Tire Cracking

I noticed this cracking in the tread grooves of all four of my tires (all the same) and I'm wondering if its normal or not, they are about 3 maybe 4 years old.

It's unfortunately kind of normal to happen, but usually takes longer than 4-5 years to appear. Shouldn't happen with good tires. It can get worse and lead to failure, keep a close eye on those. I would consider replacing.

What brand/model tires are they? Can you find the DOT code? Will show the 'actual' age.

They say 6 years for tires, but it really depends on the environment I think.  Hot weather and the accompanying ozone in the atmosphere can attack the rubber over time.  Look for the DOT number, last 4 or so digits for the real age of the tire.

They were on the car when I got it so the dot number is how I determined 3 or 4 years, I just can't remember if they are from 2011 or 2012. The tires are cheapo Good Year Viva 2's from Walmart, so they're only like $80 each at the most. I looked on Tire Rack and found some Pirelli's that do really well in every category and their not really that expensive:
http://goo.gl/rUOOT2

I don't know anything about the tires your looking at from Tire rack.
But consider you still have to pay for install and balancing, etc.
I have always felt more comfortable buying from a local store that stands behind the warranty and possible roadside assistance, free rotation for the life of the tire, free repairs, if offered.
There are many good reasons to buy a complete set of tires from a local tire place/shop. At least that's been my experience.
Just my $0.02.

I would replace the cracked tires if they were on my car and I depended on the car like you do.

EDIT: You say the tires you have are "cheepo's" at $80.00 per tire. You can probably find a deal on 4 tires installed locally for that price or a little more that will give you piece of mind and a great tire for the everyday performance of a Riv. Be it summer or winter.

Good luck with your search. I relied on the member's here on RivPerformance for the selection of my last set of tires and they helped tremendously. I specifically asked for a certain tire that has performed well and has lasted through the seasons of New England without any problems.

I'll check which make and model they are soon. But that doesn't there aren't better tires since I bought mine about 4 years ago.

My life and driving habits have changed since then. Now I only drive about 5,000 miles per year and don't exercise the tires like I used to.

Rickw wrote:

I don't know anything about the tires your looking at from Tire rack.
But consider you still have to pay for install and balancing, etc.
I have always felt more comfortable buying from a local store that stands behind the warranty and possible roadside assistance, free rotation for the life of the tire, free repairs, if offered.
There are many good reasons to buy a complete set of tires from a local tire place/shop. At least that's been my experience.
Just my $0.02.

I would replace the cracked tires if they were on my car and I depended on the car like you do.

EDIT: You say the tires you have are "cheepo's" at $80.00 per tire. You can probably find a deal on 4 tires installed locally for that price or a little more that will give you piece of mind and a great tire for the everyday performance of a Riv. Be it summer or winter.

Good luck with your search. I relied on the member's here on RivPerformance for the selection of my last set of tires and they helped tremendously. I specifically asked for a certain tire that has performed well and has lasted through the seasons of New England without any problems.

I'll check which make and model they are soon. But that doesn't there aren't better tires since I bought mine about 4 years ago.

My life and driving habits have changed since then. Now I only drive about 5,000 miles per year and don't exercise the tires like I used to.

I was also thinking the same thing about warranty and the like with going through Tire Rack so I was going to look around and see if a reputable shop could order them and stand behind the tires, so I'll have to see what happens. I think I will wait until probably May next year when I start working full time to buy new ones. Thanks for your input Larry, Derek, and Rick. I'll probably update next year when I do find new ones.

Keep your eyes peeled, lots of different places are always offering lots of different things.