GT3 tyre age - Page 2 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

Enquiring about a gt3 and been given some of its service history, I can see it’s had tyres fitted just over 7 years and it’s done very little mileage since and they still have around 5mm on them. It’s being sold by a well know porsche specialist, would you expect them to be offering the car with a new set of tyres due to there age or is this acceptable? The car is priced at the high end of its market.

After 5yrs the tyres degrade and start cracking. For top money, I'd want new tyres.

When I bought my 981 GT4 from OPC, they added 4 brand new tyres fitted along with brand new harnesses. If you're paying top dollar, I'd expect such things to be replaced if they're past the expiration.

It might be worth looking at the brakes too because with infrequent use the discs/pads can start to go bad/rust/brake up. Think a lot of this has to do with how & where it's been stored.

Yes the way a car is stored and its usage hugely influences tyre life. Sun damage from outside storage and winter storage e.g. kept in one position for extended periods of time without over inflation not good and this will probably result in premature deterioration. Some 'cosmetic' products such as 'tyre shine black' to the sidewalls can adversely affect the compound too. Michelin reckon their tyres have a 10 year life if tyres are looked after optimally. Some OPCs would replace tyres if over 5 years old even if they are within acceptabe tyre wear limits. Some don't. If I was buying a car I would probably use tyre age as a negotiating tool but in reality age in itself may not necessitate tyre renewal up to around 7 years.

Deffo replace. They will be old , hard and not optimal given its a sports car and likely to be used enthusiastically on road or track. Negotiate them in the price Edited by Far Cough on Thursday 25th May 16:18

Thank you all, I thought they would technically be out of life due to age.

The good news is you know it hasn’t been spanked. Unless the original tyres were put in storage as it spent its life on slicks? :P

I'd be asking the garage (Herts?) to change them or reduce price by more than the tyres cost, same with the service as I suspect its 6months or less till thats due...

When I bought my 2014 GT3 in 2020 it had the original cup 2’s on it . Car had done 8k miles so plenty of tread. They were fooking lethal unless ambient temps were mid to high teens, took an age to warm up. They were definitely past their best. Had 4-5mm of tread. Changed for PS4S N rated, so much better for road use ( I don’t track it, just use it on euro road trips).

UV light in daylight is a major factor.... Two sides of the same tyre which was almost unused in mileage terms ... I'll let you guess which was the outside edge

Wow that’s shocking, clearly tyres have a life expectancy no matter how much use the have. I assume the cracked side is the outer side as that would have been affected by more sun light? This car apparently has 5mm of tread, but like you say doesn’t mean they are still usable safely do to there age. Either way I assume they would need to be replaced to use the car safely.

These were on a '73 2.4S and yes, the cracking was on the outer edge ... now replaced ! The higher the performance of the car the less tolerance for aged tyres, my personal opinion is that on a GT3 5 years should be good for now but 10 years definitely not ... and every tyre is different so it's a judgement call. As mentioned previously, cracked tyres are not an MOT fail unless the cords are showing and MOT stations are not allowed to probe the cracks, so many cars could be running on tyres which are suboptimal in extremis. And then there is the question of the spare, unused in the boot

My OPC wouldn’t extend the warranty unless my tyres were replaced at 8 years old despite the apparent condition and less than 10k mileage.

Of course they did. I wonder why that would be??........ Can't think of a single thing that would link tyre age and warranty except opc profits.

The Cup2 on my GT3 are about 3 years old and have about 4mm of tread depth left, but they definitely feel past their best. Not lethal or unusable by any stretch, but no where near and sharp or grippy as they were when new. Id would defiantly be factoring new tyres into the price, or asking for them to be replaced.

What would be the view of 5 year old cup 2’s with plenty of tread - around 5mm - change or leave on? I’m looking at one this weekend which has the original cup 2’s on and thinking of getting ps4s’s all round straightaway if I buy it. Also, there is a thread from a couple of years ago about some Porsche uk dealers not fitting ps4s’s - has that now changed/been clarified?

Imasurv said: What would be the view of 5 year old cup 2’s with plenty of tread - around 5mm - change or leave on? I’m looking at one this weekend which has the original cup 2’s on and thinking of getting ps4s’s all round straightaway if I buy it. Also, there is a thread from a couple of years ago about some Porsche uk dealers not fitting ps4s’s - has that now changed/been clarified? I was in that exact situation, read my post above. Slight difference in that it was 6 years. You can get N spec 4S’s that meet warranty requirements. If you are gonna track it regularly go with cup2’s if not 4S, much better there for the road.

Mankers said: Imasurv said: What would be the view of 5 year old cup 2’s with plenty of tread - around 5mm - change or leave on? I’m looking at one this weekend which has the original cup 2’s on and thinking of getting ps4s’s all round straightaway if I buy it. Also, there is a thread from a couple of years ago about some Porsche uk dealers not fitting ps4s’s - has that now changed/been clarified? I was in that exact situation, read my post above. Slight difference in that it was 6 years. You can get N spec 4S’s that meet warranty requirements. If you are gonna track it regularly go with cup2’s if not 4S, much better there for the road. Thanks, yes I’d read your post and it is one of the reasons I am considering putting the 4s’s on prior to collection so cheers for that. It won’t be going on track often, if at all - same as you I’m looking to use it for trips and weekends etc.

GT4RS said: Enquiring about a gt3 and been given some of its service history, I can see it’s had tyres fitted just over 7 years and it’s done very little mileage since and they still have around 5mm on them. It’s being sold by a well know porsche specialist, would you expect them to be offering the car with a new set of tyres due to there age or is this acceptable? The car is priced at the high end of its market. Lets put the boot on the other foot. I'm pretty confident the dealer would use this scenario as leverage if you were offering this car for sale/PX. New tyres or sale price negotiated down to accommodate your tyre purchase.

Looking at getting my GT3 serviced in March (minor), and extending the warranty for another 3 years which they say can be done once it's serviced. My tyres are coming up 6yrs old but seem fine on the road and still have plenty of tread >4mm. Is there a limit on tyre age for warranty? Or would it be best to change prior to service, I would replace with the 4S and keep the cup 2' s for potential track days.

Doddler said: Is there a limit on tyre age for warranty?. Depends what mood they're in as I suspect you'll get different answers from different OPCs. It gas been mentioned here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... that Porsche extended warranty had gone away from the need for N rated tyres and were "recommended". That said it's an insurance product so they can stipulate what they like so best to read the policy wording.

Just had my MY22 Cayenne serviced, they recommended changing the tyres every 5 years apparently, my rears are original with >4.5mm tread left but are showing signs of sight perishing on the outer shoulders, they quoted £750 each!

my cup 2s are about 6 years old on my .1 gt3. rpm who serviced it last suggested replacing earlier this year. i took it recently to center gravity and asked chris what he thought. he put a hardness gauge on and suggested i leave them as is as the reading was not dissimilar to what newer ones would have shown. he was more concerned about my intended application; for track mine were fine but for predominantly road he would have changed the cup 2s to pilot sports

That's interesting about the hardness gauge, I'm sure mine would be similar but I use the car for predominantly road use. Camskill selling 4 MP4S for £1111 and then local indy to fit them prior to going for OPC service.

My left rear Dunlop Sport Maxx Race 2 has a 2017 date stamp. I did the hardness test with my finger nail.......rubber still feels soft! Wonder if you can buy tyre hardness tester somewhere??

You can buy tyre durometers for £30 or so, they're not expensive. Amazon amongst other places sell them. You need one that measures on the Shore A scale. It is important to measure tyres at the same temperature, however it does not matter if the tyres are inflated not, it's measuring hardness not pressure deformity. If you measure your track tyres when they are new, you can see them harden through use, though most people will wear them out long before that. You can also compare old tyres to new ones to see the difference. HTH. Edited by arkitan on Wednesday 10th January 09:57

Thanks, yes looked on Ebay/Amazon. They can get pricey for decent ones, but suspect a cheap one will allow you to compare tyres, which is v useful

I've seen 2 cars get into problems with old tyres left fitted. One was a 991.2 GT3 with original tyres still on but the car had little use , kept in a garage. Lost it on a wet bend at no speed and luckily gathered it up before the barrier. None of the other cars , all the same but on newer rubber were fine. Second was a 997 GT3RS that lost the back end on 10yr old tyres and unfortunately made it into the barrier which caused a fair amount of damage. Did you know , the rear carbon wing on one of them is £10k alone !! Anyway . They are the only thing connecting you to the road so why risk it. If in any doubt , replace.

A few years ago I had a roundabout bump in a 2003 car that I had recently bought and to which I had recently fitted new replacements to the original part-worn tyres. I was so pleased at not having to argue a query "poor maintenance" contribution to the repair costs ...

OPC says the tyres will not affect warranty renewal, will only be an advisory. I’m happy to keep going with them despite the age, but I tend to drive to conditions and no where near the limit either so pretty happy for another year.