Saw a 20/20 segments on tires sold as new after sitting on the shelf as long as 10 years...problems is, some tires start exhibiting dry rot after 6 years... to check yours... if its a 3 digit number, the first two digits determine week manufactured, the last digit the year made in the 1990's if its a 4 digit number, the first two still designates the week, the last two designates the year eg: 130.....13th week, 1990 3405....34th week, 2005 ABC News
There is a large thread on this subject already that Jimbo? posted. I'll try to find the link before this thread gets a bunch of responses and has to be merged.
In the Ford Explorer/Firestone tire investigation, they found that 84 percent of the tires that failed by tread separation were >6 years old. Mine were only 3 years old when I replaced them. Ford later reimbursed me for the cost of the tires when they officially recalled my tire size. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfile...shworthiness/CongReptTireAgingFinal080907.pdf
I had a old Honda with tires that were 6 years old, because I didn't drive it often the tires had crack marks. Of course I replaced them and then got rid of the car.
