hhr06NJ

I have read all about "tire age". I remember stories of people buying new tires that had been sitting on the shelf for YEARS!

so, how "old" should new tires be at time of purchase? what is the oldest acceptable age?

donbrew

I GoOgled "tire shelf life" and got this:
Tires Expire in Six Years - Tire Safety Group

That sounds about what I've read before.

Oldblue

I expect tires to be less than 2 years old, but I have purchased tires for restoration projects that where considerably older, but not driven on at highway speeds if at all.

solman98

When I'm buying new, I expect them to only be a few months old at the most. If they were on the shelves for years, they better be on one heck of a sale.

donbrew

The newest tire on my 2000 Mazda is 13 years old.

Snoopy

Agree with Solman...

When I have new tires installed I have two specifics.....

All the tires need to be made on the same date AND...

They MUST be within 4 months of the install date.

Learned this from GM's tire engineers when tests are conducted on test vehicles..... for reasons they explained.

Never had a problem with the dealer on these requests. They were always able to comply.

geg

I have experience in the use of old tires. It's winter and summer tires. Some of them were over 12 years old.
The reason - a big saving money in emergency situations.
Sometimes it was bad, but not critical.
But usually I not felt the difference in comparison with new tires.
I want to praise the Bridgestone. A large margin of safety, even very old tires.
Now Hippo shod:
Front tires Bridgestone Blizzak (velcro) - I bought them at Used tires Japan's auction. They were almost new and cost $ 155 for the 4 tires, including shipping and customs charges. New tires would cost $ 280.
The rear tires are Good Year wear more than 50%": the forced purchase of on auto-dismantling store after a small incident. I broke the left rear tire by a piece of rebar. Two tires for $ 15, new tires cost $ 70 for 1 piece.

843de

To expand a bit on the discussion, here's a link on tire aging from our Advertising Partners...

Tire Tech Information - Determining the Age of a Tire

Tires are a chemical "witches brew", and part of their deterioration over time is the interaction between the chemical compounds with Oxygen, Ultraviolet Light, Heat, and everything else they get exposed to.

In geg's situation, he's been lucky as has Don, 13 years...Gulp!

But for new tires, check the date codes and get a freshly made "Matched Set" as Snoopy does. It's what I do, and it's not a huge hassle.

One thing to remember, as my day started out by having to get a tire "De-Nailed". Once a Speed Rated tire is patched, or plugged (not a good way to fix them, very much a left over from the days of Bias Ply tires), that tire's Speed Rating goes away.

So what was once an HR or ZR Rated tire becomes a P Rated tire per the Rubber Manufacturers Association guidlines with a new maximum Speed Rating of 85 mph.*

*Some manufacturers have very strict "by the book" repairs that allow repaired tires to retain a higher Speed Rating, but even then it's reduced from the original Rating.

donbrew

I was afraid 2 state inspections ago, but the inspector wasn't very good, so he passed them. My mother had hers rejected for dry rot one time, but that was at the beach (more ozone).

My 2000 Mazda has not hit 50,000 yet, 2 of the tires are factory installed. The other 2 suffered road hazards.

My working cars tires go so fast age doesn't matter. Seems I remember something about a legal age limit in some states.

hhr06NJ

Thank you... good article!