A tire'd question....

I have a set of BF Goodrich Trac-edge tires that i have had since 03. They have awesome tread and look fine.

I have heard the debate about a tires life span in regards to its safety.

Has anyone seen a tire fail because of age alone and not because of any other reason such as side wall cracking etc...

Thanks.

I am really trying to justify not buying another set of tires just yet.

I have not personally heard of a tire failure due solely to age with no visible signs of deterioration. Tire life span has a lot to do with how the tires (or vehicle) are stored (exposure to UV, ozone, extreme heat, use of tire dressing, etc). Usually, if a tire looks good with no significant cracking or dry rot, then it is good to go (obviously, within some reasonable amount of time - you get to define reasonable). I have a 94 Dodge Ram with 40k miles on it. Last time it got tires was about 10 years ago. I would drive it anywhere without hesitation.

Now, with all that said: If you're talking about the wife's/family's car where you need 100% confidence, then replacing the tires is cheap insurance. I think the recommendation is maximum 10 years from date of manufacture or 6 years of service.

Some good info on tire age on the Tire Rack site:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=138