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I thought the date code was a 4-digit number with the week and year of manufacture. Were my tires made the 35th week in 2011? The tires are Yokohama YK580's in the stock 225-55R-16 size. I see the YK580s are still available today, but was the design really around way back in 2011? The tires have plenty of tread, but if they are 11 years old then they probably should be replaced regardless.
Check the tires for visible signs of age like cracks in the side wall, and between the tread
Dont toss them out just because they are old. And if they are 11 years old and still holding air it tells me you dont drive a lot and the car is probably an indoor car.
And if your not road racing ,save your money.
And thats why there is a spare tire on board.
Lastly I have a 1987 Vette, with 19 year old tires that I feel quite comfortable driving in.
Bobmo
bobmo, you are more brave than me. The only place I would be driving on 19-year-old tires is on a trailer, these, IMHO, are not safe to be driven on. Tires have a life expectancy even if never driven on. They dry out even though they look like they have perfectly good tread. If my tires were in fact built in 2011 they will certainly be replaced. My life and my car are worth much more than a set of tires.
When Nix first came to live with us she had Brand New Michelins all around. Then still had rubber whiskers so we thought we were getting a real deal. And as usual I drove the car like I stole it.
About 3 weeks later I was rounding a curve at about 70 (still testing the car's capabilities) when she gave me a little wobble and rubber parts went flying all over the road. The left rear tire has *Shredded* on that curve! Shredded I say!
Only then did we learn that these tires were 10 YEARS OLD!! The PO had kept them in storage against the day he sold the car and we fell for it.
The US DOT says tires should be used for no more than 6 years (I've never got 6 years out of a set of tires). Most of the tire stores I have dealt with won't sell any tire over 3 years old.
I did learn my lesson that time though, and I learned how to read tire codes.
As Doug says, your tires were were built in 2011. Definitely time to invest in new ones.
(';')
I just retired from the military and about two years ago they had a big push to replace all the old tires on the HMMWVs in the reserves as we started having blowouts and accidents caused by old tires that looked good but were dried out from sitting outside in the elements year after year.
Very old tires do have some value, I once owned a 1987 BMW M6 (a car I regret parting with) that had the very odd metric sized Michelin TRX 240/45VR415 (16.3) tires with a perfect 1987 date coded spare. Seems Ferrari used the same size tires back in 1987 and I sold the one perfect spare to a collector for $400.00. He wanted it specifically because it was made in 1987 and what would have come on his car originally.
I have been looking at new tires and it seems the Yokohama YK580's get really good reviews. These will be going on my 1994 XJS V12 convertible. Thankfully my 1982 XJ6 that I bought a few weekends ago came with new tires, even if they are Dorals.
I went through a similar loop with a BMW 635 I had that had the original metric spare in the boot. I the end I had to get rid of it as I didnt have confidence in it of I needed it on a very hot day far from home.
My local tyre service sold me some 3 year old tyres for my truck a while ago coming out of Covid lockdowns. I am guessing there were some warehouses to be cleared out. No big issue on that vehicle as it does enough miles to wear them out before any age issues arise. I ask them to check when I am getting tyres for club cars (very low miles p.a. so more likely to age out)
Tire Date Code Help
