Observations
  • Home
  • Observations
  • Trendcasting
  • Odds 'n Ends
  • Science/Technology/Experiments
  • Mental Health

Old Tires and Risk...

6/15/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
Generally we really do not have to think about the age of the tires on our vehicles. They eventually wear down to the point that they need to be replaced, and we buy new tires. But, as we will soon see, size matters, but so does age. But the  dirty little secret in selling accessories, called TBA in the industry, (Tires, Batteries, and Accessories), is that most of the money made in aftermarket sales comes from these consumables. Most sellers of TBA's have very high markups but not always high turnaround. They may have stock in hand that has been in inventory for a long time. And, while it may not matter how old a new light bulb is, it does matter how old a tire or battery may be. But for this post we will consider the age of "new" tires and consider batteries in another post.
I recently saw a promotion at a major nationwide seller of automotive parts that seems to be a very common marketing ploy. "Buy three tires and get the fourth free"! Right! So, I went in to look at the tires and as expected, there were a lot of caveats. But, that was not what I was there for. I asked the salesmen how new the tires were and I was told that these were all recently delivered within the last week. So, I checked the date codes and they were all different, and worse, several of the tires were manufactured in 2009, and 2010. So why is that a problem? Because tires dry out and deteriorate over time. So, the tires on sale were already "aged" by four and three years respectively. And, dry tires tend to have hairline cracks that can lead to failure. So. how did I know when the tires were manufactured? Easy!
Since 2000, the Department of Transportation has required tire manufactures to supply a lot of information on the tire. By simply looking for the DOT designation with between 10 and 12 letters or numbers, it is easy to date the tire. The last 4 digits have the week and year of manufacture. In the photo on the right above we see 5107. This means that the tire was made during the 51st week of 2007. Also in the photo you can see that the temperature is "A". That is the best rating that goes from A to C. But, there is a lot more information about your tire. M+S is mud and snow, the manufacturer's name and more. There is a complete breakdown of the information on the National Highway Safety page from the DOT here. One caution I should mention is that the tire pressure relates to the maximum safe pressure for that tire, but is not the recommendation for your vehicle. Check your manual or the sticker on the driver's side door jamb for your car.
So, before your rubber hits the road, check for the age and other useful information. It could save your life!
1 Comment
    Picture

    Archives

    June 2021
    October 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    August 2019
    April 2019
    October 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011

    Categories

    All
    Advertising 1895
    Applications
    Bulb Act
    Cgi
    China Concerns Again
    Cloud Computing
    Drones
    End
    Family Mediation
    Gas Prices
    Gesture Technology
    Google Antitrust
    Grocery Deception
    Heathkit
    Infolust
    Infrastructure Failure
    Mechanical Computer
    Medical Devices
    Medication Mistakes
    Mental Health
    Original Ideas
    Pc
    Politics Of Fear
    Post Office
    Recycled News
    Rushing To Judgement
    Salmonella
    Siri
    Social Media Business
    Sopa
    Stock Market
    Texting
    Trendcasting
    Urine
    Wireless
    World

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.