How old are your tires

[corvettedad]

With HRPT coming up or just summer time vacation in the Hot Rod we sometimes forget how old our tire's are even though they might look brand new. So before we all head out check the date code, it's right after the dot #, 4 digits first two the month next two the year. Checked my Vette, look brand new, 9 yrs old.
Most tire manufacturers say 10 is the limit some not that long. I'm ordering a new set for the Vette, ain't gonna risk the fiberglass. I've seen good looking old tires blow, ain't worth it.

[oletrux4evr]

I've heard that 6 years is a good lifespan for tires.........gee, I don't know how old the front ones are, but the rears only last a couple of years. I'd better check!

[Big Dave]

Tires, I'm OK everything else not so much but working on it!

[BluLightning]

I've heard that 6 years is a good lifespan for tires.........gee, I don't know how old the front ones are, but the rears only last a couple of years. I'd better check!

I hear you, Ed. The rears on the Lightning only seem to last 2 summers. I don't get it.

[Jesse James 80]

I let the tires on my C10 go for 10 years once...

I have a few vehicles I drive, so any one of them barely gets 5-6K/yr on them, even my daily, so I tend to go 6-8 years on a set of tires. I do check when I get them to make sure they're only a few months ago. Discount tire always seems to have "fresh" tires. The last set I got on my truck were only a month old.

[rexdogg]

great questions.....my 2013 Camaro has 12,000 miles....tires show 05/12 on side......I've been told tires should be replaced after 5 years (?; car sits all winter in a heated garage); anyway, when I replaced tires on another car, I was shown the "wear bar". a small rubber horizontal strip in the middle between the treads....unsure if tires last 5 or 10 years....looking for more advice......rexx!

[corvettedad]

What I've read and experienced is the rubber degrading and the inner core becoming unstable. Now I'm sure quality of tire will probably play a part. As Ed said most companies do say 5-6 year's is comfortable. And as well noted there is some evil force at play on the rear tires.

[stu yoakam]

My tires were new in 2013 when I got the car. It had 76k on it then and @ 104k now. Tread is good but rubber is starting to dry out/crack.

[cobra]

the tires on the 50' are from 2007 since it hasn't been on a long trip since PT a few years back, i guess i'll run them till they go boom

[Jesse James 80]

So this is interesting... I bought a 68 Firebird that has been in storage since 1994. The tire tread has pretty much zero wear, but the tires are cracked and dry rotted. Ironically they hold air. The car has been at my house for 8 months with no apparent leak down... Apparently the story I got was true, the tires date back to April 1993!!! The triangle next to the 3 was used to designate the "1990s" 153 = 15th week of 1993.

[stu yoakam]

My spare has very few miles on it. It was new when I bought my 78 Caprice that I sold twelve years ago.

[Impala_Guy]

The expiration date on tires is "a thing". Even if your tires don't smoke they can still die of "old age". Found out the hard way with the Imp. I remember feeling a vibration during the PT that started in Kansas City. I spent most of that tour with a starter problem and the vibration was of lesser concern. A couple of months later I was driving from NC to PA and the right rear just let loose. There was rubber hitting the inner fenderwells as I slowed it down and got off the hiway. Tires all looked great, (BFG T/A Radials) except for the steel belt sticking out through the middle of the tread on one. They weren't worn, shiny and smooth on the outside, and properly inflated. The date code showed the rears were 10 years old, and the pair on the front were 15! I called Costco and ordered a new set before the rollback got to me.

TL/DR; Lesson learned, easy to check and a safety issue that we should all be aware of.

[moparjim71]

The back ones never get very old but need to check the front ones more often.

[JRoberts]

Tires on the green Studebaker were replaced shortly after we got home from PT last year. That part of the car is just fine. Now onto other stuff.....Not really too much left.

[BlackVic_P71]

I bought mine last summer.