Got a friend that has some for me to run until i can get some money to get new ones. anything i should look for to make sure they are ok?

 

Not dry rotted/weather checked. Reasonable tread, no sharp, pointy objects sticking thru them..... no obvious signs of damage.... (a bit of curb scrub is ok...)

 

The best way to check the pointy objects deal is throw on a leather glove and run your hand along the inside of each tire to see if anything catches.

For the dry rot deal you should set each tire on its tread and put a knee on the top to flex them, where the sidewall is squished out will show dry rot really well if it is there.

 

i've never dealt with dry rot on tires, but is it visible on the side wall or tread area?

 

well it sucks cause he has some stealies on there now. so prolly won't be able to do the stress test when i pick them up.

 

Dry rot usually happens on the sidewall first. When tires are severely dry it can be found in the tread also. As far as stressing them with wheels, just let all the air out then flex the sidewall.

 

cool. i'll give that a whirl.

 

look at the sidewalls. if they have any cracks in the outer layer of rubber, don't run them. otherwise, they're probably fine.

look at the treads. pull out any nails, screws, etc.

once they're mounted do a a visual inspection to make sure they still look ok, and there are no strange air bubbles. listen for leaks.

 

well we found a plug in one of the tires. guess he forgot about that! thoughts on running with a plug?

 

I run a tire that had been bit by a snake on the sidewall, very difficult to plug, took 2-3 per hole. It lasted a good while before it eventually had to be replaced.

But the sidewall's are hard to patch. If it's on the tread you may be ok, check for leaks, soapy water will work to check too.