Talk some sense into me - using "new" 5 year old tires..

[albatcha]

I thought about it some more, now I'm thinking the best storage might be mounted, inflated fully once to seat it on the rim, then inflated to just above atmospheric pressure, that way it's sealed but the air inside the tire is not putting much force outwards on the rubber changing it's porousness.

 

And in response to mike, it's true that new tires can also fail, probably due to manufacturing issues, and it's true that old tires can be fine. But it seems as though the relation with age and tire failure is experimentally proven, all old tires might not fail but your old tires could be the ones that do, it's up to you to decide whether or not that's a big enough deal to you to change them. Same as all risk percentages in life.

 

For me, on my 944 with ten year old tires that had no problems, after reading the data I have decided not to put off getting new tires any longer.

Edited July 29, 2019 by albatcha

[M3M3]

tires should be stored in dark sealed garbage bags in a dark temperature controlled space. they should be laying on their sides, not on the tread. the bags seal the tires to minimize off-gassing of the rubber compound.  the "dark" minimizes the UV exposure that degrades the rubber.  the temp control prevents the compound from freezing or overheating...which also degrades the rubber.    mounted or un-mounted makes no difference.

 

if on a car stored, they should be inflated to the max on the sidewall.  even better, store the car on jackstands so the tires are off the ground.  this prevents a flat spot developing.

 

age?  6-10 years good limit.  10 only if they are cared for by above guidelines.  and that time is from the DATE OF MANUFACTURE.  NOT the date they were bought.

 

and yes...i have to replace the new looking tires on my E30 M3.  still have all the nubs.  maybe 500mi on them. the one in the trunk has never been on the ground.   BUT the date code on the sides is from the year 2000.....yikes.  (car was stored in dark, temp stable garage for last 18 years)

[Oldtimerfahrer]

My father used to save on tires which caused accidents, so I am allergic to old cheap tires. Six years is what the German Tuv recommends, but if the tires were stored properly in a dark temperate room, their good for more. Usually the softener/additives in the compound are what you lose, these are what separate an ok driving experience from the good. When the tire hardens a bit, wet weather performance suffers. I believe (underscore, personal opinion) the wet performance falls off before you enter the other problem zone of heat. With dried out tires they will break down earlier in hot temperatures with big loads. An s or t rated tire which is ten years old, driven at high speed with high load will disintegrate earlier. Old tires are good for winter storage or prom queens in the museum. From your stats they should be ok, assuming they were stored properly.

Andrew

[Hans]

 The TUV limits are no doubt based on the assumption that you may end up on the autobahn. Similarly I would not advocate using older tires on the track. But 5 year old tires on a 2002 at maybe 70 mph?

Like many repairs, it depends on how long you plan to keep the car. If you plan to keep it a long time, might as well replace them now rather than in two years and not worry about it. And while your size is available.

 

[s99]

Got some pictures.

 

The dates on two of the tires are 1713 and as per a previous post we can assume that means the 17th week of 2013. Strangely enough, two of the four tires dont have any stampings besides the DOT marking...? They were purchased as a bundle of 4.

1713 would put that at production time of April 2013. Here we are 6 years and 4 months later. Hmm..

 

Here are some pics of the stampings and general condition even if visuals dont tell the whole story. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2019 by s99

[jp5Touring]

IIRC Discount Tire won't mount a tire over ten yers old.  If no cracking I would at least give them try and see how they feel.

 

[airborne85]

Those are some pretty tires...........I KNOW they can be mounted in Oakland at any age

[gregp553]

7 hours ago, s99 said:

Can anyone verify that I am crazy about wanting to use tires that have been mounted on wheels for 5 years but stored in a garage and never seen sunlight or been driven on? Whats the likelihood that these are past their expiration date even if visually nothing looks wrong whatsoever?

 

It just hurts my soul on the inside thinking about these going to waste. They are federal 595s and still "look" brand new.

 

I am going to be embarking on a 300+ mile trip and just want some verification or tough love that this is a terrible idea or it would just maybe work.

 

Any tire experts out there want to chime in? I know tires can sit in warehouses for years before being sold but perhaps these tires did that even before sitting in my garage.

 

-Scott

 

 

I have always gone with the 10 year rule. New tires after 10 years. Major retailers like Discount Tire won't mount a tire for you if it's older than 10 due to liability. Side note, I bought brand new Firestone Indy 500 tires for my 335i last year. When the tires arrived at the tire store (not stocked sizes), I looked and saw the manufacturing code was for 2015. I told the guy at the tire store I didn't want them. When I checked with Firestone, they said any tire less than 5 years old is considered new in their book, and they give a full warranty. Sure, but in my case, I lose 3 years on the usable side if you go with the 10 year rule. I bought them anyway and figure I'll wear them out before then. Be safe.

[gregp553]

1 hour ago, s99 said:

Got some pictures.

 

The dates on two of the tires are 1713 and as per a previous post we can assume that means the 17th week of 2013. Strangely enough, two of the four tires dont have any stampings besides the DOT marking...? They were purchased as a bundle of 4.

1713 would put that at production time of April 2013. Here we are 6 years and 4 months later. Hmm..

 

Here are some pics of the stampings and general condition even if visuals dont tell the whole story. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm no expert but I think law requires a date code on all tires. Regardless, I think it's pretty shady if there's no code.

[Conserv]

Did you check the reverse sides of the two tires not displaying a date code?

 

Kauffman Tire, a large tire chain in the Southeast, will not mount or re-mount tires they did not sell that are over three years old, “due to liability concerns”.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[airborne85]

Nooooooooo way you should put those on.....Send them to me...I'll pay for the cost of shipping.....I totally sympathize with your situation you deserve better than this ☺️

 

 

[KFunk]

Perfectly soft and sticky like new? Nah.  Fine for most purposes though, i’d say.

 

I’d run them without much worry.  I’ve got 30 some damn years on my riding mower tires, and 30 some years on the tires on my little street bike (an odd size and not a priority right now).  They both run fine and hold air, and not exactly disintegrating as soon as you put weight on them.

I just got done changing my timing belt on my landcruiser, which had 80k miles and 15 years (even though they say rubber ages and change it every 6 years). It had some superficial cracks, but the damn thing was strong and not going to fail anytime soon.

[John_in_VA]

4 hours ago, s99 said:

Strangely enough, two of the four tires dont have any stampings besides the DOT marking...? 

 

The. date code may be on the other sidewall of the tire.

[Senna27]

9 hours ago, mike said:

As a contrarian...the only catastrophic tire failures I've had on the highway were with tires only a couple of years old--a set of Semperit radials that failed (belt separation) one at a time with less than 8k miles on the longest surviving one, and a Dunlop on my truck that failed spectacularly (another belt separation) at 70 mph on the highway.  No loss of control, just pulled off the highway and changed the tire.

 

You don't even want to know how old the Pirelli Stelvio tires are on my '48 Fiat (no, not that old) but I do have a set of Renault tires that are original to my 4700 mile '48 Renault.  I don't drive on 'em, but they're as soft as they were when new and hold air for a year or more (they're tube type).  

 

If I were tracking a car, I would make sure my tires were nice and recent, but I've not had a problem with tire failures due to age, and most of my cars are riding on tires more than 3-4 years old...

 

mike

 

Thanks Mike, took the words right out of my mouth. According to my tire guy, (who's one of the best in the business) most of the degradation comes from UV. If the OP's tires have been properly stored in a climate controlled environment, away from UV light, then there's no reason he can't get several more years out of them. Now if one is tracking a car, fresh rubber is always recommended.

 

Overall, tires are so much better than they used to be. While you still see vehicles on the highway with flats from time to time, blow-out these days are few and far between.

[Flamingo 5]

2016 article on Drive details the death

of film star from the fast n furious 

paul walker

He died beyond old tires on a Carrera GT