Any Problem with New tires manufactured 3 years ago?

[triple_green]

I have always wanted Michelin Pilots for my 99 Firebird. They stopped making the size for my car 3 years ago. Found a seller on Ebay with 8 sets of brand new tires in my size.

Any problem with using tires that were manuf 3 years ago and have been in a warehouse? The still have all the stickers etc.

[Charger-Bodie]

I would be fine with them.

[crj1968]

I would be fine with them.

Same here- couldn't be any worse than the 5 year old tires on my car now, and they are like new

[bakerhillpins]

It's all about storage.  Plus these things do have a shelf life.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=138

...
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and tire manufacturers are currently studying the many variables. Exposure to the elements (sun and atmospheric), regularity of use (frequent or only occasional) and the quality of care (maintaining proper inflation pressure, wheel alignment, etc.) will all influence the answer. So while tire life depends on the service conditions and the environment in which they operate, the difficult task remains how to identify all of the variables that influence a tire's calendar age and attempt to quantify their influence.

The current industry association recommendations regarding inspecting and replacing tires due to age originate outside the United States.

The British Rubber Manufacturers Association (BRMA) recommended practice, issued June, 2001, states, "BRMA members strongly recommend that unused tyres should not be put into service if they are over six years old and that all tyres should be replaced ten years from the date of their manufacture."

"Environmental conditions like exposure to sunlight and coastal climates, as well as poor storage and infrequent use, accelerate the aging process. In ideal conditions, a tyre may have a life expectancy that exceeds ten years from its date of manufacture. However, such conditions are rare. Aging may not exhibit any external indications and, since there is no non-destructive test to assess the serviceability of a tyre, even an inspection carried out by a tyre expert may not reveal the extent of any deterioration."

...

[RallyeMike]

3 years isnt too bad. You have to ask yourself how long you are going to keep the car, and how fast do you want to drive it? Older tires can be safe as long as you don't want to drive excessive speeds. Very old tires should be tossed unless your car is a show piece or garage queen. 

[Aero426]

 My tire man says 7 years is his rule of thumb for radial tires.

[birdsandbees]

Everyone with "recommendations" is also trying to sell you something new. The Uniroyal radials off my 'Bee were bought in 1989..they have about 500 miles on them. Still seem to be as soft as the day they were bought and I may put them back on. The Good Year reproductions on my 'Bird were bought the same year. They seem to have hardened at tad and I'd be hesitant to go at speed with them, but still have no issue cruising town on them. Both have always been parked inside....

I have a 34' x tri axle float trailer in the yard that is always outside. I am still pulling it on the original Road King bias ply tires that came with it, in the Fall of 1989! Never an incident, with as much as 10 tons on the trailer. No side wall cracks at all, but starting to consider that I've got my money out of them and putting 6 new donuts on come Spring, after 27 years of use!   

[RallyeMike]

Never an incident

Of course. There isn't an incident until there is one.

Around 2001 I bought an 89 Ram with 33k original miles, garaged and in a mild climate. It was the proverbial little old man find and it was in pristine condition. The original tires looked great as well. So depending on when the truck was made, the tires were about 12-13 years old, lightly used, and well cared for.

A few months later on the freeway at about 55mph the truck suddenly started shaking violently - I was lucky not to lose control. The left front had delaminated and chunks had flown off. The impact from carcass (I assume) caused the left rear to partially delaminate - it was in-tact, but now now egg-shaped. Somehow, amazingly, there was almost no body damage.

Running old tires is a crap shoot. Some will win and others will lose.

[Lennard]

The shelf life of a tire, starts the moment it's being produced.

[Sublime/Sixpack]

This thread made me think of something I saw the other day when cruising through a small nearby town. At the Post Office was parked what appeared to be an original early '70's Honda 450 Scrambler.  I stopped to look at it since it's been years since I've seen one (turned out to be a 1971 Model). I talked with the owner and he said even the tires are the originals. I looked closely and could see slight cracking at the sidewalls. When I mentioned this he said yeah I just putt around town on it.
It's not often you see 45 year old tires still in service.

Question about car tires:
I know the life of a tire depends somewhat on environment and where stored, etc. but as a general rule do low mileage reproduction Bias ply tires hold up any better than low mileage radial tires?

[ACUDANUT]

Old tires can last 30 years if they never see the sun much. 

[67440chrg]

A few years ago I put new tires on my car because they were 20+ years old. I think the tire shop kept the old ones. I have thought several times I hope they did not resale them but I am afraid they may have.

[Lennard]

A few years ago I put new tires on my car because they were 20+ years old. I think the tire shop kept the old ones. I have thought several times I hope they did not resale them but I am afraid they may have.

That's their problem if one of them blows and kills someone by the accident it caused.
My life is worth more than $500 so if I don't trust the tires under my car, I get new ones. Cheap life insurance.

[triple_green]

I pulled the trigger on these.

[Mike DC]

 
It seems like modern tires are coming apart from old age more than tires used to. 

[Bronzedodge]

 
It seems like modern tires are coming apart from old age more than tires used to. 

I'll second that.  I have tires from the 90's for my Demon that are in great shape, always indoors though.  I had tires I bought in 2001 on my Fury wagon that developed a "pizza bubble" at the edge of the sidewall 3 years later - but it had a vibration after the first year.

[green69rt]

The thing about old tires is that you usually can't tell if they are bad.   When the rubber hardens, it happens at a microscopic level.  A tire setting in your garage for 10 years WILL harden, it's the nature of the chemicals in the tire, but you won't be able to see anything. When you put the tire on a car with weight, the tire will then start to flex and cause all the cracks to appear.   That's when you know the tire is getting bad.   When I say cracks, I don't mean that checking you see on the side walls, that's just some surface decomposition from O2.  I'm talking about those long cracks you see in the bottom of the tread groves.

As for old technology tires vs new.  New tire rubber is a polymer of butadiene.  Old tires use some natural rubber, maybe other components, so they may age differently 

[67440chrg]

A lot of times tires look good until you let the air out and then you see all the cracks.

[green69rt]

A lot of times tires look good until you let the air out and then you see all the cracks.

The thing is that you really don't know what the condition is.  Unless you can do some kind of xray exam ,or other physical exam, the only thing you have to go on is appearance and age.

[birdsandbees]

I always go on appearance and age.. and love doing the physical exam! 

[Mike DC]

    
The topic of this thread is "are 3yo brand new tires still safe?"  


I don't remember people in 1996 saying, "Hey, wait a minute!  These brand new tires were made way back in 1993!"