A report on determining how long tires have been sitting on the shelf and possibly deteriorating at the store.
If nothing else it gives you info on determining a tires age. Use the info as you see fit.
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897
In a nutshell, the final numbers imprinted on a tire sidewall tell you the week and year of manufacture.
Examples: 2402 = 24th week of 2002, 399 = 39th week of 1999. There are suggestions that a tire becomes unsafe to begin using it as new after 6 years of shelf life. It probably makes a difference as to whether it has been stored outside in the weather or in a dark storeroom, etc. Just my opinion.
Full Version: Buying new tires? Check this out.
QUOTE (Durachko @ Jul 1 2008, 08:23 AM) 
A report on determining how long tires have been sitting on the shelf and possibly deteriorating at the store.
If nothing else it gives you info on determining a tires age. Use the info as you see fit.
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897
In a nutshell, the final numbers imprinted on a tire sidewall tell you the week and year of manufacture.
Examples: 2402 = 24th week of 2002, 399 = 39th week of 1999. There are suggestions that a tire becomes unsafe to begin using it as new after 6 years of shelf life. It probably makes a difference as to whether it has been stored outside in the weather or in a dark storeroom, etc. Just my opinion.
If nothing else it gives you info on determining a tires age. Use the info as you see fit.
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897
In a nutshell, the final numbers imprinted on a tire sidewall tell you the week and year of manufacture.
Examples: 2402 = 24th week of 2002, 399 = 39th week of 1999. There are suggestions that a tire becomes unsafe to begin using it as new after 6 years of shelf life. It probably makes a difference as to whether it has been stored outside in the weather or in a dark storeroom, etc. Just my opinion.
T H A N K Y O U ! ! ! ! !
While wer're on the tire subject. Has anyone scoured for the cheapest most reliable place to buy tires. Im looking for new tires for my pickup, and i dont want to pay $600 for a new set.
QUOTE (insertname @ Jul 1 2008, 09:58 AM)
T H A N K Y O U ! ! ! ! !
QUOTE (hoagtech @ Jul 1 2008, 04:10 PM)
While wer're on the tire subject. Has anyone scoured for the cheapest most reliable place to buy tires. Im looking for new tires for my pickup, and i dont want to pay $600 for a new set.
TireRack.com has an unbeatable reputation. I haven't looked anywhere else in a while, so I can't say for sure if they're the absolute cheapest, but they're a good place to start.
QUOTE (top_gear87 @ Jul 1 2008, 03:14 PM)
TireRack.com has an unbeatable reputation. I haven't looked anywhere else in a while, so I can't say for sure if they're the absolute cheapest, but they're a good place to start.
I'll vouch for tirerack. I've bought tires for my Mom's '02 Z-28 and for my Caprice from tirerack in the past. They have great prices and great service.
Just a FYI. Tire prices have increased over 25% in the last 3-4 months. 
QUOTE (top_gear87 @ Jul 1 2008, 12:14 PM)
TireRack.com has an unbeatable reputation. I haven't looked anywhere else in a while, so I can't say for sure if they're the absolute cheapest, but they're a good place to start.
I can vouch for this. It was a few years ago but they had the best price/selection/delivery at the time I was shopping for tires.
QUOTE (jonjandran @ Jul 1 2008, 03:01 PM)
Just a FYI. Tire prices have increased over 25% in the last 3-4 months.
I can vouch for this too.
TireRack is great. Especially the review sections.
RE: Price. TireRack did have good prices, but by the time you add shipping, then bring them to be installed, balanced, disposal of old tires, it's almost worth it to shop around a bit for a local place that will do everything. I went to Town Fair Tire locally and they actually matched the tirerack price (adjusting for differences in mounting, etc.) It turned out to be about $30 more ($7.50/tire), completely installed, than ordering from tirerack. YMMV.
RE: Price. TireRack did have good prices, but by the time you add shipping, then bring them to be installed, balanced, disposal of old tires, it's almost worth it to shop around a bit for a local place that will do everything. I went to Town Fair Tire locally and they actually matched the tirerack price (adjusting for differences in mounting, etc.) It turned out to be about $30 more ($7.50/tire), completely installed, than ordering from tirerack. YMMV.
My neighbor has a tire machine, lift, and balancer. 
I love that guy!!! 
I love that guy!!!
Heh. Yeah, the week/year of manufacture has been around for a long time, though it used to be harder to decrypt from the DOT number. Pretty easy now.
As a general rule of thumb, I will not use tires more than 10 years past their date of manufacture. That's never been a problem for me in the Supra.
Ironically, though, tires on the wheels with pressure last longer than they do on the shelf. The rubber de-vulcanises to the air, and on the shelf, that air circulates, so it can pick up more of the sulfur and carry it away, whereas the tire with pressure, along the inside surface, the air has nowhere else to go, so it can only devulcanise to a limited extent.
As a general rule of thumb, I will not use tires more than 10 years past their date of manufacture. That's never been a problem for me in the Supra.
Ironically, though, tires on the wheels with pressure last longer than they do on the shelf. The rubber de-vulcanises to the air, and on the shelf, that air circulates, so it can pick up more of the sulfur and carry it away, whereas the tire with pressure, along the inside surface, the air has nowhere else to go, so it can only devulcanise to a limited extent.
Any ideas for DIY tires? Can it even be done? You'd think if you got brand new tires to make a mold of and then throw some melted rubber and fine steel wires into it and spin it up to fill in the treads, that might do it.... not sure what kind of rubber it is, but with some study I bet it could be done.
probably not since burning rubber and molding tires rewuires the right mahinery. but there are diy products that can be made with tires
QUOTE (ShiNoKaze @ Jul 2 2008, 01:41 PM)
Any ideas for DIY tires? Can it even be done? You'd think if you got brand new tires to make a mold of and then throw some melted rubber and fine steel wires into it and spin it up to fill in the treads, that might do it.... not sure what kind of rubber it is, but with some study I bet it could be done.
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