Q – When I went to my get my 86 Carrera out of storage it had two flat tires. So I aired them up but I wondered, did they get too cold or what? My tires are getting kind of old so I am wondering, should I plan to replace them? They only have about 10-000 miles on them but they are 16 years old. What do you suggest? Larry
A – Logic dictates that you should replace them based on age alone. Deterioration of the rubber continues whether you use them or not. The same holds true for rubber gaskets, etc. I doubt that the age of the rubber caused the air to leak out. When the tires are dismounted you will find little pits of corrosion along the bead of the wheel where the seal takes place. Even if you purchased new tires, which you should strongly consider, the new tires may leak air prematurely unless the person doing the work cleans and treats the corrosion to stop it and prevent it from spreading. This is not a problem peculiar to your Carrera. In fact, the Fuchs wheels, which are very high quality forgings, are some of the best alloy wheels and rarely corrode. It is far more common for the later cast aluminum wheels to leak air. MC