Old New Tires?
- Thread starter willbur
- Start date
- Status
Nope.
Must be using wrong search terms-"DOT tire date codes". Found nothing of use except complaints. Care to educate me on correct terms? Thank you.
Last edited:
10 months is no problem at all. It is not too old for a new tire 
That's not unusual. I just bought new tires for one of my vehicles and they had a fall 2019 date code. New tires are generally kept in climate controlled facilities, it's not doing any harm them sitting in a warehouse for a few months.
Tire rack says:
- Tire Tech Information - Tire Aging: Part #2
-
common for us to receive new tires directly from manufacturers that are already six to nine months old. - Since we rotate our inventory, most of the tires we ship are less than a year old.
Here's a link to the discussion:
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/how-many-months-when-manufacture-date-too-old.324009/
Here's what I said then:
It is widely believed within the tire industry that properly stored 6 year old tires can be sold as new. I say "believed" because I know of no data that supports that position. HOWEVER, the company I worked for tested 3 year old tires from their warehouses (obviously properly stored!) and could not find any significant differences in performance. So I tell everyone who will listen - If you are concerned about the age of the new tires you are going to purchase, say so UP FRONT! I think it is just as deceptive to bring the issue up AFTER the tires are purchased as it is for the dealer to install tires that are old without informing the customer beforehand.
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/how-many-months-when-manufacture-date-too-old.324009/
Here's what I said then:
It is widely believed within the tire industry that properly stored 6 year old tires can be sold as new. I say "believed" because I know of no data that supports that position. HOWEVER, the company I worked for tested 3 year old tires from their warehouses (obviously properly stored!) and could not find any significant differences in performance. So I tell everyone who will listen - If you are concerned about the age of the new tires you are going to purchase, say so UP FRONT! I think it is just as deceptive to bring the issue up AFTER the tires are purchased as it is for the dealer to install tires that are old without informing the customer beforehand.
Years ago I ran a new spare tire on a Mazda pickup that had been stored underneath the truck since new. When I put it on the tire was about 20 years old and never gave any problems. I've ran several sets of tires beyond the 6 year recommendation without any problems. I'm now 60 years old and drive like an old man not pushing tires to their limit so I don't worry too much about it. I seldom drive over 55 mph and on lots of the country roads I travel 40-45 mph is a safer speed and what I usually drive. If I were going to be on the highway driving 80 mph day in and day out I'd probably be more concerned about it but, if I were driving on the interstate at interstate speeds everyday I'd probably wear the tires out before they reached 6 years old.
The proper test would be to test a 6 year old tire with the tire that had been stored for 3 years plus 6 years of use. Of course a 3 year old tire should be fine, they're all supposed to be fine til about 6 years. I think the range they give is 6-10 years, 6 years across the US, maybe up to 10 years in colder climates.
There are certain things that you can assume and one of them when you buy something is that it will be new, within the last few weeks/months. Not at all deceptive to mention it afterwards. The dealer knows what he's installing so he's just trying to get away with a fast one by not mentioning it first.
Basically if you drive a lot and the tires will be worn out in 5 years, doesn't matter if the tires are 10 months old. If you don't drive much and expect to be driving the same tires in 6-10 years, then yeah, maybe the 10 months does matter a little bit. You do hear of tire failures and blow outs in the 6-10 year range.
Tirerack says their "new" tires often arrive at 6-9 months old directly from manufacturer.
3 years stored in a hot shed.. might affect life of tire, 10 months in a temperature controlled warehouse.. not so much.
If it was under 1 year I wouldn't even blink let alone question if its good.
I thought this was going to be like those cases from the 90s where people bought new tires that were several years old.
I remember one of the news magazine type shows a guy bought a new set of tires specifically so his young son would be safe on a long trip. The son wound up getting killed or seriously injured.
I think the new old tire situation became a lot less common after several people had similar problems.
I remember one of the news magazine type shows a guy bought a new set of tires specifically so his young son would be safe on a long trip. The son wound up getting killed or seriously injured.
I think the new old tire situation became a lot less common after several people had similar problems.
- Status
