Are Your Old Tires Safe??

[larry47us]

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday on a new program that the government is trying to launch that would put a "freshness date" on tires.

I have read a number of posts here about people driving on "original" tires. There are a lot of reasons for concern, but your safety is paramount.

I have scanned the article, and put it in a file. I can't figure out how to upload a file for you to retrieve, but if you send me your email address, I will send you the file.

larry@chester.com

I don't know if the government will ever get this through the tire lobby, but if they do or if they don't, the info in this article is noteworthy.

larry

[Eugene at Pelican Parts]

Motorcycle tires are date stamped for good reason. Automotive applications should be the same. I'd vote yay.

[qcwang]

I belive auto tires are date stamped. I believe the long list of DOT numbers on the tire refers to the plant it was made and I believe that the last 3 or 4 numbers is the date when the tires were made. They list it by the week number and year the tires were made. so if the last numbers are like 2203 I believe it means the tire was made in the 22nd week of 2003 or something like that. I may have this switched around but I think the concept is correct. I'll have to look at my tires again. If you are able to pick and chose your tires, looking at the date made is a good idea to get the fresher tires.

As I read the thread again, do you mean the "freshness date" for the tire be used by? (like please use and wear out by 2005, sort of like a medication expiration date?)

Quincy
Fountain Valley, CA
83 SC

[CamB]

I agree.

I had Bridgestone RE71s on the '75 when I got it. About 1/2 worn. A good tyre - but maybe 10 years old.

Traction in the dry was just fine. Traction in the wet was scary.

[masraum]

The tire industry should love it as that would give them another reason to sell you tires. Old tires suck.

[RoninLB]

I read it.. what section is it in?

anyway it said buying a 6 yr old is NG

[larry47us]

Yes, they are really calling for an "expiration" date, not a manufacturing date. In truth, most manufactured items have a manufactured date coded on the product someplace. But the proposal is to have something prominently posted that everyone will understand.

Here is an excerpt from the article.

In documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Strategic Safety LLC cited 20 recent cases in which old tires – sometimes barely used spares - came apart and allegedly caused accidents, resulting in 10 deaths.
"The age issue is the tire industry's dirty little secret," said Scan Kane a partner in the Alexandria, Va., safety
group, which does works for lawyers, engineering firms and corporations.

Mr. Kane contends tire makers know rubber compounds degrade over time and cause tires to become prone to sudden failures. Even an unused, pristine-looking spare tire, he says, shouldn't be used if more than six years old.

The issue isn't as much that you would buy tires when your's get old. The issue is that you will shop for tires based on the Remaining Life. If the tires have a 6 year life, would you buy one that had been sitting on the shelf in a warehouse for 4 years? How much do you think that they would have to discount those to get them sold?

Since you have no idea how long ago the tires were made, you are ignorant of that factor. What you don't know, you can't use as a buying decision. This is a consumer issue. The tire industry is AGAINST IT.

larry

[RoninLB]

Monday WSJ

[RoninLB]

[larry47us]

Ronin:

Thanks, I was trying to scan it in. I guess that the Photo worked better.

larry

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by larry47us
Ronin:

. I guess that the Photo worked better.

yeah Larry.. it's the only way I know.. I scan at 300dpi then reduce the size, then save at 90%.. I don't know much about this stuff

[David]

All DOT tires have a manufacturing date on them. Look for the alphanumeric number that starts with "DOT" the last four digits are the week and year. Ex: DOT xxxxxx2302 would be the 23rd week of 2002.

I would not feel safe driving a car at high speeds on tires that were over 5 years old.

[larry47us]

Ronin:

I was trying to be fancy and ran it through my OCR, and got it into a word document. I guess that I should have just scanned it in as an image.

thanks for the post. I wasn't convinced that the scan would be legible. But it obviously is!!

larry