Moparod

Just a heads up, went out through the garage last week and noticed the hot rod was leaning a bit; did a walk around and saw a flat. Pulled it off over the weekend to repair it and this is what I found on the bottom side. Tire is about 9 years old with less than 20K on it. Just because it looks good on the outside doesn't mean it's not about to let go. Luckily it decided to wait until it was in the garage to do this but if it had happened on the road- LF tire- I might not be here to post this. Don't take your tires for granted.

RacerHog

You are so rite... Everything has a fuse !!!!!!! Thanks for the reminder to all of us..... Sure glad you and the Hot Rod are still in good shape... Mopar on Brother !!!!

Iowan

The industry standard has gone to seven years for tires, pull them off and sell them to someone who doesn't care, or have a burnout contest. But get them off your ride.

RacerHog

7 Years... Now that one I didnt get the Memo for.... I'll have to put that one in the old mental note book....

Skwerly

ASE parts certed guy here. Yes, seven years MAX. I start looking hard at mine at the five-year mark I don't care what shape they appear to be in.



What brand were those, if you don't mind?

Moparod

I've never heard the seven year thing either; that's inexcusable when you think about it, considering what tires cost nowadays.

They're Multi-Mile tires. I'd never heard of them when I bought them but they were made in the U.S.A., and at the time cost less than the Asian brands so it was a double win for me.

Iowan

My buddy that owns a tire shop told me about it, he wont mount a tire that's seven years old and that includes flat repair. The liability risk is to high.

Skwerly

Yeah, unfortunately, they are specifically manufactured with end dates in mind; keep 'em coming!

RacerHog

In this case, The Next meeting I go to... I'm going to suggest that a MFG Date Code (That is already on the tires) along with an (Expiration Date Code) be installed as well !!!
We shouldn't be sold tires that have already had the fuse lite on the shelf...

Iowan

I agree Bob

Skwerly

huh... expiration date would be pretty handy. problem is, it can't predict conditions so it would likely be longer than real world times bc it would assume taken care of in a climate-controlled environment like a warehouse. weather, and especially sun, is a big factor in tire degradation and impossible to predict.

Iowan

The tire manufacturers have come up with seven years and that's good enough for the courts, if you run them longer that the manufacturer says who do you think is going to be leibel if the tire fails and caused a fatality accident, not the tire manufacturer.
That's why there is a seven year life on tires.

Iowan

In addition the tire shop don't what the liability for seven year old tires either so they will not mount them.

RacerHog

You would have to agree that if they have come up with a 7 year bench mark that those stats have already been factored into the equation?

Skwerly

Yeah, likely. I'm just saying that's why most tire shops won't even mount a tire that's a few years old, because there is no way to know the storage conditions of said rubber.

Moparod

It's a sticky widget. If the 7 years starts at the date of mfg as it should, then the consumer is usually going to get screwed. A new tire is obviously not going to go from the mold to the retailer, it's most likely going to go to a warehouse where it'll sit for at least several weeks before being shipped to the retailer. Then no telling how long it might sit on his shelves; a local tv station did an expose' several years ago about tire retailers selling tires as brand new that had been manufactured as many as 5 years earlier. Probably 95% of the general public has no idea of how to read the codes on a tire; seems to me if the tire has an "expiration date" then the price of the tire should be adjusted accordingly, ie: reduce the price of the tire by 15% per year that the tire has passed it's mfg date code before it's sold. That way at least the consumer will be getting a tire that's price will be based on the manufacturers own service life recommendation.

SixBanger

Moparod, for daily drive usage I think that most tires should be replaced before 7 years past due to wear. So selling a tire with no wear after lets say 3.5 year couldn't be 50% of the price, and it is strange that a new tire has not been sold after that amount of time.