Tire dates - usable age?

suzuki2000

suzuki2000

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Did a search, couldn't find what I was looking for...

I know tires can harden up over time and this can lead to lost grip as the tires are expectd to be less "sticky"

My questions are:
How far from production date is too old to purchase in people opinion?
and
How old is too old to be on a bike?

*Presenting actual facts is perfectly acceptable too
BTW, I am referring specifically to street tires, not racing tires/slicks

I know tire on a bike can develop flat spots if left sitting, or begin to weather and crack, but when are they no longer usable if they are not worn out, cracked, weathered, rotting...
 
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5 years is the general concencus for street tires
 
5 years on a bike is not a bad suggestion for motorcycle tires. Storage is crucial. Any tire exposed to sun constantly will age rapidly. Once the oils dry out, the rubber will become stiff, rendering the tire not road worthy.

Good quality tire, stored properly may last 6-7 years, maybe even 10. Nevertheless, I follow the 5 year rule myself (within reason). Not worth taking a chance. Anything over 3 years old, you should see discounted prices. I generally don't buy tires much older than that, knowing I will use them up within a season or two anyhow to keep the max life at 5.
If you don't rack up too many miles and park outdoors, you may want to consider purchasing newer rubber even.

I have sold and installed tires (auto) for 10 years. There's no law in Canada, only manufacturers' recommendations.
 
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Give me your perfectly good 5 year old tires!

Ever since people started learning how to read the manufacturing date on tires, they've been imagining problems with tire age that don't exist. A tire is old when it's dry and cracked, and it takes many years or a very nasty environment for that to happen. An old tire manufacturing date is just a number, it's not any kind of indication of quality. New tires can be worse than old tires. Look at their condition.
 
Even unused rubber will deteriorate with time. The exposed layers will dry out faster when there's no flexing and pressure. If you know for certain that a tire has been stored for 5 years in optimal conditions than it will be most likely fine for another 5.

However, most tires are not stored properly hence they age more rapidly. Most people lack experience to judge the tire's condition and the manufacturing date helps them stay away from unsafe products. There is more to aging than just cracks in the tread.

Another attribute of newer tires are improved compounds. Companies like Michelin, Bridgestone, Pirelli spend massive amounts of money on R&D.
 
fastar1 said:
Give me your perfectly good 5 year old tires!

Ever since people started learning how to read the manufacturing date on tires, they've been imagining problems with tire age that don't exist. A tire is old when it's dry and cracked, and it takes many years or a very nasty environment for that to happen. An old tire manufacturing date is just a number, it's not any kind of indication of quality. New tires can be worse than old tires. Look at their condition.
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The Pirelli Diablo Rosso II's on my RS125 are only 4 years old and are cracked. Bike was stored indoors all the time, too.
 
DemonPig said:
Another attribute of newer tires are improved compounds. Companies like Michelin, Bridgestone, Pirelli spend massive amounts of money on R&D.
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They spend a massive amount of money telling us they spend a lot of money in R&D. Tires have not radically improved much in the last decade. MotoGP development is pretty pointless for street tires. Aside from lightweight expensive carbon fiber belts, radials haven't changed much.
 
CafeRay said:
They spend a massive amount of money telling us they spend a lot of money in R&D. Tires have not radically improved much in the last decade. MotoGP development is pretty pointless for street tires. Aside from lightweight expensive carbon fiber belts, radials haven't changed much.
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Wholly crap, you can't be for real.
 
fastar1 said:
Give me your perfectly good 5 year old tires!

Ever since people started learning how to read the manufacturing date on tires, they've been imagining problems with tire age that don't exist. A tire is old when it's dry and cracked
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This is very wrong. Tires lose elasticity from the minute they pop out of the mould, and they get harder with age. Nothing is better then a fresh scrubbed tire for grip.
As they age, you get less and less hysteresis, they don't heat up like they should, which means less grip.

For commuters, there is little difference within 5 years. No one should run a tire until they see cracks.

I change my car tires every 5 years, regardless of kilometers.
 
dricked said:
Wholly crap, you can't be for real.
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Feel free to to counter argue with actual facts. Not magazine articles/advertisements.

Racing tire design has very little relevance to street tires.

For every $1 spent on R&D, most tire companies spend $4 in marketing.
 
Well I'm sure you don't work for a tire manufacturer (please correct me if I'm wrong) nor have you ridden on every tire that has come into production in the last 5 years never mind 10. If you think racing doesn't help develop tires then your as off your rocker as I had assumed.
 
CafeRay said:
This is very wrong. Tires lose elasticity from the minute they pop out of the mould, and they get harder with age. Nothing is better then a fresh scrubbed tire for grip.
As they age, you get less and less hysteresis, they don't heat up like they should, which means less grip.

For commuters, there is little difference within 5 years. No one should run a tire until they see cracks.

I change my car tires every 5 years, regardless of kilometers.
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Another classic opinioid brought to us CafeRay. Listen up everyone; now a tire is old as soon as it pops out of the mold.
 
CafeRay said:
They spend a massive amount of money telling us they spend a lot of money in R&D. Tires have not radically improved much in the last decade. MotoGP development is pretty pointless for street tires. Aside from lightweight expensive carbon fiber belts, radials haven't changed much.
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Uh huh. That, or: nothing has improved on bikes as much as tires in the past 10 years.
 
fastar1 said:
Another classic opinioid brought to us CafeRay. Listen up everyone; now a tire is old as soon as it pops out of the mold.
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Zomg. Can I have tires shipped overnight straight from the mold?

IMHO the sport touring tires have made quite a leap. They grip very well and they are good for 15k.

Sent from the future using my GOLDEN iPhone 30 SS
 
I had a tire rep (wont say who because it would be wrong to quote someone like that) say 11 years if stored in a temperature/humidity controlled environment. Obviously things like riding and being left out in the cold deteriorate them rapidly.

Fun fact. Just run your hand down the middle of your front tire around its circumference. I found i developed huge waves in the bands of a front tire, long before i wore the rubber out. Enough to warrant the replacement of it before any other indicator.
 
I've got over 12K on my current Metzeler M5 with plenty of rubber left to go. This is the most I've gotten out of a motorcycle tire so far.
 
How does one read the date? I can see three sets of numbers on my front tire - says 0001894, another one is a big stamped 1208 and the last one is simply 56263 by itself in raised characters. (Other side f the same tire says 56264, so I assume these numbers are not dates)

It's a Dunlop GT501F if that helps. Neither the PO or I have bought it, it's been on the bike since at least 2009 and it still looks nearly new.
 
Matt Rain said:
How does one read the date? I can see three sets of numbers on my front tire - says 0001894, another one is a big stamped 1208 and the last one is simply 56263 by itself in raised characters. (Other side f the same tire says 56264, so I assume these numbers are not dates)

It's a Dunlop GT501F if that helps. Neither the PO or I have bought it, it's been on the bike since at least 2009 and it still looks nearly new.
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1208 = 12th week of 2008.
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