R26 with 21 year old tyres

Discussion in 'Suspension, Brakes, Wheels & Tyres section' started by Xanda73, Mar 2, 2014.

  1. That's right :mad:

    Bought my R26 last year, it having had new tyres fitted a couple of weeks previous to the sale. All 4 were very nearly new with 6+ mm of tread when I bought the car.

    In 8 months and 7k miles I destroyed all 4 to the point the I could of been banned for 12 points; no track days. The rears were worse than the fronts.

    I could never find any reference to them online - nobody selling such a tyre or talking about them. They were Goodyear Eagle GS-A's.

    I was very disappointed with the grip and handling of the Megane, coming from a 172 I thought the car had way more understeer off throttle and even letting the diff do it's thing, the back moved around alarmingly.

    Last week I replaced them with PS2's. I also emailed customer services at Goodyear with a picture of the tyres and they confirmed they used to be made - 21 years ago!

    The car feels about 200% better now - guess I should have checked the car out a little better :eek:
     
  2. Bloody he'll did they even make the right these size and load ratings 21 years ago?
     
  3. They were correct size - 235/40 in 91Y which I'm not sure is the right rating TBH but it's 615kgs so should of been okay I guess. They weren't perished or crazed either, they looked new.
     
  4. Lol, that must've a bit of a laugh to drive! I bet it will feel amazing with the new rubber on! :smile:
     
  5. It wasn't fun really - understeer-a-plenty. Feels like a totally different car now :smile:
     
  6. If I'm reading that correctly they were made in the 1st week of 1993, so yep 21 years old! Tyres only have a shelf life of 2 or 4 years iirc!
     
  7. That is mental!!!

    So they were on the car when you bought it? Glad you got it sorted but that is really mad.
     
  8. Will.

    Will. RSM Moderator RSM Moderator

    Jesus that's crazy. Rubber perishes, so how the fuck they managed to not just dissolve under use I have no idea!
     
  9. 19th week of '93 the Goodyear guy told me.

    Yeah they were on the car when I bought it, and were very nearly new with 6+mm of tread all round.

    They kinda did fall apart with use - the backs especially, almost down to the canvas with no tread at all in less than 7k. They went from legal to bold in a couple of hundred miles & less than a month.
     
  10. Ash87

    Ash87 RSM Moderator

    Crazy!
     
  11. What i was thinking haha
     
  12. Your tyres are less than a year younger than me! Hilarious but pretty crazy at the same time. They could have been really dangerous!
     
  13. Me too haha
     
  14. No grip, terrible wear rate, chronic understeer, aquaplaning on the motorway - yeah they were hilarious :worried:
     

  • Share This Page