I noticed a couple cracks in between the treads of my Pirelli P Zero Nero tires. They are about 4 years old (per the date code on the tires) with 12,000 miles on them. Is this bad enough to worry about replacing them?

 

Tires have a shelf life so when buying "new" tires it's always good to look at the production date. I've seen 4 year old new tires at Costco.

As far as your tires if you are an aggressive driver then replace them ASAP. If not then drive at your own risk and they may be ok but I wouldn't use those tires.

Nice looking car you got there.

 

mine are the same age, with 34,000 miles, and I have the same cracks. plus they hydroplane like crazy in wet conditions. crappy tires.

 

Thanks heslekrants. I should have noted in my original post that the date codes show they are from 2011, so about 4 years old.

 

Me personally, I wouldn't drive on tires like that.

 

thin cracks on the outer layer are no big deal. the tread area is literally the strongest part of the tire, with two or three layers of woven steel belts underneath.

 

I don't know if you are interested in replacing with another Pirelli. If so, you could take the tire to a Pirelli dealer and see if you can buy another one on a pro rata basis based on tread wear. Of course they would probably charge you based on list price, which might be more than a new one would cost at the actual selling price with no proration.

Note that there is now a new Pirelli all season. It's the Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus. No more "Nero" in the name.

 

That doesn't change my original statement in the least.

 

I have the same problem with mine. I asked the guys at discount tire who said that it's not a big deal at all and they see it all the time. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

p zero nero are a crap tire, they cup when the alignment is in spec, the dry crack, they harden up and lose traction. i would burn em off and replace them with virtually any other make of tire