saving money - buying "old stock" tires

[twobone]

OK, so lets clarify right off the bat....I'm a cheap SOB

My local tire shop has found a set of "old stock" Yokohama A032r tires from the manufacturer that are either from 07' or 08' that they are trying to clear out.

It will save me 500-600 bucks versus brand new tires.

Given the low weight and hence low stress I will put on these tires given the 1300lb car and street only use, how nuts am I? I've got to believe the manufacturer stored them appropriately

[Tervuren]

If you are driving in extreme cold, or hot, probably not a good idea.

[pwd72s]

If you can wear 'em out in a year or so, probably okay. Five years, I'd be very nervous.

[speeder]

I would not hesitate, myself. Put 'em on.

[Seahawk]

Since I am also penurious, I pecked around a bit (I am waiting for a proposal edit and have a few minutes).

This was the best link I could find: Tires: New tire not really new, Tire Storage, Tire Age

I recently bought a set of new tires. After they were mounted and balanced, I noticed that three were manufactured in 2009, but one was not; it was manufactured in 2008 (the 25th week; the last 4 digits of the DOT code were 2508). In other words, this tire was manufactured more than one year ago. Is this a concern? Should I go back to the store and request another, newer tire?

Thanks for your advice.

ANSWER: Kenneth,

This is not a concern.

Tires can be considered to be "new" for up to 3 years with no other consideration. Tires that have been properly stored have a shelf life up to 5 years. If extraordinary storage conditions are used (like hermetically sealed in a bag full of nitrogen) - well, no one's done any research on the subject, but it must be a long, long time.

[andyt11]

I wouldn't have any concerns whatsoever.

Dry storage is a lot better than what most tires have been experiencing for the last 5 years, such as tires that have been fitted to vehicles for the last 5 years, and nobody is worried about those tires.

In addition, the A032's are great tires.

[Z-man]

Hmm - these are track tires. So I am assuming that you will be driving these in a DE, autocross or racing venue.

For autocross, I'd have only limited concern.

But for the track, I have my reservations about running a 5 year old tire. It's kinda like lining up next to a car that has duct tape holding it together - ie: where else did the driver skimp out on?

Old tires may still have good tread, but the rubber compound may have been compromised by UV exposure, damp or cold storage...etc.

When you're driving at 8/10ths or more, do you really want to wonder if your tires are holding up or not? Personally, I've got enough other things to worry about in that scenario...



-Z

[Langers]

He said in the first post they're for street use only

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by twobone

OK, so lets clarify right off the bat....I'm a cheap SOB

My local tire shop has found a set of "old stock" Yokohama A032r tires from the manufacturer that are either from 07' or 08' that they are trying to clear out.

It will save me 500-600 bucks versus brand new tires.

Given the low weight and hence low stress I will put on these tires given the 1300lb car and street only use, how nuts am I? I've got to believe the manufacturer stored them appropriately

I had new old stock A008R's installed on my old 73E. After a lot of highway driving, the belts started to separate in these tires. It's not fun driving when that happens. I would say pass.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by Langers

He said in the first post they're for street use only

In that case, a good new set of street tires will likely perform as well as 5 year old R-compounds, will wear slower, and will be safer overall.

-Z