age of new tires??

[rdean6483]

Ok....so i bought 4 new michelin pilot exaltos today and the date codes revel that they were manufactured 2 years ago....payed full retail $$$......i know this is the tipping point for age of new tires being sold....should i *****???? dont want to be out of line ...any thoughts??

[proporsche]

Hi... Anything up to 3 year of manufacturing date ..you should be fine over 5 years have them checked by pro ,more years do not even bother to buy or install

Ivan

[manbridge 74]

I dunno. I'd probably say something. New tires are supposed to be well, new. Like within last 6-9 months.

[rwest]

On a daily driver, I wouldn't be too concerned as I would wear them out sooner then they aged, but on a occasional use car it matters more as you usually replace from age not wear.

[proporsche]

I had the same issue last week so i called the manufacturer headq..and i was told exactly i have written..It was for Michelin tire brand,thou...
Ivan

[rdean6483]

Thanks for the input loving the new tires

[82 SC]

A friend of mine that sells used cars for a living has the same thought as me on tires. Seems the big companys like to have their tires to dry rot sooner than later and that he has found that Korean tires will last longer not in miles but years. Just a theory but I have see tires dry rot faster than I can drive them. In the US its now replace your mattress after 8 years! BS, can't stand throw away items that only last a few years. Same with Appliances.... Grrrrrrr.

[DanielDudley]

'' Fast and Furious star Paul Walker, 40, was killed in fireball after Porsche GT hit pole.''

It wasn't dry rot that killed Paul Walker, it was lack of available traction. The tires looked fine though, at least until they burned up.

[Trackrash]

Originally Posted by 82 SC

A friend of mine that sells used cars for a living has the same thought as me on tires. Seems the big companys like to have their tires to dry rot sooner than later and that he has found that Korean tires will last longer not in miles but years. Just a theory but I have see tires dry rot faster than I can drive them. In the US its now replace your mattress after 8 years! BS, can't stand throw away items that only last a few years. Same with Appliances.... Grrrrrrr.

I agree that the 5 year thing is total BS. Planned Obsolescence. Pure and simple.
All you have to do, if you don't believe it, is to look at LT or trailer tiers. They don't rot out after five years.
I will say this, if you keep them out of the sun and apply tire dressing regularly, they can be made to last longer.
The Toyo RA-1s on the front of my 911 are way older than five years and have no cracking AND still grip well.

[theiceman]

okay I know im gonna get flamed here but no worries I have my fire retardant underwear on.

My Bridgestone RE 050s are 14 years old according to the date code. They are absolutely fine, stick fine and i'm only half way to the wear bars.
I don't track my car, I only drive it in Canadian summers , I park it inside out of the sun, I NEVER put armorall or other products on the car that would turn the rag black.
The minute they feel non sticky or show sign of aging or cracking they are gone.

Just a data point.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by theiceman

My Bridgestone RE 050s are 14 years old according to the date code. They are absolutely fine, stick fine and i'm only half way to the wear bars.

My rear Michelin's are in that age ballpark.

They seem absolutely fine.

But they can't be. Age has compromised "things" to some degree.

[manbridge 74]

They will also last longer if they are kept away from large electrical components due to degrading effects from ozone. Like an air compressor motor....

[theiceman]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

My rear Michelin's are in that age ballpark.

They seem absolutely fine.

But they can't be. Age has compromised "things" to some degree.

I agree, seem would have been a better word, But the key is I a conscious of this and just cruise casually. ill put tires on when i'm ready

[Lyle O]

Originally Posted by Trackrash

I agree that the 5 year thing is total BS. Planned Obsolescence. Pure and simple.
All you have to do, if you don't believe it, is to look at LT or trailer tiers. They don't rot out after five years.
I will say this, if you keep them out of the sun and apply tire dressing regularly, they can be made to last longer.
The Toyo RA-1s on the front of my 911 are way older than five years and have no cracking AND still grip well.

I'm not going to speak for all the tire manufacturers out there, but, having spent a big chunk of my professional career in the automotive industry, and specifically in elastomers, there are a few things to point out here:

Tire design, especially for passenger cars, is a balancing act of rolling resistance (for fuel economy), friction/traction (for performance), and noise (the competition between the first two). Tires are a combination of material selection (natural rubber/latex, EPDM, silica, polyamides etc.), and construction (different layers of materials and manufacturing/bonding/curing processes). Add to all this the drive to reduce weight, and cost, and you have a very complex and competing set of goals. The material aspect cannot be understated: the base materials(especially natural rubber and EPDM) are, alone, not very good in terms of performance or aging. Therefore they have been combined with a long list of additives to help with all of this (carbon-black, process oils, anti-oxidants, etc.). Again, a real balancing act. If tire guys could get tires to last longer, they would offer them at a significant premium. Problem is, there really are not many materials to do all of the above, at any price (well, at any reasonable price). The material formulas are guarded very closely by the tire companies. Michelin, for example, treats the know-how just like the formula for Coca-Cola; only a few people really know it, and the process is so guarded it's VERY rare to even see tires made in their factories. They don't show much on their "tours"... Bottom line is that, today at least, tires have a shelf life, and until new materials come along that do everything else better, the trade off for performance will be aging. My $.02...

[RSTarga]

Costco only sells tires 6 months after manufacturing date. I wouldn't drive on anything older than 6 years.

[82 SC]

Just went to get tires for my old jetta and the guy agreed that tire companies changed the tire formula so they rot faster so you buy more... Grrrr Ended up buy the cheapest tires i could as they will dry rot before i wear them out.... He said they should last 3 years....... Grrrrrrrr....

[Trackrash]

No question they rot way faster now.

I have an E78 15 LT (some of you old guys remember those), as a spare on my VW and it still looks usable.

My wife had a VW, back in the '80s, with Michelines and they looked fine after 8 years.

Fast forward to the present. We put Perellis on my wife's car about 5 years ago. I looked at them a while back and the sidewalls looked like alligator skin. Last month she parked up against a curb and one of them blew out. The side walls had just deteriorated to the point where it just gave out. No sign of cuts or other damage, just a big hole.