Tires: silicone coating, rubber molecules, silicone coating

Question
Hi Barry,

Thanks in advance for the service.  My wife has some tires on her car that have some decent tread left on them but are beginning to show cracks and look to be drying out.  Is there anyway to avoid this premature aging, e.g. using some of the spray silicone products.  I have never used any of them before and thought they were mostly for shortterm looks.  If they are decent to use in this application do you have any suggestions

Thanks,
Dave

Answer
Dave,

I think the tires are trying to tell you something and you ought to listen.

Tires have antioxidants (AO's) in them to slow down the oxidation process.  But eventually the AO's get used up.  Once that happens the oxygen starts to attack the rubber molecules, and there really isn't any slowing them down.

Besides, the latest research I have seen seems to indicate that tire durability is a direct function of the age of the tire and not how much the tire has been used or how oxidized it is. (I'm having a little problem if the research, but data is data.)

The silicone sprays, IMHO, aren't worth the trouble.  They don't do anything except make stuff shiny!

There are some tire dressing products that have AO's in them, and they, at least, attempt to provide an outside barrier.

Hope this helps.