New thread for general car postings and information.
I'll start.
How old are the tires on your vehicle?
Check them, even if they look (and were sold to you as) brand new tires with unworn treads.
The date of manufacture is indicated by the last group of digits in the DOT manufacture code on the sidewall of the tire. The number is often stamped in a recessed rectangle. The DOT code tells who manufactured the tire, where it was made and when. The last group of digits in the code is the date code that tells when the tire was made.
Before 2000, the date code had three digits. Since 2000, it has had four. The first two digits are the week of the year (01 = the first week of January). The third digit (for tires made before 2000) is the year (1 = 1991). For most tires made after 2000, the third and fourth digits are the year (04 = 2004).
In the photo below, the date code is 8PY806. The 8PY is a manufacturing shift code, and the date the tire was actually made was 0806, which is the 8th week (08)in the year 2006 (06).
Many stores will try to sell you tires that have been lying around for 5 or 6 or even 10 years. Never buy tires that are more than a few years old based on their date code, as older tires lose elasticity and are more prone to failures like tread separation, which can kill you at highway speed.
I'll start.
How old are the tires on your vehicle?
Check them, even if they look (and were sold to you as) brand new tires with unworn treads.
The date of manufacture is indicated by the last group of digits in the DOT manufacture code on the sidewall of the tire. The number is often stamped in a recessed rectangle. The DOT code tells who manufactured the tire, where it was made and when. The last group of digits in the code is the date code that tells when the tire was made.
Before 2000, the date code had three digits. Since 2000, it has had four. The first two digits are the week of the year (01 = the first week of January). The third digit (for tires made before 2000) is the year (1 = 1991). For most tires made after 2000, the third and fourth digits are the year (04 = 2004).
In the photo below, the date code is 8PY806. The 8PY is a manufacturing shift code, and the date the tire was actually made was 0806, which is the 8th week (08)in the year 2006 (06).
Many stores will try to sell you tires that have been lying around for 5 or 6 or even 10 years. Never buy tires that are more than a few years old based on their date code, as older tires lose elasticity and are more prone to failures like tread separation, which can kill you at highway speed.