How Old Are My Tyres? | Mobile Tyre Fitting in Chester and The Wirral

How Old Are My Tyres?

I grow old...I grow old…

I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

Before answering how you find out the age of your tyres the key question that need to be answered is:

Is there an age limit on tyres?

Ageing tyres deserve a good retirement like the rest of us! And that's even if they've been sitting in your boot as a spare.

Even with tread perfectly preserved and unused on the road, all manufacturers agree that after 10 years your tyres should be replaced regardless of how pristine they appear to be. And it is recommended that if they are older than 5 years you give them a close inspection at least once a year.

Caravan Exceptions

Like women's and men's respective retirement ages there are exceptions with caravans and cars!

For caravan tyres which stand around a lot more having their molecules broken down by the sun and air the recommendation is to retire them at 5 years old and never use beyond 7 years old.

How do you know your tyres age?

So if you want to know your tyres birthday then the sidewall and DOT code is your friend as seen below! This little dude would be celebrating his 5th birthday in the 17th week of 2022! The code shown on the tyre as [1217] resembles a manufacture date of the 12th week of 2017! Meaning this guy will start to show signs of aging pretty soon!

Tyre-Age-Hometyre_1

So you know your tyres birthday but even more importantly:

Beware the signs of aging

We can cope with our wrinkles but if you spot them on your tyres it is a matter of the gravest importance,

It is vital to note the signs of aging as some of this could be premature and indicate your tyres are oxidising, cracking and hardening which could lead to air leakages and worse still - tyre failure!! (aging rubber inner layers delaminate from steel belts rather than flexing with the steel!)

Check the tyre sidewalls and tread for small grooves that look a bit like old vinyl tracks on the music albums.

Older_Cracked_Car_Tyre

Why does cracking on tyres occur?

Tyres begin to crack when UV light oxidises the rubber causing it to dry out. Tyres contains anti oxidising chemicals but they are only activated when heated when the tyres are moving. Unused tyres deteriorate much faster than used tyres. it may not always be visible on the exterior such as a spare tyre that could have been baking away in the boot like an oven.