Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

jim larson · 2K+ Club

How do you read the date code on tires?

dashboard · 2K+ Club

www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp

jim larson · 2K+ Club

Thanks Kevin. So two tires are 1507 and two are 1406. Guess that would make them manufactured around april of 07 and april of 06. Are these too old?

dashboard · 2K+ Club

I don’t know if there to old, maybe there’s a tire guy amongst us. I think it might depend on weather cracking/checking and how they were stored.

bowtie · Secretary

In general, 6 years is the time to look at replacing. The materials in the tires is breaking down and can be accelerated by lack of use since typically tire life is over before the 6 year point. How they were stored will definately affect them, wether they were near a heat source, stored flat, aired on wheels, on a vehicle, etc.

As for the difference between the versions, I don't know.

Jon H · 1K+ Club

I have a friend with a 1976 Vette with original tires. I was going to meet him for a show last year and I suggested he put new rubber on as he hadn't driven it for several years. He went to a tire store (don't know which one). They un-mounted the tires and told him he didn't need to replace them. I disagree but he is still driving on them. Go figure.

Derek69SS · Founding Member

The old rubber holds up a lot longer than the stuff made in the last ~15 years.

I don't know what has changed, but it seems to be a problem in everything including farm equipment tires.

jim larson · 2K+ Club

My current bias tires are from nov of 2005. They still look good with only about 10,000 miles.

Is it best when storing the car for the winter, to put it up on jack stands or something similar and deflate the tires down some?

bowtie · Secretary

You certainly can, many people do. What some people say about that is that now there's no weight on the suspension and that will do things to those components. Personally, I store the car with the tires aired up and on the ground and if the tires start to get cracking, they get replaced. I agree that the older tires hold up better, the new blends and materials they need to use in the newer tires (cost of rubber as well as the characteristics they need to build into them) makes them age faster.

SShink · 3K+ Club

jim larson wrote:
Is it best when storing the car for the winter, to put it up on jack stands or something similar and deflate the tires down some?

I've heard that bias ply tires are more prone to flat spots when storing with the weight of the car on them versus radial tires due to the steel belts in them having a stronger sidewall.

dashboard · 2K+ Club

Here is what the tire 'experts' think.

Goodyear www.goodyearrvtires.com/tire-storage.aspx

Michelin www.michelinman.com/tires-101/tire-care/tire-storage.page

Edmunds www.edmunds.com/car-care/how-old-and-dangerous-are-your-tires.html

SShink · 3K+ Club

dashboard wrote:
Here is what the tire 'experts' think.

Goodyear www.goodyearrvtires.com/tire-storage.aspx

Michelin www.michelinman.com/tires-101/tire-care/tire-storage.page

Edmunds www.edmunds.com/car-care/how-old-and-dangerous-are-your-tires.html

Nice finds Kevin. I see I'm already doing something wrong with my 'spare' set for the Chevelle...

If your tires have whitewall or raised white lettering, store them with the whitewall or raised white lettering facing each other. Otherwise, black rubber could stain them. (The results are not pretty.)

Bungy L-76 · Active Member

When doing this, you have to make sure the white letters are touching the other white letters and not the black part of the tire. The best thing to do is slip a piece of cardboard in between each tire. This way the whitewalls or white letters can't touch the black part of the other tire.

dashboard · 2K+ Club

Wax paper works well also and does not hold the moisture.

bowtie · Secretary

I still have a white letter paint pen I use in the garage occasionally for stuff. Must be 25 years old now. Used it on my first pair of Radial TAs back on my Camaro in 1989.