Menu

How old is the tyre and how was it stored?

It turns out that car tyres have a shelf life! And that is regardless of how much tread depth is left.

Serhii Maslov Section: Part-worn tyres Updated: First published:
How old is the tyre and how was it stored?

Like any other product that is constantly in contact with the surrounding environment, a tyre has a shelf life. The rubber and the materials its carcass (the load-bearing part) is made from oxidise, dry out, and react chemically with everything on the road surface (especially in winter), so they lose their properties over time. That is why, to judge a tyre’s overall condition, it is vital to take its age into account, along with its conditions of use and storage, even when the tread depth is acceptable.

First of all, you should look at the date of manufacture of each tyre in the set on offer. The generally accepted service life of a car tyre is taken to be 5 years, provided the storage rules have been followed. Tyres can, of course, last longer, but nobody can guarantee that the load-bearing part of the tyre (the carcass) will not suddenly fail once a certain pressure and temperature are reached (this concerns high speeds in particular). And the consequences of a tyre bursting at high speed are most likely to be extremely sad. Different dates of manufacture on the different tyres in a set most likely mean either that the set has been made up from spare wheels, or that tyres were bought in one at a time as they were used. In both cases, these tyres need a closer look. If the dates of manufacture on the tyres are all fine (they match and the age does not exceed 4 years), you should carefully inspect the outside and inside surface of each tyre. A tyre should be solid and smooth. There should be no micro-cracks at all (a faint cobweb of tiny cracks)! They are a sign that the storage rules have been broken, and are the first indication that the tyres are unfit for use. If a tyre has been treated with special chemicals (a colour restorer), micro-cracks will be much harder to spot, so it is a good idea to take a simple magnifying glass (a lens) with you when inspecting part-worn tyres before you buy them.

More on this topic

Date of manufacture of a tyreWhen buying new tyres, you must always check the date of manufacture of each one. Sadly, Ukrainian buyers are often sold last year’s tyres (if not older) at the price of new ones. Uneven tread wear on a tyreA proper check of part-worn tyres before you buy will help you work out how evenly the tread has worn across its full width. How worn is the tyre?Most often it is the remaining tread that is considered the most important parameter of a part-worn tyre, but how informative is that measurement really? Real tread wear on a tyreIt looks like a simple question: what is the wear (in per cent) on a tyre with a tread block height of 4 mm? In cases like this sellers usually write a “modest” 30%, but what is the truth? Asymmetric treadAn asymmetric winter tyre is a good alternative to a classic winter tyre, possibly even with improved figures, although a lot here depends on the specific model and maker. How does a winter tyre differ from a summer one?It is commonly assumed that the main difference between winter and summer tyres is just the tread pattern. In truth that is not the case at all.

In this section

How do you choose tyre width for the season?In reality, all else being equal, tyre width only affects one parameter: the size of the tyre’s contact patch with the road surface. What does that mean? Tyre testsOften the main argument for choosing a particular tyre becomes the place it won in some “independent” test - how justified is that?