While the advice to put new tires on my cars was appreciated, it didn't
address the question as to how to determine how old the tires are. I
wouldn't want to replace tires that were in fact only 5 years old simply
because I didn't own the car at the time the tires were put on. I'm also a
member of the Buick Riviera List, similar to the IML, and someone there
forwarded this reference to me, so I am in turn forwarding to the IML in
case another Imperial owner is faced with the same dilemma.
Neal Herman
chrycordoba@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [Original Message]
> From: Jim Cannon <jcannon@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: Riviera List <riviera-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 4/17/2004 12:00:55 PM
> Subject: Re: <Riviera-list> tire aging
>
> The following comes from:
> http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/TireSafety/ridesonit/brochure.html
>
> ========================================
>
>
> U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number
> This begins with the letters "DOT" and indicates that the tire meets all
> federal standards. The next two numbers or letters are the plant code
where
> it was manufactured, and the last four numbers represent the week and
year
> the tire was built. For example, the numbers 3197 means the 31st week of
> 1997. The other numbers are marketing codes used at the manufacturer's
> discretion. This information is used to contact consumers if a tire
defect
> requires a recall.
>
>
> ========================================
>
> I don't know how far back into the past this standard holds. I have
tires
> on my '63 that have a size indicator of GR-78-15. That makes them from
the
> 70's or 80's (?). The DOT line ends with X052. That is obviously not
the
> week/year of manufacture.
>
> Jim
>
> At 02:34 AM 4/17/2004, you wrote:
> >Is there a way to determine the age of a tire by looking at the numbers
> >and letters on the sidewall? About six months ago a friend acquired a
> >mint condition, all original '80 Cadillac Seville with 37,000 miles.
This
> >week when he was talking with the former owner, he asked when the tires
> >had been changed, and was told they were the original tires. While they
> >have plenty of tread, now he's concerned about dry-rot and tire
> >disintegration while going 70 mph on the highway.
> >
> >I, and probably many on the list have bought cars with tires that appear
> >to be fine, but which in fact may be long past their freshness date.
How
> >big a concern is this, especially when the car is only driven perhaps
1000
> >miles a year? Am I being paranoid?
> >
> >Neal Herman
> >Washington, DC
> >ROA #4475
> >1972 Buick Riviera
> >1997 Buick Riviera
> >et al.
>
>
> >
> > This discussion list is brought to you through a joint effort between
> > The Riviera Owners Association and Chris Knowles (list maintainer)
> >
> > To leave the riviera-l mail list, click below
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