Reasonable manufacturing dates on new tires?
 

I asked my tire installer about the DOT dates on some new tires, the rears are fresh while the fronts are 2 years old. Is it reasonable for them to sell tires this old? My current MPilot Super Sports are 7 years old and have 60% tread left but little grip, so I'm concerned about the age.

I've tried to get fresher ones but it's challenging as these apparently came directly from Continental's warehouse and they deal FIFO (First In, First Out), so they won't ship anything newer in this size (225 45 17 Extreme Contact Sports).

I'll probably have these on the car for another 6 years, while I go through another set on the rears in half that time, so by the end of their life the fronts will be 8 years from manufacturing date while the rears only 3-4. I'm thinking the grip in the fronts will be toast well before the second set of rears are worn out.

Was told 5/6 years max and they do go off,replaced mine today on my 98 civic,
Were 6 yr old tyres 5 k a year -Bridgestone 002 noticed bad cracks on the inside, white lined very BAD!!

@noodels That's what I've been told too, however Continental is saying that their tires are stored in the warehouse properly, which prevents early breakdown and makes them "fine" until they are 3 years old. However after 3 years they can't sell them anymore. I assume this means they go to tire discounters to be sold.

I wonder how much the newer tire technology affects this. Normally I wouldn't worry, however considering I have a second set of wheels for the summer, I can see these fronts lasting for a long time with how little I drive in the cool season.

If you are worried about grip why are you running those tires anyway? I've got an old pair of kuhmo xs extreme summers I put on this summer from 2010. I even cycled them once from a track day back in 2015 and currently using them up on the street and they still grip very good, certainly for anything I can throw at them on spirited street driving. A lot has to do with the climate you are in. In WA state the weather is mild and the tires have always been garaged. I will probably get two more seasons out of them making them 10 years old from manufacture date all said and done.

if there charging you full price on a 2-3 year old tire, thats complete horse shit and there ripping you off , even though a tire may have a "legal' six year life span , some tires espesally 100-200 wear rate will lose quality/grip and get harder with every passing winter and should be used up as soon as you get them

I agree, if your planning on tracking them.

The tires are 340 TW, but from the Tire Rack reviews they wear like 200 TW and are supposed to have great wet grip, and yes I consider max grip important. I'm planning on getting another set of summer tires, but I want a street set of tires for the stock wheels for the cooler, wetter months and given how little I drive I'm just not going to use these up that fast.

Why did I bring this up? I've got Michelin Pilot Super Sports on right now. They are 7 years old and they have lost most of the grip in the front despite having 60% tread left, which is especially noticeable in hard braking, which sometimes does happen on the street due to idiot drivers.

I got in touch with an engineer at Continental's factory and posed this question to him. He said that the data they have, for all tires, is that there is a significant and noticeable drop off in grip after 5 years being manufactured. They don't have data on less than 5 years. Since these tires have a 60 day satisfaction warranty, I decided to have them installed. The newer rear tires do feel softer when compressing the large tread blocks, there is a difference.

There is a major increase in ride quality and grip over my 7 year old MPSSs, and bumps register with half the impact force. The Super Sports also had some cracking despite being garaged. The immediate increase in handling, ride quality, and noise is surprising. I can hear so much more of the mechanicals of the car when I'm driving now that road noise has been muted.

The tire industry say 6 years of use on the car or 10 years from the date of mfg. The 2 years is still fine as long as they were stored in a climate controlled warehouse..