Topic: Date of manufacture

[Peterintoronto]

 I know that the age of a tire as well as the tread is important also so that is the reason that I asked how old the tires were on the telephone. The tire dealer told me that they just came in last month and so I went there and bought a set of 4 tires ( Michelin Primacy mxv4 ). During an oil change at the dealer where I bought the car I asked them to check the DOT on the tire to find out when it was manufactured. It had 4609 on it, which stands for the 46th week in the year 2009. So isn't this a bit old for new tires since they supposedly only last 5 years to begin with ? Is there anything to worry about here or is this normal ? Was I deliberately misled ? It cost $153 per tire plus balancing.

[Gardiner Westbound]

The five year scrappage recommendation is bad information. Michelin recommends taking road tires 10 years or older out of service regardless the remaining tread. Goodyear and the U.S. Tire Industry Association both say there is no scientific evidence that supports age related tire degradation.

In my experience it's difficult to buy new tires fresher than 12 -18 months old. The relevance depends on your annual mileage. You may wear them out before an arbitrary discard date is reached.

Watch for sidewall splitting, checking and cracks between the tread blocks after about six years. Remove the tires from service if any are evident. The alternative may be an explosive blowout.

[capriracer]

For practical purposes, any new tire within 3 years of the date of manufacture can be used without concern.  Properly stored, tires can remain "fresh" for a few years more than that.  The key point is "Properly stored"!

Tire manufacturers and large tire distributors do a good job of storing tires.  It's at the retail end where most of the storage problems occur - and that usually in hot climates.