Tomorrow getting new tires on one of my old cars. 14" tires with narrow whitewall. Been a minor struggle to find some but a local tire shop found some and is having 4 shipped in to install. I plan on looking at the date code before they install them to see how old they are. How old is too old for a new tire? 6 months? 1 year? 5 years? I know there isn't much demand for these tires so they might have made a batch of these tires a number of years ago and still selling them.
I think as long as they were stored properly, as in inside, and not exposed to UV rays, they're probably good.' That's the thing that sucks, we have vehicles with 13/14/15" tires, especially 13 and 14" your kinda stuck with whats available. As long as the sidewalls aren't dry rotted, run 'em
I would assume they were stored properly. They said they had to have it shipped from one of their tire warehouses which took 5 days.
In Europe it's illegal to sell tires older than 5 years.. My current rear tires was 4 years and 10 month when I bought them, with 72% discount.. As already said, if they are stores correct without sunlight etc, I'll se no problem as long as they feel and look new..
What is proper storage? Just not exposed to UV? How about tires that are stored in overheated warehouses and up in the roof area where a lot of tire stores keep their stock? I imagine they would also be more prone to dry rot issues. You often hear people tell you to check the sidewalk for cracking or dry rot, an even more important place to check is in between the tread, I have had and have cared for multiple ultra low mileage collector cars and have found cracks in between the treads and the sidewalks were perfect. If the car is going to be used for local shows, trailered or minimal use, I wouldn't worry as much, but if it’s going out into the interstates running high speeds on baking hot roads, I would want something under 2-3 years for sure. I recently did the math and realized my tires on my 67 are 19 years old but still “appear” perfect, they will be replaced prior to bringing it to Florida regardless how good they look. Tires are not worth risking you or your cars life.
My reason for replacing is age not wear. I got the car less than a year ago and the tires look almost new but in rotating the them I notice 3 are 12 years old and 1 is 13 years old. I do plan on travelling at interstate speeds with this car so safety is the main concern in getting new tires
As long as the tires look good I would run them. They look like Bridgestones... If you don't see any cracks or dry rot, bumps, bubbles or bulges they're probably fine. On the other hand I can also understand the peace of mind that comes with new tires. I had a set of tires sitting in a shipping container for almost 18 years. When I took them out in the sunlight they still looked brand new. I had them mounted and ran them for the next 4 years with no problem whatsoever.
If I followed the current guidance I wouldn't be able to drive any of my cars.....some are even raced with old tires. Main issue I have is flat spotting. Sure if sidewalls are cracked or there is dry rot, dump them.... I think it is promoted by tire industry to sell more tires.... Where can I buy these new "expired" tires....?
My wifes BF Goodrichs were only 5 years old and cracked in between the treads, badly. When in doubt , buy new....we drive heavy big cars with lots of torque and many of us probably tend to drive abit " spirited". Jim
Yeah, I've had some newer tires do that...junk. But then I have 40yr old tires that look like new.....seems like newer tires often crack or dry rot before they wear out the tread.....low quality rubber I think.....China.....
I quit discount tire because they wouldn't give me back MY tire because it was over ten yrs old. I like to have some may pops around for the trailer and project cars. I understand the "we won't mount it" but it is MY tire. But they made me a deal on a new one at a substantial discount and I made it into my trailer spare. But I haven't been back. You can't just decide you aren't giving me back MY tire. When I was a kid and into my teens I cant tell you have many tires we changed on the side of the road. My dad ran em till they didn't and then went and bought a pair and decided if the other one was better than the spare. I was pretty good at getting the stowed tools and jack out then back into its place with no rattling and on we drove. I did learn about leather gloves and how hot a tire and its steel belts get.
I think the newer tires crack & dry rot due to less natural rubber and more synthetic rubber in them??
40 year old tires were made in USA. I believe, but I'm not sure, that the only USA made tires are Cooper, Hoosier, and race Goodyear.
I worked in the tire industry for around 11 years. Multiple manufacturers have plants across the globe. We primarily sold Michelin, BFG, Uniroyal and Bridgestone. It has been about 5 years since I was in the industry, but most tires we had came from the US, Japan, and France (no surprise given those manufacturers). NONE came form china. All those manufacturers have plants around the world. The higher end tire models usually came from the US. We had a policy not to accept any tire over 3 years from build date and not to sell any over 5 years. Tires can be stored for quite some time and the shelf life we were told was 10 years. The reason for that is due to the construction of the tires with self lubricating additives. When you use the tire and it heats up, these additives lubricate the rubber & synthetic rubber to help them become softer for grip. The issue lies in the fact that if a tire is not used for a long time, these additives dry out and then can leech moisture from the surrounding rubber causing dry rot and cracking. The benefit is that you can use substantially harder rubber but not lose all handling characteristics and get extreme longevity. One fact I always though interesting is that the more natural rubber in a tire, the stickier the tire is. So like high performance tires have a high natural rubber construction giving them great handling, but lower life as natural rubber wears out quicker due to the soft nature. That being said i have a pair of 245/60r15 BFGs (Build date 2008) and a pair of 295/50r15 Coopers (build date of 2007) that are bagged in my garage. I will look them over to see if I feel comfortable using them, my old manager would slap me silly if he read that .
I have a pair of M & H's that I purchased in 1970. One was made Dec. '69 the other made Jan. '70 using tubes & kept inflated. They are in the basement wrapped in plastic storage bags, in a cool dry place & NOT exposed to sunlight. They are still good & would use them today if drag racing. My car is 4400pds. at a best of 13.902@98MPH. When will they go bad????
It's not illegal but you cannot label them as "new". Problem is storage. you never know how they were stored and believe me I have seen tires older than 10 years on customer cars that felt and looked like new...BUT go and do an emergency brake in the rain... we do recommend to replace tires after 7 years no matter what they look like. I would not accept tires older than 3 years or go for a big discount...
