How old is too old for tires?

[Stanley Rockafella]

I bought brand new DWS Extremes in that exact size and paid about $500 mounted & balanced w lifetime rotation AND a tread wear warranty. Thats exactly what those will cost you by the time you get them installed with none of the perks.

Considering the tread, how do you have them mounted on your car? are the "x's" on the inside or on the outside near the face of the tire?

[Vivek]

I've heard that the 'expiration date' is 5 years, at which point they're sorta unwise to keep using.

[WhyNot]

bad deal
dont do it
youre just asking for trouble
some shops wont even mount old tires
how to read the date of manufacturer

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

When it comes to determining the age of a tire, it is easy to identify when a tire was manufactured by reading its Tire Identification Number (often referred to as the tire’s serial number). Unlike vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and the serial numbers used on many other consumer goods (which identify one specific item), Tire Identification Numbers are really batch codes that identify the week and year the tire was produced.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires that Tire Identification Numbers be a combination of the letters DOT, followed by ten, eleven or twelve letters and/or numbers that identify the manufacturing location, tire size and manufacturer's code, along with the week and year the tire was manufactured.
Tires Manufactured Since 2000
Since 2000, the week and year the tire was produced has been provided by the last four digits of the Tire Identification Number with the 2 digits being used to identify the week immediately preceding the 2 digits used to identify the year.
Example of a tire manufactured since 2000 with the current Tire Identification Number format:
In the example above:
DOT U2LL LMLR 5107DOT U2LL LMLR 5107Manufactured during the 51st week of the yearDOT U2LL LMLR 5107

[Stanley Rockafella]

I've heard that the 'expiration date' is 5 years, at which point they're sorta unwise to keep using.

Currently rolling on a set of 10 year old Kumho Supra Ecsta's.

Anythign is better than these.

I really dont' plan on keeping this car that long anyway

[Cliche Guevara]

There is a point where the manufacturer will no longer warrant the tire, though I'm not sure what it is. Five years?

Six years is when the warranty expires, it's also around that point that the rubber compounds will start to break down regardless of whether they've been stored properly or not. I wouldn't feel comfortable putting air into a tire that's more than 10 years old.

Considering the tread, how do you have them mounted on your car? are the "x's" on the inside or on the outside near the face of the tire?

The side that says "outer" goes on the outside ;). But, yes, the "x's" are mounted inwards, that's the all-season portion of the tread.

Michelins are the worst for cracking actually, pilots usually start cracking after only 2 years.

Michelin makes the longest lasting tires in the industry, not sure how you ran into that problem. I routinely see Michelins come back with 60, 70, 80k miles on them.

[stamar]

ooh no

someone just gave me the info to see how old my motorhome tires are. I bet I dont want to know.


nice duallies are 4 years old front tires 2 years old.

I have to share this with the toyota motorhome people they always just say if you dont know replace them.

[jeffnhiscars]

ooh no

someone just gave me the info to see how old my motorhome tires are. I bet I dont want to know..

Motor home tires are typically replaced from sidewall rot rather than from wear. After 6 years they are considered unsafe.

[nando]

$700 for tires in canada sounds cheap to me! you could always drive across the border and get them cheaper. :p

I wouldn't run a tire older than ~6 years, and even if they're stored inside it's better but they'll still get hard. our previous car had some really old, rock hard 800tw all seasons. they were like bricks coated in teflon. What's the point of having a tire that hard when the rubber will harden before it even reaches 50% treadwear?

2009 should be fine, though.

[jeffnhiscars]

They recently raised the duty free allowance returning from the US, however, "emergency repairs" are excluded even from that amount. I'm not sure you can get away with a whole set of tires, but if you happened to have a blowout & the tire shop said "OMG" then wrote on the invoice "old tires unsafe to drive on"...well...the Canadian Customs people have been known to accept that (AMHIK)

;-)

[nando]

There's really no way for them to check to see if you bought tires across the border or not. also, the canadian border guards don't tend to care. as long as it's not a gun or $10,000+ cash..

[nrubenstein]

There's really no way for them to check to see if you bought tires across the border or not. also, the canadian border guards don't tend to care. as long as it's not a gun or $10,000+ cash..

Last time I crossed in to Canada, the border guard cracked the door open, asked if I had guns and shut the door. Didn't want to see any ID, or anything.

[nando]

usually when I cross, in my american plated car, they ask me "how long have you been gone for?"

uhh.. my whole life? haha. I try not to piss them off but it's hard not to laugh..

[csermonet47]

I had 6 year old tires on my old mercedes when I got it. One of them exploded on the highway. Then the spare exploded as well. I ended up getting new tires ... I would say as long as there is no visible cracking then you should be fine, but $400 does sound high.

[Stanley Rockafella]

Got 'em all mounted and setup on the car. Car runs sooooooo much quieter than with the all season 175 70 14's I had on there(I didn't think it was possible).

Honestly it feels like a completely different car. So much quieter, smoother and I never thought a 16 inch wheel setup could be that comfortable on an e30.

I can tell the tires are still "fresh" since after mounting and installing them, when you approach the car they give off this "new rubber" smell.

Very impressed overall and in regards to the price, I got a guy on cl to buy my old ones for 125 so overall the whole endeavour ended up costing me about $270 after installing and taxes etc. Sorry guys, but I couldn't even get a deal like this from discount tire or tirerack.

One question I have tho, is what psi should I be running these at?

thanks in advance

[nando]

32 should be fine