Know Your TYRES!

EVL20T

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A Current Affair exposed a secret the tyre industry did not want to become publicly known - the TIN or Tyre Identification Number! In fact A Current Affair has done the Australian public a good deal of service by publicly exposing the risky practice of tyre sellers knowingly selling outdated tyres well past their used by date. The information is readily out there for people who ask about it/look it up on the internet, but who actually has???

On each tyre is a 3 or 4 digit code that looks like some sort of stamping or manufacture batch number... it doesnt really mean anything to anyone really.... well not anymore.

If you have a 3 digit number on your tyre it means it was made before the year 2000. i.e. if your tyre has the code "248" on it, it means it was made in the 24th week of 1998.

If your tyre has the code "1803" on it, it means it was made in the 18th week of 2003.

Now get this, the industry standard is not to sell tyres more than 6 years old as the rubber in tyres decomposes and dries out over time. It also makes the tyre perform substandard and increases the risk of failure (i.e blow out etc) which is a major safety risk on our roads.

The tyre professionals state that you should not buy a tyre more than 4 years old ideally, but A Current Affair visited several tyre companies (big names too) and they were selling tyres 6 to 8 years old, and most of them willingly knowing they are selling a tyre well past its used by date!

In fact, your local mechanic should be checking this code on all your tyres every pink slip/roadworthy and advise you to change the tyre if it is 6 years old or more.

The tyre industry isnt breaking any rules as its not a mandatory requirement.... yet.

So next time you go to buy a tyre check for the code on the tyre to let you know when it was made. If it is more than 4 years old, DONT BUY IT!!!!

Below are pics to show you exactly what code to look out for.

:x

CODE 0100 = manufactured in the 1st Week of 2000
dot218x164uvpropertyorizw5.jpg


CODE 375 = manufactured in the 37th Week of 1995
Fig1.jpg



CODE 1204 = manufactured in the 12th Week of 2004
Fig2.jpg
 
They had the same story on Today Tonight about 6 months ago.
I was thinking just yesterday about doing this exact same thread :lol:
I've even got pics loaded into my photo bucket for it.
 
So what your saying is, goto the tyre shop, but some, inspect the date, then demand 80% off because they are old stock? Nice
 
remember to check both sides of the tyre if you can't find it as it will only be printed on one side of the tyre.
it will be in a rounded patch like the ones in the first post.
just checked all mine. the ones results were as expected a few tyres are old but most were good.

2x 2004
2x 2005
6x 2010
4x 2011
2x on car and can't read.

4 were found on my ford escort mk2 (as to be expected as due to age of car and how little it was driven,still under 100k)
the other 2 are on the back of the wagon and came from a wrecked car (just want to wear them out so i can get rid of them)
 
The way I remember it, It was indicated by week and year.

For instance, These are off my Dad's Hilux

19th Week of Year 06

IMG_0296.jpg


30th week of Year 06

IMG_0297.jpg
 
Ah nice tip!

I brought brand new tyres last week and mine say 49th week of 2012. So only 5-6 months old :)
 
I had to use my spare a few months back and realized the RE88 Bridgestone was about 20 years old, the code I found was (JAC253) 25th week in 1993!
Later I worked out the tire was older than my Lancer which was bought new in August 1993.
Also I didn't buy the tires until 2 years later, so they were already 2 years old. Of course I had no idea at the time or until many years later.
It was the cars 2nd set of new tires.

The current tires sitting under my car are much newer, only replaced last year. I've hand many sets in the last 20 years and it's on the 2nd set of alloys.

So yes it's well worth checking the date stamp and if they are more than a few months old complain to the installer as tires have a limited shelf life and if you don't do many kms a year they could become out of date well before the tread is worn out.
 
all A Current Affair did was make people realise is there are ALOT more burnout tyres that are about to hit the market!
 
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