I've noticed some small cracks around the edges of my tyres (see photo below). Are these normal or could it be a problem? The tyres are the standard Bridgestones that came with the car, these are the rear ones which have been on for the whole 2 years I've had the car, just over 22k miles, and still have about 5mm tread.

 

 

Yeah its perfectly normal.  Only way to avoid it is rotate the tyres so the rears get changed just as often as fronts really.  It won't cause you any problems yet though.

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Yeah its perfectly normal.  Only way to avoid it is rotate the tyres so the rears get changed just as often as fronts really.  It won't cause you any problems yet though.

Hmmm! Tyres go like this due to UV rays drying out the rubber and will get worse over time and eventually be a MOT failure.

I should know as my tyres went like this and on every MOT I had a advisory over the cracking but this year the MOT garage failed them  I took my car to three other MOT stations and they all said the cracking is bad to the point rubber may come off in chunks. So got four new un's put on.

I said 'yet'...  They will obviously get worse over time, but in the current state they aren't that bad.  I'd chuck those on the front for a year personally.

Garage where I had my new tyres fitted advised me to keep them clean and regularly use a tyre dressing from the likes of Autoglym or Meguiars to stop the rubber from drying out... still to buy some! 

4 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Yeah its perfectly normal.  Only way to avoid it is rotate the tyres so the rears get changed just as often as fronts really.  It won't cause you any problems yet though.

Good to know, I thought it would probably be ok. I'm going to get them rotated soon. The fronts were replaced less than a year ago and they're already starting to show these small cracks, but all 4 tyres are down to about 5mm so will get them rotated soon and then 4 new ones when they're all down to 3mm.

 

17 minutes ago, Ian Lanc said:

Garage where I had my new tyres fitted advised me to keep them clean and regularly use a tyre dressing from the likes of Autoglym or Meguiars to stop the rubber from drying out... still to buy some! 

I use Autoglym tyre dressing around the edges of the tyres regularly, only on the sides facing outwards obviously. I think there's a warning on it which says to not use it on the parts of the tyres that are actually in contact with the road, because it could reduce grip.

On 03/07/2016 at 10:11 PM, Phil 87 said:

I use Autoglym tyre dressing around the edges of the tyres regularly, only on the sides facing outwards obviously. I think there's a warning on it which says to not use it on the parts of the tyres that are actually in contact with the road, because it could reduce grip.

To be honest I've never put any shiny lube' on my tyre treads too but have on the inner curved sections which doesn't touch the road!

Tyres will have a year of manufacture date on them so they may be older than 2 years.

That cracking is due to UV and ozone attack also when tyres are not used. Driving around helps to keep the oil within the rubber compound moving around.

I'd contact Bridgestone and send them some pictures, might get a partial refund.

Do you park with your wheels at an angle?

All of mine have done this, however I've found it does it less if you straighten your wheels when you park, so the arch shades the tyre from the sun and weather,

1 hour ago, alexp999 said:

Do you park with your wheels at an angle?

All of mine have done this, however I've found it does it less if you straighten your wheels when you park, so the arch shades the tyre from the sun and weather,

I always park with my wheels straight, but the car has been outside for basically the whole 2 and a bit years of its life so maybe this tyre cracking is inevitable.

Some good tips on here as i generally put tyre cracking down to the change in weather temp and have one tyre start to split before now and although i'd not heard of UVs affecting the rubber it does make perfect sense ..

I've always used decent quality silicone free tyre dressings with UV protection etc and I've never had any tyres crack on me :)

www.yorkshiredetailing.co.uk - approved resellers of the Highest quality Detailing & Valeting supplies

Can't use dressings on tread areas though.

Or at least you shouldn't, reduces grip.

3 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Can't use dressings on tread areas though.

Or at least you shouldn't, reduces grip.

good for drifting though. lol

22 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Can't use dressings on tread areas though.

Or at least you shouldn't, reduces grip.

Never bothered me in my MKII RS2000 and I used 100% silicone oil on them 

I wouldn't be that concerned by the cracking of the tread blocks, while it is still relatively slight. On the other hand, I would be at least a bit concerned by the cracking in between the tread blocks.

My feeling is that you'll get less grip from them than you would have done when they were new, but that this has come on so gradually that it probably isn't a problem, because you have probably had plenty of opportunity to get used to it.

I'd probably move them round to the front and hope they wear down before it gets much worse (although you do need grip at the front and you may notice the grip fall off there more). As an alternative, you can treat them with something like 'grip' which will tend to soften the rubber, and so help prevent the rubber from cracking more and help them, well, grip, but at the cost of more rapid wear. But then, if you really want rid of them, maybe more rapid wear isn't such a big problem.

Never really have liked Bridgestones...
 

you all want to see hankook tyres, there the worst for cracking ( and not old tyres either) , shocking. 

47 minutes ago, iantt said:

you all want to see hankook tyres, there the worst for cracking ( and not old tyres either) , shocking. 

Surprising...I've fitted hankooks on most of my cars over the last few years and not had any problems (including ventus v2 205/40 17 on the current fiesta). A keenly priced quality tyre which, wears well, grips well and no difference in noise or fuel consumption from the standard continental sport 5 that were standard fitment when new. Actually on track to get better mileage and both sets of tyres got regular rotation etc.

Perhaps the ones you got have been stored incorrectly prior to fitting etc? Or possibly a faulty batch?

Can't use dressings on tread areas though.

Or at least you shouldn't, reduces grip.

I usually apply it to about 1/6th of the tyre and leave it to dry. It's not slippery as it soaks in & dries, then wears off after a mile or two. Means I get the best possible coverage of the sidewall

www.yorkshiredetailing.co.uk - approved resellers of the Highest quality Detailing & Valeting supplies

they were ford original tyres fitted at the factory on lots of fiestas over numerous years, all went the same way i saw.

My Dunlops have gained cracking between the treads, they're only a year to 18 months old, both front and rear have done the same.  I don't see that it'll be an issue but I didn't expect that in such a short time on a decent brand.

Interestingly, one of the tyres has also got some sidewall cracking around the inner edge near the rim, both fitted at the same time by the same guy, same age, both been covered in proper Megs tyre dressing (the Autoglym stuff is useless!) and both run at the same pressure, checked monthly or sooner.  So no idea why one would go like that and the other not!

I had Hankooks on my last car for two years before I parted with it.   Never had a problem.   When my tyres need replacing on my present car I shall have Hankooks again.

I thInk the fIrst thIng you should do Is pursue the route suggested by DieselPig; contact the manufacturer and say you are unhappy that thIs should have happened at thIs mIleage and age, and suggest that they might want to help you out In some way. If you can vaguely intimate that you mIght do something else, If that proves unsatisfactory, that mIght help them make their mind up.

You might for example contact watchdog, post reviews on tyre sites, post back on enthusiast sites etc, etc,  but you may want to see what they say first before committing to any particular route.

In the interim,  what tyres are they and what sIze are they?
 

^ They are the standard Bridgestone Potenza tyres that came with the car, fronts were replaced with the same tyres. I think I'll just not buy these tyres again and won't be keeping them much longer anyway, just till they wear down to 3mm. Then I'll find the best reviewed tyres of this size and buy 4 of them (or hope that those CrossClimates become available in this size, not likely).

Conti sport contact 5 are far better than the Bridgestone fitted as standard to the ST. They're what ford fit to the ZS 140 so not sure why they don't put them on the ST

See my parts for sale on thread "philf1s Spirit Blue Fiesta ST180 parts for sale"