The Ford Explorer/Firestone tire fiasco highlighted some important things for all of us - but one of them is the AGE of the tires you buy. Experts concluded that 6 years is about the maximum safe age for tires.

So, how old are the tires you're about to buy to replace your Maxima's RSA's?

There is a set of numbers on the back sidewall of all tires. The numbers start with "D.O.T." and are followed usually by 6 numbers. The first 2 numbers just identify the plant where the tire was made, but the last 4 tell WHEN it was manufactured. The sequence is wwyy, meaning that the first two numbers tell you the week the tire was made and the last two tell you the year. So, "0505" would mean the tire was manufactured in the 5th week of 2005.

This is important, since tires can sit on a rack or in the dealer's storeroom for years before you buy them, and during that time, the tire material is slowly breaking down.

So, when you get new tires, check the DOT number, and if the tires weren't made in the last year or so, request another set or go somewhere else!

 

I know someone who has the original tires on a '92 corvette, they are cracked a little, but she still has them on the car.

 

Thats good info to know, thanks!

 

most tire dealers will not have a tire in their inventory for years. Places like tirerack.com, costco, les schwab, and discount tire turnover their inventory pretty quick.

 

I will check the date the next time I have the car on the lift. No harm in checking.

Thanks for that information.
Warren

 

thanks a lot

 

I just bought a set of Yokohama Avid H4S all-season tires a month ago at blowout prices. They replaced the OEM Goodyear RSAs that came on the car, which were one week shy of 11 years old.

I picked up the car on October 1, 1994 and can't vouch for when the tires were manufactured. They had 61K on them and showed no signs of cracking or deterioraton.

Given they were at about 3/32", I could have gotten another 5K out of them if we had been heading into spring/summer rather than fall/winter, but discretion ultimately served to be the better part of valor and I gave the RSAs the hook.

 

That's awesome, you certainly don't drive it like you stole it if you were able to go 61k over 11 years, that's really taking it easy on a Maxima.

 

The car has about 70% highway miles on it, is not a daily driver and hasn't even been partially used for commuting in over 4 years.

It looks and drives like new and still has the OEM NGK platinum plugs in it.

I have followed up on maintenance religiously.

I pick my spots to play a little on road trips where I know its safe to do so.

I have a FSTB and may get an RSB, now that I have new tires.

The car is a 5-speed.