Checking the manufacture date of a new tire

[pruzink]

You purchase a set of new tires for your car & later find out after one of those tire self destructs that it had been sitting on a shelf somewhere for 8 years. A very interesting ABC news report on this problem & how to check the manufacture date of your tires:

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

 

[White Crow]

I have seen that one before, one thing I would like to point out is that every one of the cars in their pictures are SUV’s all of the wrecks, and mostly Fords know for their issues with under inflation problems. Several of the remaining pieces of tread showed signs of under inflation that’s not a good combination on an SUV. I did not believe that the problem lies as much in the age of the tire as it does in under inflation. Shifting the burden of responsibility?

 

[bwrench]

That news article report was a real biased report. Actually, it was not a report at all, but a bunch of opinions that had been gathered against tires. Most every vehicle I see in my shop for the first times will have tires under inflated by at least 10 psi, and many of them are 15 psi under inflated. Yes, I see many vehicles that come in with under 20 psi of air in the tires. Tire aging depends a lot on the area the vehicle lives. If you live down in a hot climate like in Phoenix Arizona, tires will age a lot faster then tires do if you live in a colder part of the country. Tire aging also depend a lot on the brand of the tire too. I see many different brands of tires come through my shop, and there are certain brands of tires that will have shifted belts, or ply separation. When Ford had all of the problems with their tires on the Explorer, they were using Firestone tires. I have never seen one of these tires separate that was ran at the correct tire pressure. That whole thing was caused by both the tire pressure specification that Ford put on the vehicle, plus the tire pressure neglect from the vehicle owners. The tire pressure was specified at 28 psi, and the tires would run there, but that was on the low end of the pressure that the tire manufacturer recommended. Now, toss in an owner that takes their car to a shop that does not check air pressure, and over time, the tires lose 5 psi, or even 10 psi, and now the tires are down to 18 psi, and at that point, tires start coming apart from the inside, no matter what their age is, they come apart. After a tire comes apart, it's is really hard to determine the pressure the tire was being operated at. This article did not use any evidence from a test lab that did any accurate testing. I'll have to call BS on this news release.

 

[pruzink]

I agree that under inflation of tires probably contributes to far more tire failures than does the age of a tire. However, when you purchase a new tire or a set of tires you do expect them to have been manufactured within some reasonable period of time (personaly, I consider anything older than 2 years as unacceptable). This is something that I will pay attention to with any future tire purchase. It is something that tire sellers should also be aware that their customers are looking at so it forces them to rotate their stock such that their oldest tires are getting sold 1st, not forgotten at the back of a bin because they were harder to get at.

 

[Honeydew]

Check that spare!

 

[Phil_R]

195/65R15 91H Michelin Primacy MXV4

Found 4 with matching manufacture dates @ Sam's Club today... followed me home.

28th week / 2009

 

[je]

Is there anything to do if you buy 4 tires installed and they're almost 2 years old already? I bought mine in 1510 and they were made in 2208?

Im thinking there's nothing to worry about, since they'll wear out in 4 years, but I am curious.

 

[Lug_Nut]

je, How old is your radiator hose?

 

[MayorDJQ]

Is there anything to do if you buy 4 tires installed and they're almost 2 years old already? I bought mine in 1510 and they were made in 2208?

Im thinking there's nothing to worry about, since they'll wear out in 4 years, but I am curious.

I wouldn't worry about it. I have tires on my Mercedes that are three years old now with ~15k miles. They're still in great shape.

 

[catmandoo]

i know an old tire man and he says that new tires haven't had time to cure,they need at least 6 months to fully cure.when he thinks he's gonna need tires in say 6 months or so he buy em and puts them in his basement til he needs em.

 

[40X40]

That news article report was a real biased report. Actually, it was not a report at all, but a bunch of opinions that had been gathered against tires. Most every vehicle I see in my shop for the first times will have tires under inflated by at least 10 psi, and many of them are 15 psi under inflated. Yes, I see many vehicles that come in with under 20 psi of air in the tires. Tire aging depends a lot on the area the vehicle lives. If you live down in a hot climate like in Phoenix Arizona, tires will age a lot faster then tires do if you live in a colder part of the country. Tire aging also depend a lot on the brand of the tire too. I see many different brands of tires come through my shop, and there are certain brands of tires that will have shifted belts, or ply separation. When Ford had all of the problems with their tires on the Explorer, they were using Firestone tires. I have never seen one of these tires separate that was ran at the correct tire pressure. That whole thing was caused by both the tire pressure specification that Ford put on the vehicle, plus the tire pressure neglect from the vehicle owners. The tire pressure was specified at 28 psi, and the tires would run there, but that was on the low end of the pressure that the tire manufacturer recommended. Now, toss in an owner that takes their car to a shop that does not check air pressure, and over time, the tires lose 5 psi, or even 10 psi, and now the tires are down to 18 psi, and at that point, tires start coming apart from the inside, no matter what their age is, they come apart. After a tire comes apart, it's is really hard to determine the pressure the tire was being operated at. This article did not use any evidence from a test lab that did any accurate testing. I'll have to call BS on this news release.

This bears repeating.

Bill