Curious -- Just ordered Continental Extreme Contact Sport tires online (new) and the two fronts I received are just about 3 years old. (One more slightly more and one slightly less)

Given that we drive "sports" cars and we go through tires relatively quickly, would you guys be okay installing 3 year old tires or arrange to have the tires returned and swapped for a set?

I'm inclined to send them back, but am trying to gauge if I'm overthinking this a bit...

 

You ordered online, you got new tires delivered. Unless there is something in the advertisement that would contradict 3 year old tires, it is on you.

Next time, if having just-made tires important to you, don't go looking for a lowest price online, instead go to a reputable tire shop that moves a lot of tires and tell them you want "not older than x" tires.

Also, if these tires were warehoused, there is no issues at 3 years.

 

You're overthinking this. Enjoy your savings.

 

Yes, I did get new tires delivered.

That being said, a few assumptions are being made above: 1) That I looked for the lowest price online, and 2) that a reputable tire shop would stock these tires.

I've done some digging on this issue, and TireRack (I'd say a good reputation) has been known to send tires a few years old as well. More so, shops don't exactly go pull Continental Extreme Contact Sports from the shelf in 265/35/ZR20, they're all placing an order from somewhere. I could make a request that they provide newer tires, but then again, I'm not taking $4,000 forged wheels to any "reputable" tire shop that's stocking these sizes. Most smaller boutique shops, the only ones I'd trust, are going to order from Tire Rack -- also negating that going to a reputable shop would have solved my issue, which seems to be a non-issue now that I've read a bit more and gathered a few opinions.

 

i wouldn't accept them unless they were really cheap, you don't want any tires over 5 years old, if you can go through them in a season or two you will be fine. If you paid full price I wouldn't accept them

 

+1. So don't worry. You'll go through them soon enough unless you're driving in granny mode all the time.

 

Thanks. Unfortunately, they're weren't really cheap. It seems that there isn't much margin on tires as no one seems to really discount them.They're all selling at pretty much the same price.

I agree -- I'll most likely burn through them within two years anyways. Thanks.

 

Tires stored in climate controlled environments are fine if they sit for a handful of years. If they were hanging outside getting beat down by the sun daily or frozen over the winters, that would be a different story.

 

Exactly.

 

Well, fingers crossed they were stored in a climate controlled warehouse then.

 

I'd say no need to worry UNLESS Continental has made changes to the tire since when they were manufactured while keeping the same name (I don't think they have, but worth checking to be sure)

 

With tires that have been sitting any length of time, the main worry is dry rot:

https://www.wikihow.com/Prevent-Dry-Rot-on-Tires

 

Is it also the concern they have gone hard? I had some on my XKR that had gone hard (rears) and had zero traction. I'd be a bit concerned about grip at the front.

 

Yes.

Dry rot results in the loss of the special chemicals that keep your tire's rubber soft enough to ensure a good grip on hard pavement.

 

Dry rot is more of a concern when the tire is under load (i.e. installed on a wheel and the wheel is on the car, and the cars weight is being supported by the tire). As long as the tires aren't exposed to sunlight, liquids and cold weather (and these are unmounted tires we are discussing here), dry rot is not an issue for many, many years. Pretty much any big business tire warehouse keeps their tires well away from the elements.