Original spare?

[dummkopf]

1972 911S?

On the side wall:

RAYON 185/70 VR 15 RADIAL TUBE TYPE MADE IN GERMANY V-1 DUNLOP SP 57





Soon my little car shall run. And on her 40th birthday!

Just wanting to plan ahead. It has been on the car by the marks where the nuts contact. I need to know if it is worth my time hunting up another spare tire/wheel.

Thanks!

[RSTarga]

I wouldn't count on it but I'd probably keep the tire and mount a new one for real use.

[sithot]

If there is no DOT date code would make it a pre-'72 tire which in turn could make it the original.

Tom

[dummkopf]

Thank you for the replies. It does have a DOT code on it:

DOT DM TL AET 192

Any way to tell the year by the code? It has to be pretty old being it is a tube type radial.

Paul

[joegt3cup]

19th month of 1982

[peekaboo]

Hello ,

From a bit of prior research . In a 10 digit DOT tire code , the last three numerals are the date code . A three numeral date code can be from the 70's , 80's , 90's (thru 1996) .....some sources say four digit date codes started 2000 - 2001 . But some material that I have read , researched by some corvette enthusiests , state 4 digits actually start in 1997.

So a date code of 192 could be 19th week of 1972 , 1982 , or 1992. You have to then ascertain when the specific brand & type (model) was marketed. In a general guess , I do not think Dunlop SP 57 tires were marketed beyond the 70's (probably not even very late into this decade). In all likelyhood , your tire was produced in the 19th week of 1972.

And I cannot be sure of the exact month of implementation by manufacturer , or of the edict by the NHTSA (a separate organization withing DOT). But the corvette researchers state federal regulations required tire manufacturers to stamp each tire with a tire identification number , including a date code , starting in 1971.

Here is an advertisement from sometime in the early 70's.

The 'DM' in the ID code stands for the manufacturer , manufacturing plant & country : DUNLOP GMBH , HANAU AM MAIN , GERMANY. As of 2009 , the 'TL' in the code stands for either 245/65-18 or 185/70-15.

[70SATMan]

My Dead Original 69 date code Deep 6 x 15
Factory original finish with the factory wheel weights
Original Dunlop SP57 ("Dog bones") in 185 70 VR15

[RSTarga]

I wouldn't put that a Dunlop tire on my car if it came out of the factory yesterday! My car was delivered with Dunlops and they were quite a bit slower and squeelier than the XWX, which was a great tire in the dry. The CN36 Pirelli was the first decent tire produced for the earlier models until Bridgestone appeared.

[sithot]

My understanding is that a triangle follows the 3 digit date code in the 90's. When was the tire last produced? If production stopped prior to 1982 it's a '72.

[dummkopf]

Thanks everyone for the information! You rock!

Paul