Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12

Thread: Tires - DOT Date Codes and Tire Rack Policies

  1. #1

    Tires - DOT Date Codes and Tire Rack Policies

    This week I bought a set of Goodyear Eagle Sport A/S tires for my early 911. TireRack delivered them the following day, with date codes "2715." I complained and sent them back. Tirerack processed a return without much push-back, though they did explain their view that the tires don't start aging until they leave their climate-controlled warehouse. TireRack effectively applies a 10-year policy (3 years for manufacturer supply chain, 1 additional year in the TireRack inventory, then 6 years for the consumer to use up).

    My view is that TireRack has lost their minds. Every set of tires I have bought from them has been less than 1 year old in the past, until now. Most sources say replace your tires 6 years after the "born on" date.

    Question - am I off-base, or is it fair to expect fresh stock for my money?

  2. #2
    Senior Member H-viken's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Sweden
    Posts
    456
    I would not be happy with 10 year old tires.

    Besides I call bullshit on the timeline they gave you; If they (manufacturer/tire rack) operated with those timelines their margins would suffer tremendously. The cost of capital alone, not even considering storage, would cause CFO to have a fit

    Johan
    SEARCHING FOR ENGINE 6208326 (last seen in car with VIN 9111101452)

    -70 911E
    -84 3,2 Sold

  3. #3
    member #1515
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    San Antonio, Texas
    Posts
    4,239
    Costco won’t sell 6 months after mfr
    David

    '73 S Targa #0830 2.7 MFI rebuilt to RS specs

  4. #4
    Senior Member NZVW's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Auckland NZ
    Posts
    1,770
    I dont feel that you are "off base" and you are quite within your consumer rights to have done what you did but the tyres for our 911 cars are probably not the fastest movers in a suppliers infantry.
    Purchasing "online" is so impersonal so the only real solution is to personally ask the supplier what Dot Date their tyres are and make a choice based on that.
    Mark

  5. #5
    You are right. I neglected to ask about date codes, and assumed fresh stock. Wont happen again.

  6. #6
    Senior Member NickP's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Solana Beach, CA
    Posts
    1,222
    I called one of the well known tire suppliers asking about date codes on a set of Michelin TB-15’s wondering how fresh they might be given the limited buyer pool of these tires. They said they had no way of checking since they came from a distribution warehouse which was separate of sales and marketing. They did confirm that they would likely be a year or two old but that the warehouse was similarly climate controlled and I shouldn’t worry about any deterioration. With those tires I’m a bit more comfortable buying 1-2 year old tires as they don’t last long enough (in my case) to ever get near that 6 year birth date. That said, I still wish they could tell me what I wanted to know. TB’s aren’t exactly cheap....
    Nick Psyllos
    S Reg & R Gruppe
    1973 Euro 911S
    1972 911T to ST

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by H-viken View Post
    I would not be happy with 10 year old tires.

    Johan
    To clarify, TireRack told me their policy is to sell a tire up to 4-5 years after the DOT date code. In their view, that still leaves about 6 years of useable life for the customer (up to 10 years after the DOT date code), because you don't start counting the 6 year max life until the tires get installed. I grant that some manufacturers recommend replacing tires after 10 years, but based on my research that is not the industry standard. I don't put a lot of miles on my 911, and after 6 years I replace tires regardless of treadlife.

  8. #8
    Senior Member 767driver's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Parkton, MD
    Posts
    362
    Some food for thought...

    https://www.thoughtco.com/the-scienc...-aging-3234377

    Under conclusions read bullet no. 3...talks about stored tires.
    Lee Fishpaw

    O Gruppe #20
    Early S Reg #2175
    R Gruppe #714
    '70 914-6
    '88 911
    '85 928S
    '74 260Z
    '74 TR6

  9. #9
    Thanks Lee. Interested read, and generally supports Tire Rack's view. My takeaway is that Tire Rack's position is fair. Since most of our early 911s no longer see 10000+ miles per year, and may also be prone to premature cracking due to lack of regular exercise, the tires usually age out. In that case, starting with fresh tires may add some lifespan to the tire purchase, but for more normal use patterns, the article suggests it's ok to start out with a 3 or 4 year old tire.
    Last edited by neunelfs; 04-13-2018 at 06:26 AM.

  10. #10
    Senior Member H-viken's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Sweden
    Posts
    456
    Quote Originally Posted by neunelfs View Post
    To clarify, TireRack told me their policy is to sell a tire up to 4-5 years after the DOT date code. In their view, that still leaves about 6 years of useable life for the customer (up to 10 years after the DOT date code), because you don't start counting the 6 year max life until the tires get installed. I grant that some manufacturers recommend replacing tires after 10 years, but based on my research that is not the industry standard. I don't put a lot of miles on my 911, and after 6 years I replace tires regardless of treadlife.
    Fair enough. 4 years from production to sale still leaves ample room for opportunity. Speed to market may not be a well known concept for some I guess....
    SEARCHING FOR ENGINE 6208326 (last seen in car with VIN 9111101452)

    -70 911E
    -84 3,2 Sold

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Message Board Disclaimer and Terms of Use
This is a public forum. Messages posted here can be viewed by the public. The Early 911S Registry is not responsible for messages posted in its online forums, and any message will express the views of the author and not the Early 911S Registry. Use of online forums shall constitute the agreement of the user not to post anything of religious or political content, false and defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise to violate the law and the further agreement of the user to be solely responsible for and hold the Early 911S Registry harmless in the event of any claim based on their message. Any viewer who finds a message objectionable should contact us immediately by email. The Early 911S Registry has the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary.