5 year old new tires. Should I be worried?
 

Won a pair of rear tires in a raffle this weekend. When I picked them up, I noticed they have a shipping date on the stickers on early 05'. How concered should I be? They are perrelli rossi's.

I would be worried the rubber could be dried out and ready to crack, I'm not sure what the exact shelf life is for tires, but if you do decide to use them I would use with extreme caution and if I am not correct in this others will be here to correct me.

I personally wouldn't use them but that is me, hopefully someone can provide you with a better answer then I did. The environment they were stored in also makes a difference.

it's one of those things the auto industry hasn't regulated... expiration date of tires.

i have tires that came with my 04' G35C 6yrs ago. it's been in tire totes and away from sunlight and heat with less than 3k miles on them. even so im kinda worried to use although im sure they're fine.

Bingo We Have a Winner!
So you live a long and healthy life, do not use tires that are over/ or approaching 4 years old!

Honestly, its REALLY about how they were stored away, and where they were. The temp, and direct sunlight, the way they were actually placed, lots of variables.

^ That is the unknown. I am assuming they were inside. Maybe I'll sell them for cheap to someone who auto-xes. 275/30/19 btw. Not an exact fit for sport rears.

Proper storage does squeeze a little more life out of them but the rubber itself still oxides and dries out leading to reduced performance. You can read the year/month date code on the sidewall. I myself wont put anything on that is more than a year or 2 old at most from new. This is assuming they will be on the car for a few years.

Actually auto-xers are probably the most picky about the date codes. Most of the hard-core folks won't even buy the discount tires in the winter, they wait for the fresh spring stock to come out!

^^thanks for the input. Maybe these would be good for someone who is on a budget and just learning.

30th month of 04. Boy I really won something great didn't I.

maybe contact the people who you won it from?

never hurts to ask.. unless you ask Mike Tyson's girl for a date... while hes standing next to her...

You can use them for this?

I believe that's 30th week of 04.

you are correct sir!

If I were you I would sell them. Just make sure you disclose the fact that they are 6 years old. At least you will get something for them.

Spoke to the donors today. They were full aware of the fact that they couldn't sell the tires. They didn't offer anything in return. I'm thinking about donating them back tonight.

Legally speaking they absolutely can sell the tires, it happens all the time. Morally it is probably wrong but currently there are no laws preventing them from selling tires of any age.

^^ After searching, I found no laws against this either. His exact response was, "I couldn't legally sell the tires so I donated them." I was going to buy new tires before I won these. At least I didn't lose any money.:tiphat:

I ran some slicks that were from 2001, sitting inside a warehouse. They definitely feel hard compare to my regular tires, I don't think it is worth it.