Does age affect tire characteristics

I have 2000 Prerunner with 85,700 miles on it and have been running the Firestone Le2 tires on it. Truck has always had vibrations from 40 to 50 mph. I brought the truck in for a check on the front suspension this morning and everything seemed good, but the tech said my tires are 9 years old. I do rotate and balance every 5,000 miles and are kept at 26 psi all around all year long. I was wondering if the age of the tire might be causing vibration I'm feeling?

 

Age 100% affects tire characteristics. But, there's a lot of variability there based on the specifics. The tire compound to begin with is a huge factor as well as how the tire is used, stored and maintained. You'll get a lot of different answers but generally, you'll find the recommendation is that tires should be replaced once they are 5-10 years old. You can find the manufacture date of the tire on the sidewall.

Vibrations wouldn't normally be the most common issue with older tires. Typically, you run into cracking rubber and rubber that is much harder than when it was new (and thus resulting in poor grip). But, older tires could also see other issues that could affect balance and thus vibration.

Personally, I would 100% be looking to replace those tires ASAP regardless of this vibration issue.

 

I do think its best that I do that. I got a quote for 877 dollars while at the shop for tires, it was for the 235 75 r15 Cooper Discoverer HT3. Mostly highway driven truck.