I'm having a hard time figuring out how old the tires on my Samurai are. There's no cracks or anything but the only thing I can find on the sidewalk looks like a pre-2000 date code (photo below). Seems crazy that 24 year tires would look ok but who knows. Can any of you lovely people help me out here?
I can't help but you should be good to go.
Unknowingly I flat towed my Z almost 35 miles home and noticed later one was maybe the original spare - six months later it's still holding air (I purposely took side roads never exceeding 40mph). Let's say 52 years old?
I'm sure the first ride around the block will be on this tire.
Don't care how they look. I won't drive on tires older than 7 years. If all you're doing is moving it around the yard, or onto a trailer, then sure, it's fine. If you're actually driving it around a bunch and doing mileage, I'd replace them ASAP
I'm no expert on DOT codes, but I'd be curious to know what's on the other side of the tire. Lately, I find that the four-digit date info is on one side only. If that's a pre-2000 date code, it would put the manufacture at week 42 of year 1996, but I'd want to see what follows "DOT" on the other side of the tire.
And just to be clear, if the tire's that old, there's absolutely no way I would drive it at anything near highway speeds. Around the block, sure. Replace ASAP.
"The Old Man's tires were tires in the academic sense, in that they were round, and had once been made of rubber."
Ralphie Parker
With that much age you can't trust them not to spontaneously give birth to a road gator, and the rubber is probably more like a hard plastic at this point.
If there is no cracking at the bottom of the grooves between the tread blocks and the rubber is still soft, they are probably OK. Take a good close look though and familiarize yourself with how soft a new tire is in comparison.
I'll go 8 years on summers and 10 years on winters. No way would I drive on a tire with a 3-digit date code.
I've had old tires explode while driving before so I'm pretty cautious now. I don't see any other codes on the outside of the tires, so I guess these really are that old. That sucks.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Personally it's three years for winter tires, beyond two years they are more or less all seasons. It's like autocrossing on tires that have heat cycled out, but the stakes are much higher.
Makes no sense to me to spend money for a newer car with all the driver aids and ignore the most critical component, the tires. Last week I had a "brakes don't work" RO that turned out to be the ABS activating because the tires were ten years old. Fortunately nobody was hurt in the collision.
To the OP, those may be from before 2000 but check the other side. Date codes are generally on only one side of the tire. But just looking at how shiny the rubber is, those are probably indeed from 1996.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Yeah there no codes on the other side. The car did come with a whole other set of wheels/tires so I'll slap those one. They're winters, but at least they're from this decade so they'll last until I get a lift/bigger tires. And, true to GRM form, we have three other vehicles to choose from.
Lol berkeley me. The snows are from 2007.
I get 3 years out of a set of winters before they really don't grip any more, and then they become my summers.
I'll toss tires after 6 years, regardless of tread depth.
Bringing SkinnyKid1's Catalina back from up north, the tires on it were 25+ years old - we peeled on some used 2-year old winters, as well as something recent for a spare just for peace of mind.
I had a set of Kumho all-seasons I had in the basement - I used them one year, and they sat in a cold, dark, basement, away from electric motors and such for 10 (ten) years. They had aged out so horribly by the time I used them again, I tossed them right away.
Keeping the tires indoors and out of sunlight reduces wear from UV degradation and heat cycling but does nothing for oxidation or outgassing, it's best to seal them in contractor bags or giant garbage bags to prevent that.
We’ve tested old vs. new tires before, and the TL;DR: New tires came to a stop some 10 meters–so about 30 feet–before a set of 10-year-old tires that sported full tread and “looked good.”
I bought my BMW with 9 year old tires but plenty of tread depth. It would spin in the dry through 2nd gear. I switched to new tires of the same treadwear and size and eliminated my traction issues. I will NOT be driving my cars with old tires other than my beach truck.
I'd probably drive them around town at low speeds. I wouldn't put them on the highway. As short as a Samurai is, it will swap ends and if you slide it off the road, it will roll over and play dead.
Keep that Sammy under 120 mph until you can get new.
In reply to 914Driver :
Lol I'll do my best. The local used tire purveyor is pretty close so I'll be calling them later this week to see what their stock of "round and won't kill me" looks like.
Mom drove this to Arizona and back from Michigan before I noticed that the tires were original. 20 year old tires, 60k miles on them but they still had a lot of tread.
It's funny to read this after getting the Dodge through a Mass state inspection.
I've had the fail vehicles for having a hitch ball in the step bumper, empty windshield washer reservoir, bad rear wiper, faded license plates, and other silly things.
They check tread depth, but never had them look at tire date codes.
I once autocrossed pn a set of 12 year old tires. I wasn't a good driver but everything was faster than me. Then I got tires and I wasn't the slowest. Had to slow down so hard for corners it was insane. Slip n and slidin.
wspohn said:If there is no cracking at the bottom of the grooves between the tread blocks and the rubber is still soft, they are probably OK. Take a good close look though and familiarize yourself with how soft a new tire is in comparison.
My Xterra conveniently has brand new tires so I did a little poke with my fingernails on both sets of tires and the difference was stark.
In reply to thatsnowinnebago :
When I picked up the Ram 50 from my parent's place last year, the tires were new... as of 2002.
You think a mini truck is squirrelly? Try driving on hockey pucks that are old enough to drink.
I don't do old tires.
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