DOT Tire Code

[RoadiJeff]

I was browsing the Tire Rack website and saw that you can determine when your tires were manufactired by the DOT code on the side. I'm not sure if the pic below is the right code or not. If it is then the tire was made on the 27th week of 1999, which would have been in July.

Since mine is a 1999 and the previous owner said they are the original tires I'm just wondering if I'm looking at the right numbers. I thought the 2000 year models were being made in July 1999 and I don't think the tire would have made it all the way from France and on the Viper assembly line before the last of the 99's were made that summer.

I mainly want to see how much longer I have on the 10 year life of the tire left. Thanks for any advice and wisecracks are always welcome and encouraged.

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[AJT]

10 year? I think its more like 6 yr.

 

[kcobean]

I'd have to go back and find it, but I seem to recall someone posting information from Michelin stating that the "shelf life" of their tires (or maybe the Pilot specifically???) was 5 years. In any case, mine are now 5 years old (plus a little), and they are DEFINITELY due for replacement, even though they have tread life left.

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

I lifted the below from Michelin

Michelin® passenger and light truck tires, used in normal service
on the vehicle on which they were originally fitted and in accordance
with the maintenance recommendations and safety warnings
contained in the attached owner’s manual, are covered by
this limited warranty against defects in workmanship and materials
for the life of the original usable tread, or six years from
date of purchase, whichever comes first. At that time, all warranties,
express or implied, expire.

That is the date code. I believe the tire above to have been made the 27 week of 1999

Steve

 

[Johann]

I thought the 2000 year models were being made in July 1999 and I don't think the tire would have made it all the way from France and on the Viper assembly line before the last of the 99's were made that summer.

That's true of most cars but not the Viper; my '97 was built in late August of '97.

Check the sticker in the door jam for the car's build date.

 

[ViperJames]

The shelf life of the Rubber really is not very good after 3 years according to michelin. 10 years is definitely not going to give you close to maximum performance, and i would be worred about driving on tires that old. Your tires are probably not very sticky at all anymore at this point. I was very shocked at this when i was first informed, but it is true.

 

[JonB]

..... I believe the tire above to have been made the 27 week of 1999
Steve

Steves secret decoder ring has devined the answer.

Your hockey pucks are from June 1999...they make great geranium planters if you mound the earth up just right....

 

[kcobean]

I lifted the below from Michelin

Michelin® passenger and light truck tires, used in normal service
on the vehicle on which they were originally fitted and in accordance
with the maintenance recommendations and safety warnings
contained in the attached owner’s manual, are covered by
this limited warranty against defects in workmanship and materials
for the life of the original usable tread, or six years from
date of purchase, whichever comes first. At that time, all warranties,
express or implied, expire.

That is the date code. I believe the tire above to have been made the 27 week of 1999

Steve

I sit corrected.

I wonder what they would say from a chemical/engineering standpoint (not a legal/marketing standpoint) about the real usable life of a tire on a car like this where traction is so important. "Safe enough to cover under warranty" and "still sticky enough for a Viper" I think are very different criteria.

 

[JonB]

Relevant News, regurgitated from SEMA NEWSLETTER 1/10/2007. :

"""""TEST FOR AGED TIRES GAINS TRACTION

Officials at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) believe that they have developed a test for determining the durability of aged tires. It reportedly involves subjecting a tire to high temperatures (up to 150 degrees Fahrenheit) for 8-to-10 weeks in a high oxygen environment. The test was given a stamp of approval by “The Aged Tire Durability Task Group,” a 33-member task force which includes representatives for tire makers, the auto industry and safety groups. The Task Group was formed in 2002 to establish a tire durability test. The Task Group also endorsed its own, separate durability test that would run tires at about 75 miles an hour for more than 30 hours.

NHTSA is required to report its tire durability test findings and recommendations to Congress by August 2007. At issue is the claim that some rubber compounds degrade over time, even if unused. NHTSA has been in the process of studying the topic but has found that it may be difficult to establish a uniform time limit that does not take into account other contributing aging factors such as climate, handling and storage. Several auto companies are backing a 6-year tire expiration date and a number of safety advocate groups are urging NHTSA to institute a regulation.

While supporting tire expiration research, SEMA believes it is important that regulators and lawmakers have the best science available before making any decisions on this topic. They should also consider the associated environmental, social and economic costs if expiration dates lead to premature tire scrappage. If a regulation were proposed, SEMA would likely seek a provision that exempts limited production tires (15,000 or less annually) and other specialized tires, similar to that already included in a California law requiring replacement tires be as fuel efficient as OE tires. (The law has yet to be implemented.) Meanwhile, SEMA urges consumers to also focus on critical safety issues such as tire inflation and overloading of vehicles.

In a separate but related rulemaking issued several years ago, as of September 2009 tire manufacturers will be required to print the tire’s manufacture date in an easy-to-read, four-digit code on the outside of tires. The date is currently printed on one side of the tire but coded in a fashion that it is difficult to decipher by most consumers and frequently facing inside when the tire is mounted.""""" end SEMA article

 

[RoadiJeff]

I just wanted to say thanks to all who replied. I guess the pic of the tire I posted does have a July 1999 build date. The door sticker says my car was built in 1-1999, so I don't see how a tire that is 6 months newer than that could be on the car if it is the original, as the previous owner told me.

Anyway, now that I know how to decode the code one of the other tires has a 458 DOT code. That one was made in November 1998. The other two tires don't even have a DOT code, unless they are on the inside facing, and I'm not going to crawl around under there and look.

I was basing my 10 year tire life on something I read from the Tire Rack website, which I listed below.

Tire Aging

Our experience has been that when properly cared for, most street tires have a useful life of between six to ten years.

A set of new wheels is on my list for the near future. Maybe I'll budget some cash for new tires while I'm at it. Thanks again everyone.

 

[AviP]

Prior to 2000, the code was wwy
where ww = week of the year
and y = last digit of the year

Since 2000, the code is wwyy,
where ww = week of the year
and yy = last 2 digits of the year

So 279 = 27th week of 1999
and 2709 = 27th week of 2009 (just an example)

As to whether the tire is good, 10 years is my timeframe. That means it's tire time for me.

 

[Asp Man]

Shelf life and life on the road are two different things, as well.
Heat cycling, road hazzards, tread wear, type of use should all be factored in.
I'm not trying to be a know it all, but common sense should prevail.
That article states that unused tyres 6yrs old or 10yrs in use should be replaced. Somehow using them makes them last longer(?).

Do as you please, it's your car/money. For what it's worth, and for peace of mind, do yourself and your passengers a favor.

Just my $0.02

 

[Yellow32]

I was browsing the Tire Rack website and saw that you can determine when your tires were manufactired by the DOT code on the side. I'm not sure if the pic below is the right code or not. If it is then the tire was made on the 27th week of 1999, which would have been in July.

Since mine is a 1999 and the previous owner said they are the original tires I'm just wondering if I'm looking at the right numbers. I thought the 2000 year models were being made in July 1999 and I don't think the tire would have made it all the way from France and on the Viper assembly line before the last of the 99's were made that summer.

I mainly want to see how much longer I have on the 10 year life of the tire left. Thanks for any advice and wisecracks are always welcome and encouraged.

If you are driving a honda, sure, use your 10 year tire, a blow out won't be such a big deal.

But, on any high performance car what's the point of "squeezing" out extra mileage?

I would never use tires more than 6 years old on a high performance car, even if the actual mileage on them is low. The tire loses a lot of its high performance capacity after that age.

And, if you use the tire a lot (a lot of mileage) then you lose tire compound which means the tires ability to channel water is decreased (having a good amount of tire is very useful for driving in the rain...not all Vipers experience this). But just as importantly, a tire with a lot of miles will wear, esp on a high performance car where you can't rotate the tires, the fronts will have a lot of wear on the shoulders which decreases safety esp in turns as traction is reduced.

I could go on and on, treat your car right, no more than 6 years and no more than 10,000 miles. That's what I do, serves me well...

-J