New Old Stock Tires. Safe?

[TexasViper35]

A friend has offered me a brand new set of Michelin Pilot Sports at about half price. I’m sort of concerned with their age though, they were manufactured in 2012. These have never been mounted or inflated, stickers are still on them.

The “Regulators” around the globe say six years is the max safe age for a tire, others say ten. Tire manufacturers balk at all of that. Anyway it has me a bit concerned, but I don’t want to be. One tire aging study showed that low aspect tires aged much better than high aspect tires - performance tires resisted aging.

Any thoughts guys and gals?

BTW, I checked my rear tires that I bought from Discount Tires in 2010, they are stamped 2006!!! And I have used all of the available tread without issues at all, even a trip from Tampa to Dallas last year.

 

[MoparMap]

I'll probably get blasted for this, but I think what you plan to do with them can make a pretty big difference as well. I bought a set of take offs from a local friend who was replacing them on age. Probably less than 1000 miles on them. They were a bit hard, but still a lot of tread on them and not that bad. I also know that 99% of the driving I do with my car is general commuting and not pushing the car hard at all. Because of that, I'm less concerned about having older tires because I know the tires are old and I'm not going to try to do anything stupid with them. They work just fine for my running around doing errands and whatnot. I would never put them on a track or attempt high performance driving with them and I can tell that they have a tendency to want to slide more around corners if you give it any extra throttle. I have a feel for what they can and will do and I'm fine with that.

That may not be the case for everyone. They will limit my ability to make emergency maneuvers, but I tend to drive very defensively to begin with and even old and hard they are better tires than a lot of the junk people are rolling around on in their regular commuters. Long story short, you just need to understand the limits and abilities of your car and recognize that they are going to change with different tires. If that puts the limits far under what you like to do with your car, don't do it. I don't feel that my current tires make the car any less capable or safe than the cars I drive around, though I do recognize that they limit the maximum performance of my car.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Excellent analysis, MoparMap...noting that I follow that same advice with our VIpers. Those with older tires are driven regularly AROUND TOWN in a disciplined fashion without issues. Those used on the highway or trips have much newer tires. All are inspected regularly.

That said, new Viper drivers usually need all the help they can get in the tire department...so my usual advice is for them to budget for new tires early on and to stay on top of the date code issues...especially if they are prone to performance driving whether planned or spontaneous.

I do hope all read your excellent post carefully as they reflect on their own driving style and ambitions.

 

[kssssnake]

Good reply. Remember, tires stop your car, Brakes only stop the wheels from rolling. An emergency stop will do you in. We all drive cautiously on the streets. Stopping for a brainless idiot? Didn't see that coming. For an extra $200 per wheel I'm going with new ones. Did that last year.

 

[jreece3556]

A friend has offered me a brand new set of Michelin Pilot Sports at about half price. I’m sort of concerned with their age though, they were manufactured in 2012. These have never been mounted or inflated, stickers are still on them.

The “Regulators” around the globe say six years is the max safe age for a tire, others say ten. Tire manufacturers balk at all of that. Anyway it has me a bit concerned, but I don’t want to be. One tire aging study showed that low aspect tires aged much better than high aspect tires - performance tires resisted aging.

Any thoughts guys and gals?

BTW, I checked my rear tires that I bought from Discount Tires in 2010, they are stamped 2006!!! And I have used all of the available tread without issues at all, even a trip from Tampa to Dallas last year.

Hey guys, my tires are pretty old, I believe about 12 or 13 years old. My tires are still soft and get sticky when warmed up. I have had no issues with them at all. My tires still look new and stay inside most all of the time. I'm also not an idiot when it comes to driving. I rarely use more than an 1/8 of the throttle, and when I do, I make sure I'm straight. In the winter they are much less sticky, but in the summer they have been fine. However, I have driven another Viper that had old tires on it that had very little tread on them and they were pretty hard. That car was the scariest thing I've ever driven. It was 90 degrees outside and it would spin sideways at 60 Mph. It really depends on the condition of the tires, but you may not know until they are mounted. I do not plan on changing mine until they get pretty bad. Right now they hook pretty good.

 

[Kevin M Melisz]

Storage of the tires is an important factor. If storied inside, not in direct sunlight and without large temperature swings, the tires will age much better.

 

[TexasViper35]

I decided against them, I really just want new tires as in ‘New’, not NOS that’s been sitting in a dirty family garage all these years without climate control. The manufacturers all dispute that age of the tires is related to accidents involving tires, but they do all note that proper storage of tires is critical. I’ve started to do more highway driving now and that’s the last place I want to have an age related tire problem. BTW, many states have made it illegal to repair / patch tires that are six years old or greater, and Discount Tire, NTB, etc... nationwide won’t touch one that is ten years old.

I have never taken note of the manufacture date of any of my tires, just the tread depth; I’m probably in the majority by doing only that. But now that I’m aware of it it’s just one more thing I’ll keep an eye on for safety sake. I want to pass this car to my son when I’m done with it, it won’t have old tires on it when I do, so that was another factor for me at this time.

Now to throw a wrench at things, Michelin Pilot Super Sports are on national back order. Yikes! I’m considering Nittos, we’ll see.

 

[fhrzr1]

Tires are good for 10 years.
Per Michelin
After that, you are on your own.

 

[fhrzr1]

TIRE LIFE

While most tires will need replacement before they achieve 10 years, it is recommended that any tires in service 10 years or more from the date of manufacture, including spare tires, be replaced with new tires as a precaution even if such tires appear serviceable and even if they have not reached the legal wear limit. For tires that were on an original equipment vehicle (i.e., acquired by the consumer on a new vehicle), follow the vehicle manufacturer’s tire replacement recommendations, when specified (but not to exceed 10 years). The date when a tire was manufactured is located on the sidewall of each tire. Consumers should locate the Department of Transportation or “DOT” code on the tire. The code begins with “DOT” and ends with the week and year of manufacture. For example, a DOT code ending with “2214” indicates a tire made in the 22nd week of 2014.

 

[Paul Choukourian]

My 2000 RT/10 had the original tires on it with only 5,800 miles. They looked perfect but no traction, bad stopping etc from hardened rubber. I changed them to Nitto 555R (street/drag) and it is a totally different car. You can actually drive it with confidence and not be on the edge of an accident with older tires. If you are going to own a Viper, why would you cheap out on tires????? If that is the case, sell it and buy a Prius.

 

[kssssnake]

Since we live in Indiana where Tirerack is located we got a notification the last time Michelin made a batch. Had to pre-order. I'd contact Luke at tirerack and get his input.

 

[TexasViper35]

Since we live in Indiana where Tirerack is located we got a notification the last time Michelin made a batch. Had to pre-order. I'd contact Luke at tirerack and get his input.

How would I contact Luke? I’ve contacted literally everyone. The Pilot Super Sports are sold out and won’t be made again for another month, perhaps 30 days after that they will be available. But I don’t have much confidence that anyone I spoke with, even several at Michelin, know anything concrete. They say it’s the COVID shutdown. Also these are made in Mexico.

I’m most likely going with the only real street alternative, Nitto Invo. Hate to switch, it’s like changing to a new brand of bath soap or bourbon! The Invo looks are growing on me! But in the standard Gen III tire sizes the front tires are rated W (168 mph) while the rears are rated the correct Y (186 mph) rating, don’t understand why they did that.

 

[TexasViper35]

My 2000 RT/10 had the original tires on it with only 5,800 miles. They looked perfect but no traction, bad stopping etc from hardened rubber. I changed them to Nitto 555R (street/drag) and it is a totally different car. You can actually drive it with confidence and not be on the edge of an accident with older tires. If you are going to own a Viper, why would you cheap out on tires????? If that is the case, sell it and buy a Prius.

That observation would be much more meaningful if you had put a fresh set of the same tires and noticed a great improvement. My concern is running a car up to 150+ MPH on ten year old tires, even if they do look very good.

 

[Steve-Indy]

To be clear, one has no business running 150+ MPH on tires with expired date codes, wrong speed ratings, or mis-matched tires.

 

[Tom and Vipers]

Soooooo... what's he doing with those tires??? Where are they and what size?

 

[jreece3556]

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[Viper_199]

I would not run old tires even if they are new because the tries are the only thing keeping power to the ground I would not recommend using old tires.