Tires have expiry dates....are yours still safe?? Watch this!!

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hipmaman

Moderator - CPST Instructor
It does make sense. Now I have to find the way to date our tires on the van and sedan. I sure can't crawl under them to read the date code :)
 

QuassEE

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Hey, just like carseats!!

I'd have to get the 5+ year tires new for mine to expire.. I seem to blow through a set yearly.

-Nicole.
 

canadiangie

New member
I didn't click on the link, so forgive me, but I understand that even your spare tire needs to be replaced after a certain amount of time. So for me, the spare rides sort of under the suv, exposed to the elements, etc, and even though it's never been used (up until two days ago actually.. long story), it needs to be replaced just like regular in-use tires do. :shrug-shoulders:
 

HEVY

New member
These people's tires were driven on over 5 years, do your tires last that long?
Mine barely last 1 1/2 2 years, if that.
 

2BunniesMommy

Well-known member
So, I looked at the date code on my tires a year ago when my sister told me about this story, don't remember what it was though. Anyway, we NEED tires now...any idea how to make sure I get new ones without seeming like a ....well like a pain? I want to make sure we are safe, the whole reason we are getting new tires and are not going out of town until we do, but don't want to upset them because I am being picky. So, how to be nice and get new NEW tires?
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
So, I looked at the date code on my tires a year ago when my sister told me about this story, don't remember what it was though. Anyway, we NEED tires now...any idea how to make sure I get new ones without seeming like a ....well like a pain? I want to make sure we are safe, the whole reason we are getting new tires and are not going out of town until we do, but don't want to upset them because I am being picky. So, how to be nice and get new NEW tires?

Just ask. If they want your business, they'll find you the newest tires possible.

Makes you wonder if you need tires that will last to 75,000 miles or not. Might as well get the 30,000 or 50,000 mile tires if they shouldn't last more 6 years anyway.
 

vonfirmath

New member
Just ask. If they want your business, they'll find you the newest tires possible.

Makes you wonder if you need tires that will last to 75,000 miles or not. Might as well get the 30,000 or 50,000 mile tires if they shouldn't last more 6 years anyway.

Unless you are like my dad and put a lot of miles on your car every year.
 

J-max

CPST Instructor
I am another one that gets about 2 years out of (summer) tires, my studs last a bit longer than that, but we drive a ton of miles/year. DH gets new tires every other year on his company trucks.

But now I have to go check the date on ours and see what they are.
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
I didn't click on the link, so forgive me, but I understand that even your spare tire needs to be replaced after a certain amount of time. So for me, the spare rides sort of under the suv, exposed to the elements, etc, and even though it's never been used (up until two days ago actually.. long story), it needs to be replaced just like regular in-use tires do. :shrug-shoulders:
Also, if your spare is a full-size, it should be rotated in with your others. So, you do a 5 tire rotation instead of 4. Then, when replacement time comes, you replace all 5.

Ours is a full-size and a match to our summer tires, so it gets rotated with the summer tires. We don't rotate it in with our studded winter tires since then we'd be driving on unmatched tires.

And I read/watched this last year when it came out (I think it was last year? or was it even before that?). Because we have summer and winter tires, we do have tires for a lot longer because they are only used for half the year. I'm hoping that in 6 years, both sets actually need to be replaced because a set of tires for our vehicle is $1600 and replacing 2 sets plus a spare, more than doubles it. Not looking forward to when that time comes!
 

wondering1

New member
Get your tires rotated and balanced regularly to keep them working well and wearing evenly.

Also, check the tire pressure regularly and go by the car manufacturer recommendation. I've found that many places OVERFILL the tire when they do work on my car.

One more thing, I got nitrogen last time I bought new tires. Unfortunately, it makes it difficult to maintain the air pressure in your tires. If you drive to a places that offers nitrogen, then the tires need to cool before getting an accurate reading...I don't wanna sit around these places just to get my tire pressure equalized...
 

southpawboston

New member
Also, if your spare is a full-size, it should be rotated in with your others. So, you do a 5 tire rotation instead of 4. Then, when replacement time comes, you replace all 5.

Ours is a full-size and a match to our summer tires, so it gets rotated with the summer tires. We don't rotate it in with our studded winter tires since then we'd be driving on unmatched tires.

And I read/watched this last year when it came out (I think it was last year? or was it even before that?). Because we have summer and winter tires, we do have tires for a lot longer because they are only used for half the year. I'm hoping that in 6 years, both sets actually need to be replaced because a set of tires for our vehicle is $1600 and replacing 2 sets plus a spare, more than doubles it. Not looking forward to when that time comes!

whoa, how can you have tires that cost $300-400 apiece???!!!

that's one way to do a rotation cycle on a car, but the other is just to do a 4-tire rotation, keeping the full-size spare as strictly a spare. both my summer and my winter tires are uni-directional, meaning they can't be switched from left to right or vice versa... this is incompatible with a 5-tire rotation schedule.

since we also have winter tires which typically only get about 4k miles put on them per year, they tend to last us 5-6 years. however, even though i am probably the BIGGEST tire proponent on this board (how many threads have i posted in about the importance of tires and tire maintenance???), i question the 6-year expiration of tires. i'd like to see more research on this, but i'm not sure i buy it.
 

southpawboston

New member
Get your tires rotated and balanced regularly to keep them working well and wearing evenly.

Also, check the tire pressure regularly and go by the car manufacturer recommendation. I've found that many places OVERFILL the tire when they do work on my car.

One more thing, I got nitrogen last time I bought new tires. Unfortunately, it makes it difficult to maintain the air pressure in your tires. If you drive to a places that offers nitrogen, then the tires need to cool before getting an accurate reading...I don't wanna sit around these places just to get my tire pressure equalized...

i thought that the advantage of nitrogen is that the pressure does NOT fluctuate over time. :confused:. the problem with regular air is that it contains moisture, which causes pressure fluctuations with temperature. also, air seeps out of tires more readily than nitrogen (yes, tire rubber is actually partially porous to air).
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
whoa, how can you have tires that cost $300-400 apiece???!!! {/quote]I guess own my vehicle and buy quality tires? That's with taxes and all the environmental fees included. Maybe tires are more expensive in Canuckland?

ETA: I just checked Tirerack.com and I could get the OEM tires for my vehicle US$239 each. That's about CAD$265 right now, but with normal exchange rate, it's right around CAD$300. And that's without any road hazard which Tirerack adds on another $115 for that. The place I buy at in Canada includes that in their price, and their prices are still the same as other Canadian stores that do NOT have road hazard. So, that's one reason I still buy from them. Add taxes, some enviro fees, balancing and kablam, you're right around CAD$1600. If I wanted to go with 19" instead of 18", prices are a bit higher. Buying a second set of rims and the winter tires made me cry last fall! I'm glad I found someone that upgraded to 19" and sold me the OEM 18" rims for a great price and I didn't get stuck with ugly, cheapy rims for the winter. :)

that's one way to do a rotation cycle on a car, but the other is just to do a 4-tire rotation, keeping the full-size spare as strictly a spare. both my summer and my winter tires are uni-directional, meaning they can't be switched from left to right or vice versa... this is incompatible with a 5-tire rotation schedule
Ya, just remembered our winter tires are uni-directional as well, but we're not putting the spare in the rotation on those anyway. Our summer tires aren't uni, so from my research and the fact that we tow, it seems that a 5 tire rotation is likely best/safest for us.
 

southpawboston

New member
Makes you wonder if you need tires that will last to 75,000 miles or not. Might as well get the 30,000 or 50,000 mile tires if they shouldn't last more 6 years anyway.

the tradeoff with 75,000 miles tires is less traction. tires designed to go that long use a harder rubber compound with less rolling resistance. harder compounds don't wear as quickly, but they also don't grip as well. what this translates into is longer emergency stopping times and less emergency road holding ability. both of these are safety compromises, IMHO. however, for the freeway commuter who racks up 25-50k miles a year, i can see the desire for a long-lasting tire.

i buy only performance-rated tires. they cost more, and typically only last 25k-30k miles, but at least i know that if i have to stop short, i have an advantage over lesser tires. DW rear-ended someone who cut in front of her and then stopped short. she hit him, but she had *almost* come to a stop just before hitting him. this was on the stock crap tires our last car came with. if we had had better tires, that could have been the difference between an accident and merely a near-accident. :twocents:

plus, i simply like driving hard on the twisties :).
 

Pixels

New member
Get your tires rotated and balanced regularly to keep them working well and wearing evenly.

Also, check the tire pressure regularly and go by the car manufacturer recommendation. I've found that many places OVERFILL the tire when they do work on my car.

One more thing, I got nitrogen last time I bought new tires. Unfortunately, it makes it difficult to maintain the air pressure in your tires. If you drive to a places that offers nitrogen, then the tires need to cool before getting an accurate reading...I don't wanna sit around these places just to get my tire pressure equalized...

What SPB said, the point of nitrogen is that they're supposed to not fluctuate as much. All gases do expand/contract with temp. change but nitrogen is supposed to do it less.

The reason they "overfill" your tires is because your tires are hot, and therefore have more pressure in them. The vehicle manufacturer sets a pressure that they're supposed to be, and that's cold pressure. Service places don't want to wait the several hours it takes for the tires to cool off, so they compensate by aiming for a higher number. Let them overfill your tires, take it home, once the car has sat overnight, adjust the pressure if it's needed.

Also, overfilling your tires by a few pounds is generally not a problem, but underfilling them is. The tire manufacturer takes the maximum weight that the tires is rated for, runs it at maximum speed for several hours in hot ambient temperatures. Basically a worst-case scenario. Then they figure out how much cold pressure the tire can safely have without bursting under those conditions, and build in a safety margin to boot. That maximum (cold) pressure is on the sidewall of the tire. The vehicle manufacturer figures out how much pressure is required to hold the vehicle. There's a range of pressure that are all good pressures (different pressures being ideal under different conditions). The vehicle manufacturer then usually picks a number at the bottom of that range, based on the belief that the average American consumer wants a soft ride. As long as your tires are anywhere between the vehicle manufacturer's number and the tire manufacturer's number, you're okay.

An less-inflated tire has a softer ride, lower fuel economy, and more shoulder roll in turns. A more-inflated tire has a firmer ride with improvements in fuel economy and handling. A softer tire grips the road better, particularly in snow or sand.

I replaced my front tires a couple of years ago, before they really really needed to be done, but when the tread was low enough that I wanted them replaced before winter. My rear tires are originals. I have never rotated tires on this vehicle and have had no problems. I watch my tire pressure and inspect them regularly for signs of uneven wear. My vehicle is a 2002 with 55ish thousand miles on it.
 

3plus2isme

New member
whoa, how can you have tires that cost $300-400 apiece???!!


The tires on our truck do. Thankfull they're just the summer tires for on the "big" rims and we live where we barely get summer ;) DH doesn't put them on until the roads have been cleaned which is.. umm... maybe MAY!? Haha

The car, thankfully, is much cheaper to replace the tires... We actually just bought new ones last week and it was around $450 but DH works for a dealership and got a smokin deal. I'm not one to cheap out on tires because in the past when we had cheaper ones they seemed to get flats allll the time.
 

southpawboston

New member
i'm not one to cheap out when it comes to tires either, but i'm guessing it's a sizing issue-- the truck/SUV tires must simply cost two or three times the price for passenger cars. :confused: [one more reason not to have an SUV? :duck: ;)]

i only buy top-rated performance tires for my car-- a set for summer and a set for winter-- and they usually run me only about $110 apiece.
 

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