Determining the Expiration of your Tires

I previously wrote an article on What do Car Tire Number Means and it has been my most read article. A lot of people pointed out that I did not talk about how we can also detect expired tires. So by popular demand I will quickly explain how and the importance of knowing this. Car tires have a maximum of 4-year validity period from the date of their manufacture. It is important we take note of this because if you are driving on expired tires, they may burst and cause fatal accidents. It is even more of a serious concern in this part of the world because most people buy used tires so as to cut cost.

I have fallen victim to this before. A friend of mine came to visit me and needed to change one of his tires. We checked everything we needed to and fixed the tire. We did not check the tire expiration. The next day we both traveled back to his base and the tire we just bought burst on high speed. I am not saying we should not be buying used tires because all fingers are not equal but that we should always check and avoid expired tires. You might buy a new tire and same happens because it has just been stored for years and had expired.

If a car tire is used carefully, after two years the tire loses about 20% of it’s qualities and when it reaches the 3rd year the tire loses about 50%. An appropriate age for tire replacement is thus between the age of 2-4 years unless its worn down earlier by damage or alignment problems. The process can also be intensified with high-mileage tires.

Determining the Expiration of Tires

Image source: motorzone.info

Tires expiration dates are not indicated on them but their date of manufacture is usually inscribed on them. They come in four digits indicating the week and year of manufacture like this 3507 or sometimes it comes with pre-alphabet letters like this (PHN3507). You may find asterix sign before and after the numbers on some tires. The first two of the four-digit numbers found on a round-ended box shows the week the tire was made while the last two of the four digits represent the year. So, if the numbers are 3507 it means that the tire was made in 35th week of the year 2007. This means the tire will expire on the 35th week of the year 2011.

It is that simple so the next time you are buying a tire check for the expiration.