sbmellen

I have begun to notice some cracking on the shoulders (outer) of my 2-year old Bridgestone Potenza S-02s (see pics below). I've had them rotated every 6,000 miles or so (every other oil change), used Eagle One WET on the sidewalls (note the color difference) every time car was washed, maintained proper tire pressure, etc. There is still about 4/32 to 5/32" of tread left on these, even wear all the way around on all four tires.

Here's the reason, I think: I live in Phoenix, AZ where the sun shines more than 300 days a year and asphalt temperatures can reach 160°F+ during the summer.

Is this normal on 2-year old tires? Should I be concerned over a blow-out (especially this summer)? I was going to replace these when they're down to 2/32", or approximately at the end of summer.

Shoulder of right-front tire:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19556/rf_potenza_s-02_1.jpg">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19556/rf_potenza_s-02_2.jpg">

stevecrozz

just keep your spare inflated

drwombat

I go through my Yokos about every 8-10 months or 12-15000 miles. You must not drive very hard.

You do know they are Z-rated and "ultra high performance" so you can drive faster and corner harder ... :-P

ex-quattro PETE

well 2 years actually (16K miles), and then I sold them, but they still had another season in them.

sbmellen

Rotation every 6,000 miles, proper tire pressure, only 12,500 miles/year driven.

Gary@Tirerack.com

Minor weather checking like this should pose no safety issues.

Reggie

I used it on all my cars since they became available - Armorall specifically. Bay Area was tough on tires with the dry air and the many days of sun - though not as hot as you get - we had lots of days with 90+s in the summer and fall.

I had one old car I purchased that never had the tires protected. It took two months of putting on the protectant weekly to get it to last a full week. When I first put it on - the tires looked bad after a day. It took a while before the rubber stopped absorbing the liquid so quickly.

sbmellen

...more on the "shoulder" of the tire, in the tread just above the sidewall. If you look in the photos, the sidewall (just to the left of the cracked area) is blacker and healthier than the tread part.

Do I need to start dipping these in Armor all to get total tire coverage?

sbmellen

Thank you! I will keep them until 2/32", then!

ex-quattro PETE

And the cracking that you see might just be scuffing caused by hard cornering that kind of dried out over time. I wouldn't worry about it.