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How old are your tires? DOT Codes
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Greg P.
Posted 2017-05-26 5:56 PM (#540950)
Subject: How old are your tires? DOT Codes



Elite Veteran

Posts: 769
5001001002525
Location: Oley, PA
Many of you probably know this, but just in case you didn't I thought I would post this.

For my normal daily driving cars, I generally wear out the tread long before the tire itself becomes too old to be serviceable. For collector cars it's different. If you're like me I don't put that many miles on my forward look cars.

All modern tires have a DOT date code stamp on them. Unfortunately, the full code is usually stamped on the non-whitewall side of the tire so it is a little hard to see. This website describes how to read the date code pretty well.

https://www.tirebuyer.com/education/how-to-determine-the-age-of-your...

For tires manufactured after 1999, The date of manufacture is the last four digits of the DOT code. The first two digits are the week of manufacture, and the last two digits are the year (1st Photo below).

For tires made before 2000, there is only a single digit year code. I guess they assumed that tires would not be in service for more than ten years

How long do your tires last? A lot of people say 10 years is about the max for safe tire operation. I think a lot depends on storage conditions, exposure to UV light, etc. In any case, if your tires are have a single digit year code, they may not be safe.

I recently ran into an issue but turned out okay but could have been bad. The tires that were on my car when I bought it four years ago looked okay but were starting the show starting to show some dry rot. I knew it was a good idea to replace them but was procrastinating There's always something else to spend money on, right?. Last week, I felt an unusual vibration and after inspection noticed a slight tread separation on my right front tire. The year code on my tire was a 7 which tells me these tires were probably made in 1997, though they could possibly be from 1987. I honestly had no idea they were at least 20 years old (possibly 30?).

How close was I to a blowout? Close enough that when the tire guy broke the bead to remove it from the rim, the tire blew out (2nd photo).


Edited by Greg P. 2017-05-26 6:06 PM




(DOT Codes.jpg)



(old tire.jpg)



Attachments
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Attachments DOT Codes.jpg (54KB - 380 downloads)
Attachments old tire.jpg (114KB - 241 downloads)
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Shep
Posted 2017-05-26 6:58 PM (#540953 - in reply to #540950)
Subject: Re: How old are your tires? DOT Codes



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Location: Chestertown, NY ( near Lake George)
That happened to me on a 9 year old tire, that I had closely inspected prior to use.
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wayfarer
Posted 2017-05-27 1:15 PM (#540981 - in reply to #540953)
Subject: Re: How old are your tires? DOT Codes



Elite Veteran

Posts: 888
500100100100252525
Location: Peoples Republic of Oregon
I believe that storage conditions have a huge effect on the how a tire ages. It is no secret that the aging process starts as soon as the tire leaves the mold, kinda like us, and like us, how the tire is stored-protected, 'treated' is important.
Ozone damage is usually apparent in sidewall checking-cracking, sometimes visible within the tread pattern also. When I see that I replace the tire.
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b5rt
Posted 2017-05-27 3:29 PM (#540984 - in reply to #540950)
Subject: Re: How old are your tires? DOT Codes



Expert

Posts: 2519
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Location: central Illinois
My experience is that radials are more prone to age related destruction than bias ply. Especially if they sit on the ground with weight for long periods of time. Bias plies seem more rigid and able to take the years.
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Greg P.
Posted 2017-06-28 8:10 PM (#543075 - in reply to #540950)
Subject: RE: How old are your tires? DOT Codes and More!



Elite Veteran

Posts: 769
5001001002525
Location: Oley, PA
So... the DOT codes were implemented some time in the 1970s. What if your tires are older than that?

In my case, in the trunk of my 1959 Windsor is a very old Goodyear Custom Super Cushion 8.00-14 tire that I always thought could be the original spare, but I had no way to verify. Until now. I found this website with all of the info for dating old Goodyear tires.

http://anghelrestorations.com/uploads/3/5/1/2/35122002/goodyear_pol...

It lists several methods of date coding, but the one that was applicable to my tire is the BURLEYCAMINO code (system 2 on page 4-5). It should apply to Goodyear tires 1956-1965.

Using this decoding, my Custom Super Cushion serial number begins with L6, (L=April, 6=1959) indicating it was manufactured in April of 1959. Since the scheduled build date of my car is May 4, 1959, I'd say that there is a very high probability that this tire shipped with the car when it left the Jefferson Avenue Assembly plant.

Remarkably, this tire appears to be in excellent condition, showing no wear and no dry rot that I can see. I don't think I'd drive on it though.




(BURLEYCAMINO 1.jpg)



(BURLEYCAMINO.jpg)



(1959 Super Cushion.jpg)



(1959 Super Cushion 2.jpg)



Attachments
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Attachments BURLEYCAMINO 1.jpg (52KB - 200 downloads)
Attachments BURLEYCAMINO.jpg (24KB - 218 downloads)
Attachments 1959 Super Cushion.jpg (128KB - 208 downloads)
Attachments 1959 Super Cushion 2.jpg (135KB - 237 downloads)
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