6 year old tires…
11-19-2023, 02:38 PM
#46
Only thing I would add is to make sure that the new tires you get have date codes that are 6 -9 months old, 12 months max, but try for 6 - 9.
I once bought new tires at my Porsche indy shop, I saw them before they were installed, and the date codes were 3 years old. The shop sent them back and got new ones about 8 months old.
I once bought new tires at my Porsche indy shop, I saw them before they were installed, and the date codes were 3 years old. The shop sent them back and got new ones about 8 months old.
As long as they have never been mounted, inflated, and on a vehicle, you are safe to start your service life clock on the day they are mounted and installed on your car. They are not aging at even close to the same rate when not installed on a wheel, not weight-bearing, and in a climate-controlled environment.
11-19-2023, 04:00 PM
#47
Advanced
Good luck holding to that 6-9 month old standard based upon the sidewall date emboss. As others have noted, different sizes are often produced in batches and stored in a climate controlled warehouse, so that they are often at least a year or so old when you purchase them.
As long as they have never been mounted, inflated, and on a vehicle, you are safe to start your service life clock on the day they are mounted and installed on your car. They are not aging at even close to the same rate when not installed on a wheel, not weight-bearing, and in a climate-controlled environment.
As long as they have never been mounted, inflated, and on a vehicle, you are safe to start your service life clock on the day they are mounted and installed on your car. They are not aging at even close to the same rate when not installed on a wheel, not weight-bearing, and in a climate-controlled environment.
11-19-2023, 05:42 PM
#49
I have read of antique car enthusiasts rubbing brake fluid occasionally on really old tires to keep them supple but would advise doing research first and definitely not applying to the tread area on modern tires. The antique cars I am referring to are generally driven under 30 mph.
Last edited by MPawelek; 11-19-2023 at 05:45 PM.
11-25-2023, 03:42 PM
#51
A climate controlled environment slows the aging process, it doesn't prevent it. I would be uncomfortable putting brand new tires on a car with a 3 year old DOT date code, just because they were stored in a climate controlled warehouse, or at least I was told they were. YMMV.
I was talking about how hard it is to find tires under 6-9 months old at tire stores or even Tire Rack. About the only time, I've ever had tires with sidewall stamps under 6 months old is when I've custom-ordered a new vehicle. That's because the factory gets freshly manufactured, new tires, just in time, from the manufacturer, and they're delivered in quantities dictated by the manufacturer's production schedule.
Last edited by Foosh; 11-25-2023 at 03:43 PM.
11-25-2023, 03:44 PM
#52
Drifting
Some are worse than others. My experience is Bridgestones are quite amazing at being resilient to dry rot. Michelins on the other hand dry rot very quickly. I have a set of wheels with bridgestone LM25's on them that I use as rollers for the off season; tires date to 14 years ago, are about 50% tread so got a lot of use before I turned them into rollers, and no signs of dry rot. As i've said a million times I had a set of Michelin AS3's that weather cracked within 4 years; pretty sad for an all-season tire.
6 years regardless of brand though is probably too long to use those tires. Dry rot is one thing for weather cracking/separation, but grip reduction from age and heat cycling out is a bigger problem IMO that people don't really pay attention to. Ya, rot/weather cracking can cause a blow out but it's actually pretty rare, however a tire with low grip can break lose very easily and reduces braking as well as emergency maneuver performance
6 years regardless of brand though is probably too long to use those tires. Dry rot is one thing for weather cracking/separation, but grip reduction from age and heat cycling out is a bigger problem IMO that people don't really pay attention to. Ya, rot/weather cracking can cause a blow out but it's actually pretty rare, however a tire with low grip can break lose very easily and reduces braking as well as emergency maneuver performance