winter Tires--- how old are they?

[Kraftwerk]

Just bought four Fuchs with new looking Pirelli winter 210's on them. All four rims are mint cond 7 x 16's, paid $550 for all four. I was wondering, just how old are these Pirrellis? A guy at Tire Rack claimed the D.o.t. code contains the date of construction, yet #DOT XT BKXKNM241 E3 0245150 doesn't seem to reveal any date. He offered no more clues. Is there a way to find out , like a decoder of some sort?
Changing the subject compleatly: check out the New Yorker artilce on S.U.V's titled; Big and Bad 'How the SUV ran over automotive safety' by M. Gladwell. It is a good read for anyone who drives a sports car in this country.

[Bob's Flat-Six]

Were the DOT code is in the oval on the tire the last 3 digits are the date. The last digit being the year and the first two are the week of that year.
So the 0245150 if it is in the oval or is the last part of the code, The 0 would indicate a tire that was made in 1990 or 1980 and the 15 is the 15th week of that year.

[Kraftwerk]

thanks Bob!
jt

[Rot 911]

couldn't it also mean the year 2000?

[Bob's Flat-Six]

Yes, Kurt
It could also mean 2000. I'm testing you I just did this with some tires that I knew were older than 3 or 4 years so I was thinking older. You should be able to tell within a 10 year span were they would fall.
I have heavy 1100/ 24.5 truck tires so I check the dot codes when I'm buying them new. I sell them back to the same dealer for their casings and they cap them. They won't cap them if there over 5 years old though.

[Kraftwerk]

Myself, I was kind of hoping they were 2001 not 1991 or 1981...It is still a bit of a mystery. In this case I think it is a good idea to err on the side of caution. Kurt has a point though, how can one tell the decade in this case? Just to clarify: the oval contains the numbers "241". I am guessing they are a "brand new" set of tires from 1991 and therefore worth zilch. Then again did Pirelli manufacture such a product in 1991? Kind of a shame to send them to the ash heaps. Yet as far as the rims are concerned...I think I got an okay deal.

[Bob's Flat-Six]

How old did the seller say they were? Or how old was the car they came from?

The rubber on a decade old tire will not be as soft as a tire that is 3 years old. And if you look close near the bead or rim when inflated you may see cracking.
If they were stored with no weight on them then this cracking would be less but still a tire I wouldn't run.

Tires are one of the most important if not the most important safety features on our cars. You don't want a tire to fail you.

[Early_S_Man]

Tires mfr'd after 1999 are supposed to have a four-digit date code, so it would appear that your mystery tire was made in the 24th week of 1991. If you emailed Pirelli with the complete DOT TIN ident. string ... it is possible they could comfirm the mfr date.

Revision of the date code is mentioned in the last couple of pages of the following document:

http://www.rma.org/rma_resources/government_affairs/federal_legislation/comments/rmacmts_010203.pdf

[Kevin Stewart]

The w210 was not made untill 1994 so i believe your talking 2000, Kevin