Aged Tires-Dangerous and can Separate !

From ABC News -How to identify your tires manufacturing date:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerindex?id=4826897

Very Nice. Although, I would be much more worried about the conditions the tire was kept, instead of how old it was.
At least one dude admits that they are supposed to get rid of it after 6/7 years.

Winter rims 17 inch

The main issue is also with vehicle that sit and are not used too much Like RV s and trailer tires, as they sit for long periods in the sun and loose their elasticity.
The best part of that story was goof deal being done as new when they were many years old and knowing how to read those tires manufacturing dates...
Any one know where I should look for some used winter rims in 17 inch? (not ebay)

I would suggest Summit Racing. I don't know about 17's, but you can get 15's of the Soft 8, V-5, or Black D's for $40 each and only $12 shipping total.

So did anyone actually go out and check their 3 or 4 digit stamp?

Very interesting!
And to think that I have a set of Brand new Goodyear Ralley special 165-70-10 inch tires on one of my classic Mini's that was manufactured in the spring of 1972!
They are still round and have not lost any air pressure in over 36 years that! (That and they only have 250 miles on them)
But then again, I guess newer tires are manufactured with less care and attention!

So, a guy buys 4year old tires, drives on them for FIVE more years and never things about the tires being OLD.

Chances are the vehicle set more than it was driven for a set of tires to last 5 years. On top of that the air pressure was probably not checked before the trip becuase they "appeared" to be at the correct PSI , the heat from low air pressure mixed with age probably caused the blow out.

I see alot fo tires in my line of work (imagine that I'm a tire guy) Just last week I fixed a tire that was 15yo's old. the car had 20,000 original miles and it had the original tires on it. Car has been garage kept and air pressure has been checked at every oil change, and the tires rotated, the tires showed NO SIGNS of seperation, cracking, etc... We recommended tires becuase of the age, but I'd run those thing until I coudl runt hem anymore.

Its more about takign care fo your tires than anything. tire shine is one of the leading cuases of premature weather cracking.

offroadohio said:

tire shine is one of the leading cuases of premature weather cracking.

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Ahh yes, tire shine!

If I want the "Wet look" on my rubber!!!
I'll nail a few puddles or fjord a river.

I just copped some Destination A/Ts from Tire Rack & they have the date "2008" stamped on the side with the OWL (front side). It's not even in code format, just says 2008.

Good find. Thanks for the informative post

CHUD said:

I just copped some Destination A/Ts from Tire Rack & they have the date "2008" stamped on the side with the OWL (front side). It's not even in code format, just says 2008.

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Look on the other side,the official DOT stamp is only on one side of the tire,and never on the white lettering side(if it has it).


Most DOT stamps are 4 digits(maker of the tire),then a sometimes(big name brands mostly) a 3 digit location of maufacturer,and lastly the last part is the 4 didgit # code that tells the week/year of when the tire was made.

Firestone tires will have the 4 digit,3 digit,and the last 4 digit DOT code.If the last 4 digit code is "2008" then that means that tire was made the 20th week of 2008.