Before next winter I plan on purchasing four new tires for the "04" LeSaber


Do you folks check the manufacturer dates on the tires ?
Does it matter if they are 6 months, 9 months or 15 months old ?

Does it matter it the four tires have three different dates ?

How picky is too picky?

Will be getting them at Costco.

The last four that I purchased at Sam's had three different dates.

On the one hand, identical dates of manufacture imply smaller tolerances in width and diameter that may be more variant with dates more widely spaced, e.g. due to mold erosion over time.

OTOH, it increases the likelihood of a common mode failure, e.g. due to a persistent contaminant in a mold.

You pays yer money, and takes yer chance. But, it is such a small variable in our world of endless possibilities that it probably doesn't matter.

quote:

Do you folks check the manufacturer dates on the tires ?

I suppose you could ask the installer before starting the job. This tells what to look for.

quote:

Does it matter if they are 6 months, 9 months or 15 months old ?

I suspect your tires will dry-rot out before actually wearing out. A few months old won't make any difference. A year or more old, I'd be asking for some newer tires, or a discount. Should this happen, I would expect Costco to be accommodating. But this is likely a moot point; tires in popular sizes don't sit in the warehouse that long. They usually move and are replaced pretty quickly.

quote:

Does it matter it the four tires have three different dates ?

Within reason, no. A few weeks won't matter. Again, unlikely.

quote:

How picky is too picky?

I don't think anybody but yourself can answer that.

I would be more concerned about the brand and model of tire based on your driving habits and conditions. Doesn't hurt to be picky - just make sure you find the right tire for your car before concerning yourself about MFG dates.

You should expect 5 years decent lifespan of the rubber, depending on where you live. Outside in the hot sun is worse. I've had tires still seemingly fine after 7 years.

So if you don't drive many miles, you'd want the youngest tires you can get. I would certainly want less than a year old for any tire.

If a decent name brand tire, I wouldn't worry about possible problems if they are all less than a year old. For no good reason, I would feel better if the dates were closer.

This reminds me of when I asked my retired dad what oil went into his car at an oil change. He shrugged. I said: "You don't have time worry about stuff like that?" He replied: "I got time, I just don't worry about it"

You might ask the counter guy what the oldest tire they'll install, and if you like those limits, then ask if he'll verify the tires installed are within those limits.

There are lots of variables so "it depends".
Where I live, any tire should have no problem within four years of the date. They'd probably be OK up to six but if I was planning a long trip I'd consider buying new ones towards the end of that time frame.

How many years do you normally get out of your tires?

Just be sure to not let them get under-inflated. That's a real issue as each rotation of a tire causes flex and low air pressure leads to higher tire temperatures.

normal tire life before replacement from age is generally agreed to be 10 years. its not going to be an issue with any tire that has a date near the installation date.

I will be checking from now on. Two negative experiences:

1) purchased Nitto Ridge Grapplers from local shop, install got delayed a day. They said because "Waiting on one more tire" I didn't think anything of it at the time. But soon learned these tires just did not balance (And could not be returned) Maybe related? 1 of the 4 has serial number and date code way different than the other 3

2) [my fault, I admit it, didn't pick up on this until too late] Purchased a mint low mileage but older car. I mean mint, <5k miles... Turns out the tires while still having remnants of the new tire marks, nipples etc. are 13 years old! I questioned this after the sale. Dealer insisted as it just passed state inspection and showed no signs of wear, damage, cracking etc. they were safe and legal to sell/use

AFAIK there is no legal standard on age. The mfg. recommended period is 10y. I often run them longer no issues, but in my climate that is not a real issues.

When buying tires I’m not to anal about age at the average shop. I’d kinda expect them to not be over 3 years since manufacture.

I’ve seen tire installers that don’t like to put on tires over 7 years old. It may not be that they won’t, just prefer not to.

Like anything, conditions of storage over the years matter. I currently have 2 tires on my truck that are 10 years old, Wranglers. They are not coming off until worn out, not quite half way now.

Costco has its road hazard warranty, Nitrogen and tire rotation included.
Michelin tires come with an RFID chip in the tire for tracking to make sure inventory is correct--all tires should have same date of manufacture.
Bridgestone and Michelin are on sale now at Costco.
Tires are petroleum products--price is due to go up.

Also an $80 rebate on Michelins.

Unless it's some very obscure or oddball size tire, which they probably wouldn't even carry, the chances of getting old tires from a high volume seller like Costco are slim.