While I had heard that tires should be swapped out after a certain amount of time. I never really knew how to tell the tires age or how old a tire might be when its bought.

This was a pretty good article. I hadn't seen it before so I figured I'd share..
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897 (http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897)

That's a great article. I read about this in the past and it really came in handy when I had to buy new tires for my R/T! As soon as the saleman rolled out the tires, I checked the number and had his roll them right back to the rack! He was surprised I knew where to look. Needless to say, I went to another shop to buy my tires. :smileup: Great post!

I read the 6 year thing (3-4 for performance tires) last year when Jen first started for her car. Kind of scary to think you could buy tires that are basically dead off the shelf.

this is a great news article and should be followed!

mike
dms

great article
but only scratching the surface of the whole topic
and as seen in the vid: it is a topic of dead or alive!

the six year given is ONLY under optimal conditions (and only for slow driving)
faster driving max 3-4 years
(and if the tread is less than 1 and a half inches (topic aquaplaning) the tire has to be replaced anyway)
it is known, that the rubber dries out and a lot of problems follow: delamination of the tread, wateringress making the steelbelt rust and so on
so what makes the rubber dry out
1. time (see max 6 year rule, heavy vans and RVs max 4-5 years)
2. too high loads (see load index of each tire) result in too high temperatures of the tire (even worse in ereas with high temperatures) shortening the tires live, so too high loads every now and then will result in the tire blow out problem sooner or later, far too high loads will result in the blow out the same trip...
3. too low tirepressure will result in too high tire temperatures, now read the effects under 2. again
4. hitting the curbs or driving up a curb will damage the inner structure of the tire. you do not see the damage. but it is there. again under higher speeds and loads the tire will sooner of later fall apart
5. exposing the tire to the sun day by day dries out the rubber leading to the probs above
6. use it or loose it. a tire that is used daily gets its massage, which keeps the rubber soft and flexibel for a longer time (lots of chemical and physical things, but with the described effect) if you let your car sit for weeks or months (i.e. a convertible during wintertime) the rubber will age dramatically faster!
7. traction: well: if you say, i do not care, i do not want to drag race my car: ok
but in case of an emergency: do you want to stop as quick as possible?
and do you want to dodge around something coming across your way?
the older your tread, the lower the traction

keep in mind
the only contact to mother earth are 4 patches of rubber (the size of your palm)!
the only working life-insurance while driving your car are 4 PERFECT tires

any questions welcome (for instance about winter tires)