How old are your tires?

[shawn110975]

Guys I am sure lots of you track guys
know this but I figured I would inform other NSX owners
that may not know this.

remember this applies to ALL tires.

Tires have a Shelf life.
5-6 Years is the Shelf life that Rubber in the tires are stable. at high speeds
and every tires is stamped with the day it was made. All tires have this date.
some tires companies stamp both sides and others only stamp one side.
I think because some tires are one direction only and others are Bi-Directional
so if you look at your tires and you dont see a stamp, then It will be stamped on the other side.

here are some pictures of 4 different tires.

which tire is the newest?

answers

picture 1 = 3606 which means the 3 month the 6th day of 2006 (06)
pictures 2 = 4608 which means the 4th month the 6th day of 2008 (08)
pictures 3 = 2207 which means the 2nd month the 2nd day of 2007 (07)
pictures 4 = 2310 which means the 2nd month the 3rd day of 2010 (10)

so if your tires are stamped 06 and older the driving at high speeds
I would think anything over 50mph is considered high speed.

you could be indanger of a blow out. check your tires age for god sake.

just thought I would share.

 

[Hapa88]

answers

picture 1 = 3606 which means the 3 month the 6th day of 2006 (06)
pictures 2 = 4608 which means the 4th month the 6th day of 2008 (08)
pictures 3 = 2207 which means the 2nd month the 2nd day of 2007 (07)
pictures 4 = 2310 which means the 2nd month the 2nd day of 2010 (10)

so if your tires are stamped 06 and older the driving at high speeds
I would think anything over 50mph is considered high speed.

you could be indanger of a blow out. check your tires age for god sake.

just thought I would share.

This is contrary to what I've read.

From what I've read:
The first two numbers represent the week of the year.
The last two numbers represent the year.

So:
picture 1 = 3606 which means the 36th week of 2006 (06)
picture 2 = 4608 which means the 46th week of 2008 (08)
picture 3 = 2207 which means the 22nd week of 2007 (07)
picture 4 = 2310 which means the 22nd week of 2010 (10)

Sources:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11
http://www.ehow.com/how_7378342_read-dating-codes-new-tires.html
http://www.intellichoice.com/carBuying101/GripOnTires

 

[SaleenS7Rs]

I never knew this. Thank you for sharing. This doesnt apply to me now cause I put brand new rubber on about a month ago but still helps maybe in the future.

 

[docjohn]

I never knew this. Thank you for sharing. This doesnt apply to me now cause I put brand new rubber on about a month ago but still helps maybe in the future.

not so fast..this made national news lately because tire warehouses were selling really old "new tires" so checkity check yourself:wink:

 

[warrenw]

I just checked my "new" tires. Purchased this spring....
the rears are 2010, the fronts are 2007 (three years old at purchase!)
purchased all 4 as a set.

 

[shawn110975]

Happ88 you are right, I almost got it huh. LOL

but they get the picture. the most important thing is the last 2 digits as thats the year made.

in my pics, the 4th pic is my new tires, the 1st pic is my Boat trailer tires.

and the 2nd and 3rd pic is my neighbors tires.


but remember the last 2 digits are the key to this.

 

[Hapa88]

Yes, very true. . something I need to check myself. . .before I wriggity wreck myself!

 

[Brylek]

90% of the time when TireRack has a sale those tires are at least 3.5 year old.

Last fall they were selling bridgestone potenzas re01 from late 2006...
Funny part is they never told anybody that they are 4 year old, it was a close out sale to make room for the new re11 to come in..

 

[angus]

Actually I have noticed that they have started listing when tires are older production.

I have no issues running tires that are 5+ years old as long as they have been stored properly - a tire that has been heat cycled too many times is garbage even if only a few months old.

BTW - I have been checking dates on tires for as long as I remember (3 digit dates!!!)

 

[W]

...All tires have this date.
some tires companies stamp both sides and others only stamp one side.
I think because some tires are one direction only and others are Bi-Directional...

It's definitely not because of the directional design.

If you want to throw out tires after 5-6 years of their date code, it's your money.

 

[rossii]

Video on the dangers of aged tires.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q29Mvpud-rw&feature=player_embedded

 

[Kelly's NSX]

i just bought brand new tires that were 4 yrs old. my tires on the front of the car were perfect but 6 yrs old. service rep agreed they need to be changed because of age. I intentionally told the service manager not to put dated tires on before i ordered, that i was aware they send old new tires. so what happened? he put 4 yr old tires on instead??? they put them on anyway and said they have no control of which tire is sent out. refused to give money back or NEW tires. buyers beware.

 

[nsxtasy]

5-6 Years is the Shelf life that Rubber in the tires are stable.

That's a bit of an oversimplification. The Tire Rack has a much more elaborate answer, which they sum up as follows:

Our experience has been that when properly stored and cared for, most street tires have a useful life in service of between six to ten years.

You can read their complete description at:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=138
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=183

 

[goldNSX]

Originally Posted by Tire Rack website
Our experience has been that when properly stored and cared for, most street tires have a useful life in service of between six to ten years.

They may have a life of about 6 to 10 years when mounted or better said it's recommended to replace them after 10 years of use for safety reasons.
If they are referring to the time sitting on the shelf for 10 years I don't think an owner of a sportscar would/can accept them seriously. Even if the tires were fitted on a Yugo , I would not accept them without a big discount.

Why?
Tires are not wine bottles. Tires are seldomly stored at ideal conditions. It's a nice hint of the tire dealers to say that IF they are stored in ideal conditions...not letting the consumer know that these ideal conditions seldomly get met. Most - even the expensive - dealers over here store their tires just somewhere under the roof where they get hot during summer and not in the cold basement.
The IF-clause is a typical marketing-lie.

I always ask for the DOT-number when I buy new ones. That's no additional work for my dealer as he has stored the year of the tire in his computer.

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

What's the recommended storage then? I have a set of old tires. Either 5 or 6 years old that have been mounted and stored inside my house for over a year but originally bought from tire rack at a super low price.

Stephen

 

[nsxtasy]

What's the recommended storage then?

You can read their write-up about how to store tires here.

They may have a life of about 6 to 10 years when mounted or better said it's recommended to replace them after 10 years of use for safety reasons.
If they are referring to the time sitting on the shelf for 10 years I don't think an owner of a sportscar would/can accept them seriously.

You're misinterpreting their recommendation. From the full paragraph from which the quote was lifted, it's clear they are referring to the lifespan of the tire since it was manufactured, not since it was first mounted:

Our experience has been that when properly stored and cared for, most street tires have a useful life in service of between six to ten years. And while part of that time is spent as the tire travels from the manufacturing plant to the manufacturer's distribution center, to the retailer and to you, the remainder is the time it spends on your vehicle.

 

[goldNSX]

You're misinterpreting their recommendation. From the full paragraph from which the quote was lifted, it's clear they are referring to the lifespan of the tire since it was manufactured, not since it was first mounted:

I didn't interpret it any different. The date of production is critical, not the date they've been mounted. If you want to use tires not more than 6 years old and buy tire being 5 years old you only have 1 year left. That's why it's important to get fresh tires.

The NSX eats up that amount of tires that you've the change them every 1-3 years if you drive the car more than 5k miles per year. But Yoko OEM tires are definitly a no-go as they are all 10+ years.

 

[W]

The date tires were manufactured and the date they were put into service are both relevant.

 

[nis350]

not so fast..this made national news lately because tire warehouses were selling really old "new tires" so checkity check yourself:wink:

I always wondered how some of these guys can sell tires so cheap and found out they were selling new tires that are 2 years old.

They would show you a newer tire when you ask to see it, but install the older (new) tires. And of course, they would never tell you that trade secret.