10-04-2020, 08:35 AM
I think both Tonys have identified the problem; most of today's tyres are made of a rubber compound far removed from that used even thirty years ago, and the modern tyre just doesn't offer the sort of mileage long-term owners are used to. About twenty years ago I bought a 1922 car - not an Austin - that was running on Dunlop beaded-edge tyres that were then probably thirty years old. Over the next few years I covered around six thousand miles without any significant tread wear, but the side-walls were cracking, so I treated the car to a new set of apparently identical Dunlops. My driving style did not change, but those new Dunlops were worn right out within a further five thousand miles.
These days I think we need to thing in terms of years of tyre life rather than mileage!
These days I think we need to thing in terms of years of tyre life rather than mileage!