit.
Thanks
Tags: Cracks, sidewall, tire