How do you know how old a tire really is?

The recent decline in the US economy has affected us all as consumers in some way. Most products have increased in price, tires especially. When those prices increase, fewer products are being purchased by the consumer, meaning more product stays on the store shelf. When more products stay on the shelves, less is ordered from the manufacturer. The tire industry is not immune to this trend.  This leaves manufacturers with a large surplus of tires waiting to be sold. The overall time frame from when a tire rolls off the manufacturing line to when it is sold to a customer, until the end of its tread life has increased. No one knows how long the new time frame is. You could be selling or buying tires much older than you actually think. Just because you bought it does not mean it is new. In general, tires shouldn’t be run if they are more than 6 years old. But how do you know how old a tire really is?

All tires are equipped with a number from the Department of Transportation; its DOT code. Part of this DOT code includes the manufacturing date of the tire. Follow these simple steps below to ensure you are buying and selling tires still well within their life span.

1. Find the Tire identification Number on the side of the tire. It begins with DOT and is 10-12 digits long.
2. Make note of the last 4 digits of that number.
3. Determine the year a tire was made by looking at the last 2 digits of that number. “07″ means the tire was manufactured in 2007. “08″ in 2008 and so on.
4. Determine the week by looking at the two digits before the year. “32″ means the tire was manufactured the 32nd week of the year and so on.

Today’s tires have more technology in them than the first computers and TV’s. You wouldn’t buy a new TV that is 6 years old would you?