I don't know how true it is, but I saw on a news program that tires that are 6 years old (or older), even if never mounted, should not be sold and are a road hazard.

Here is how you tell how old your tire really is.

**This tire (currently on my car) was made in the 33rd week of 2006


...so if you didn't know that already, just a reminder to look for the date on any purchase of "new" tires. From what I understand, tire retailers keep tires around quite a while.

 

i go through them so fast that it doesn't even matter. between track days and the street legal rcomps on the elise I am on my 5th set this yr between 2 cars.

 

yeap, tires have a shelf life.....really depends how they are stored.

 

I never knew that, thanks for the advice. I will be looking at my tires NOW.

 

Having spent way to much time in the tire business I will confirm that this is true. The date stamp is only on one side of most all tires, though all tires made after a randomly picked time circa 04 they have the first part of the DOT number on both sides, but the date is usually only on one side.

All tires are also suppose to be registered and the tires information is legally required to be filled out by the place you purchased the tires and the purchaser is required to fill out their information and mail it in. The theory behind this is that if there is a tire recall they will easily be able to track down where the tires are, however, we all know the registration seldom happens and is an useless precaution.

 

Yup, not only do they have a shelf life, but they also have a heat cycle life.

For instance, the PS2's on my viper are really only good for about 8-10 heat cycles max (a heat cycle is cold to maximum operating temperature to cold-read one track session). After this, they start to go slick and loose adhession fast.

The other thing to remember is that when big tire companies (Tire Rack, etc) have a sale, they are usually moving the old stuff.

 

well, yes and no. Many of the big retail stores sales are actually incentives from the manufacturers. Sometimes it's old, sometimes it's stuff they have to much of, etc

 

No worries here...I'll go through a set quicker than the expiration date.

 

nice to know, but like the most of us here i dont have my tires for longer then 6-8 months tops

 

I knew this a while back but thanks for the reminder. When you mount tires, you're supposed to put them on the outside, right?

 

How would you mount tires inside the car??

 

What I meant was, when you mount tires, the date is supposed to be on the outside right? Since its usually on one side.... now that I think about it, that would be easier for identification

 

Not really. It depends, I think, in the thread pattern (directional or symetrical) and where the manufacturer placed the stamp. For instance, my wife's tires are mounted with the white lettering inward and that just happens to be the side where the date stamp is.

 

The special on this (I think it was 60 minutes last week) said that they used to put the date on the inside of the tire wall. As of 2006, they are now printing that 4 digit date code on the outside of the tire.

 

The date code is usually mounted on the inside, the theory is that in the event of a bad accident it will be protected better.

 

:firestone: back in the day.

 

almost all we(dad and I) use is Pirelli tires both on the farm, semis, and cars/trucks. although we got a few things with Bridgestone cause Pirelli don't produce that size but guessing 85-90% is Pirelli.

 

pirelli semi tires suck balls

 

^^^ When I was in the tire business I had people who would swear that tire "X" was the best tire and others would refer to it as the worst tire made. Everyone has different experiences and prejudices, just the way it is.

 

my yoko's were built 13th week of 08, and i've had them on for two weeks already. so their pretty knew and kick the shit out of the dunlops i had on there.

 

If you really want to here some "tire prejudices" ask a sportbike rider. OMG, we sware to our tires. Thing is some of the riders that make comments about their tires don't even use them to there full potential.

 

i remember the first time i had to peel my tires.....

 

and what brand do you like or "roll with"

 

Dunlops sucks the nuts. we bought a used Deere 4020 in one field from the time we had the used Dunlops on it to the time we put fresh Perellis on it it pulled a 2 gears higher. and that's on powershift 16 speed.

 

I'll have to vouch for Vredestein, at least the Ultrac Sessanta model. I went from 245/50/16 Goodyear F1 GS-D3s (great tire btw) to a 275/40/17 Ultrac Sessantas. They have vouches from 350Z and G35 forums, and Corvette and F-Body forums as well. Now I'll put in my vouch for them.

Haven't really gotten to push these babies yet but so far the ride is even nicer than the GS-D3s and even quieter despite being wider and having less sidewall to work with. Yet so far the tires seem less sluggish than the GS-D3s. The best thing of all is 4 275/40/17 tires only cost me $639, not including tax or shipping. A same sized set of GS-D3s would have cost me around $848, no tax or shipping included.

Looks great too, gotten plenty of compliments so far. Tires are made in Holland, guess they have cheap but good labor there or something. I'm still confused at why our weak dollar translates into such a cheap but great tire. Also I'm a person who has no real tire brand loyalties.... though if they made Advans or Potenzas in 275 widths I might bite.... they don't, do they?

 

And I've had a set of Dunlops before that gripped really well and were quiet. I was quite happy with them

 

Never tried a set of Dunlops before but I rarely heard good things about Goodyear before I bought my car with the GS-D3s on. I liked em. On the other hand the Federal Formoza FD1s that came on my Integra weren't all that great. Noisy on the highway and lost grip easily, though I do drive aggressively.

Everyone drives differently and that's another factor. Exaggerating here, but the tires that some hardcore Miata autox'er loves probably would be hated by an 80-year old grandma in her Buick.