So I called tire rack to by some new Bridgestone RE71 R tires for my autocross weapon. By chance I asked if he knew the date code on the tires since I wanted fresh tires. Well, May 2015 was the answer. Evidently they don't go through a lot of 205/55/16 in that model. I was really uninterested to make the purchase to say the least. He said that they are stored in a controlled environment out of the sun and yada yada. Don't these things age anyway? I called my local Firestone dealer. They are ordering me a set of these tires. They could not tell me the date code, but will return the tires to there warehouse if I am not happy. I am thinking that a new set should be no more than 6 months since manufacture. Is this reasonable?

You probably wont see THAT much of a performance loss. The manufacturer probably builds them in batches yearly. I agree that is not a common size. The tires have never had a heat cycle so they technically should still perform.


I can tell you something though, you will LOVE those tires.

You wont easily find less than six months old tires in the Brand and size you want. As Andrew stated tires are made in batches, the less common sizes may only be made once per year or even less often.
Up to 18-24 months old should be ok aslong as they havnt been used, they store well untill they start being heat cycled.

Isn't the concensus, toss them after six years old? If there already two years old, will you wear them out in four more years? My Michelins on my car have good tread, but are ten years old, due to the car being a part for four years. My tires have no cracks, but feel really hard. I will replace them before driving to mammoth.

Let me expand that question on old tires just a bit: Does anyone have an authoritative answer about aged tires that have never been mounted/used if they're 8-10 years old? Back a number of years ago I bought some new Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires for another sports car I have that I wanted to "inventory" for future use, but that time has not yet come. So is that issue mentioned about the initial heat cycle the only factor to consider, or at some point does how long they've been stored (dry/inside) become the controlling factor?

Google it. Comcensus is 6 years old.

Vulcanized Rubber looses its plasticizer (the stuff that makes it pliable) over time mainly because it is an organic compound subject to evaporation, faster in the sun, but still looses it even in controlled conditions. Six years is a good marker, a better marker is sidewall cracking.

I always ask to see the date code on the tires before I buy them and do not buy them unless the date code is within 6 months. To help ensure that, I always buy my tires at a high volume tire shop (like Discount Tire) with lots of inventory turnover.

If you blow through a set of tires in 4 years, then getting 1-year old tires is not a big deal.

PS - Its been a while since I've had organic chemistry class, but I still remember some stuff... I think.

[quote name='Andyrew' date='May 2 2017, 11:39 PM' post='2482114']
. The tires have never had a heat cycle so they technically should still perform.

some tire perform better after a few heat cycles Kumho 710s do

Porsche says replace them if over six years old, but it doesn't seem there's a lot of hard statistics on aged tires. For cars hat are infrequently driven, it can be heartbreaking to replace tires that show no tread wear and seem to have lots of life available. Tire aging is a major issue in the RV world as they carry much more weight than our small, light cars.

Performance tires IMHO should be run through in 2 years. If they havent then they would have already run enough heat cycles to have deteriorated in grip. This is why I am a fan of the super low treadwear tires, or even autox compound tires (Bridgestone RE-71R). You run them just enough to make full use of the compound then they wear down.


FYI Federal is now bringing their FZ201 tires to the states. 100tw tire in the super low $$$ figure. Comes in a soft and medium compound. Just heard they are bringing it over last night and I am pretty excited. I have their autox compound (200tw) on my rear tires and they took a full track day to scrub in. Now they are hooking much better.

Just an FYI. Last year I bought a "new" set of Michellins from Tire Rack and the treads separated after one 2 hour drive on I5... the tire delaminated, shook for a minute and then exploded. I changed the tire on the side of I5, got to Les Swabb where they determined based on the DOT code that the tires were over 15 years old! On our new rims we bought a brand new set of vintage Michellins from Coker, they are pricey but not going to kill us.

I will never buy from Tire Rack!!!

I have been buying for Tirerack for year and have never had a problem.

Something is weird (Maybe Swabb fibbed?).

When they have older series tires (2+ years) that discount them. (I have bought a few sets and again, no issues.)

Seems that the 6 year rule is a best guess. I have seen it stated that you should never mount a set of tires with a date cod older than 6 years.
And I have seen mention that "tire should be on a car/trailer for no more than six years".

I have always figured the real life is probably closer to 12 years. 6+6.

Of course use and abuse take its toll. A good tire run under inflated will "delaminate" and "explode", or as most people will say "It Just blew-out" in almost no time.

Thanks for all the input guys! I need soft sticky fresh tires for autocross. I will report back what my local dealer receives in terms of date.

Agreed its weird an no they were not improperly mounted or under inflated. When I engaged with Tire Rack they said the tires came from a third party that may have had an old stash. Tire Rack refunded the cost of the tires after I sent the delaminated tire in.

I work in the heavy truck industry where we re-cap tires and the capper won't cap a tire that older than 5 years....for what ever that's worth.

Apparently TR doesn't follow their own tech reccos!

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tec....jsp?techid=267

The auto & tire mfgrs lifespans range from 6-8-10 years for actual roadable street tires (vs. something old you throw on at the Concours to be period correct, then remove to drive it), but you're asking for competition tires which will be subjected to more stress & wear.

Part of the problem may be whether they or Firerock sends out their stock as first-in-first-out (FIFO) or last-in-first-out (LIFO) - the latter of which will keep older tires in stock much longer, & is a stooopid way to sell tires IMHO - so you should ask them to check if they do FIFO or LIFO stocking.

While you may not be able to get less than 6 months, you may be able to get 12 month old tires, of which a few months of that will be at the plant, shipping, stocking the Dist. Ctr., etc. before theiy're even ready for sale - which is pretty common.

However, I do agree that 2 years old is too long (they need to eat the stock not previously sold after +/-12-18-24 months, as some proposed DOT rules say).

I had some 6 month old when mounted tires on my street cars get tread & sidewall splits within 3 years - so I switched brands & models on both my 85 BMW E30 325e & `88 VW Westy, & made sure they were less than 12 months since made (they ranged from 5-10 months on the 10 tires).

If you cannot find fresh enough tires in that brand/model, then I suggest that you seek out some other AX tires for your car. The ones you like may not be selling well cuz others out now are better ... perhaps leading to the stock being so old.

Good Luck!
Tom
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I wouldn't be happy with them... I would not accept 2year old tires for racing.

I'd have no problem with this on the street
but for racing tires, no way

I've had 2 separate experiences with "aged out" racing tires
I can tell you that racing tires suck when they age out

I once bought a set of brand new, stored indoors Hoosiers (NOS) because they were cheap... Those tires sucked! they were never sticky and they were a big disappointment.

2nd experience is that I bought new RA1's for an enduro around 2005
after using them in the enduro, I didn't love them (should of shaved them) I didn't use them much after that as I preferred the hoosiers

about 2 years later, I tried to use them and they were worse than I remembered. They had completely aged out. I had to throw them away finally.

even with brand new hoosiers, I can tell the grip has fallen off between the fall races in September, October and the spring races the following april/may

I store my race tires indoors... you can feel the difference that 6 months makes...

it might be that the hoosiers and toyo's are more susceptible than the bridgestones? but your paying top dollar for a very specific use...

Thanks Brant. Thats what I figured. I just got of the tele with my local Firestone guy. 3 of the tires were dated 5/15 the third was 2/15...not happy

http://www.tracktuned.com/feed/2016/12/25/...t-tire-overview

This should point you in the right direction. Finding tires in your size will be difficult.

I'd start with Dunlop Direza ZII's. I have those on the front of my Fiesta ST and love them.

sorry for the hijack...

but our cars are light
all of the new tires are made for production cars that weigh on average 3000lbs...

these tires are designed to support and work with that weight
their characteristics change when they are put onto a 2000lb car

I had tires and brake pads on a 944turbo I helped build for a friend that worked great... but sucked on my car.

a local pro has a contract as a tire tester for hoosier.
he recommended I change from the hoosier R tires, over to the hoosier A tires for track use (not autox)

I spoke with the hoosier engineers to confirm this. They fully agreed that based on my car weight, I should make the change.

they were all right.

just saying that you will get best information from competitors using products on similar weight vehicles.... I get worried when I read stuff on the internet that works for some guys audi or some guys wrx

different weight of cars, different needs

Definitely not a hijack, just a good discussion. Toyo has the R1R in that size. I could go 205/50/16, more choices, but I dont like the gearing. Which compronise to make...

Dunlop ZII star specs come in 205-55-16... They work great in race spec fiesta's which are about 2500lbs. Just saying.

Toyo R1R's I hear are more prone to heat cycling, whereas the ZII's are not and keep their stick longer aka better for daily driving. (I can attest, on my daily driver and still have great stick when I want it)

So another call to Tire Rack and more info I wasn't happy to hear. I checked on the Star Specs. Yes they have them in my size, but they too are date coded some month in 2015. The Toyo Proxes R1R were dated 2014. WTF? The compromise I may be going with are 205/50/16 RE71R. They have a 11/16 or 2/17 date code.

Old race tires are hard as rocks and feel like you are driving on ice. I would shop around. I found Hoosiers to be great sticky tires, but they run wide in cross section so beware of fitment.