Tyre ages?

[JohnR2]

I've just bought some Avon Ranger tyres and wondered what their ages are? The internet doesn't seem to mention the format I've got: NKM23134 RKM17633 RKM17653 RKM20083

[Theshed]

I think the way the coding works is something like (DoT 2015).
Where 20 is the week of the year and 15 the year. So around May 2015 would be the build date in that example.
   Hope I've got that right.

[JohnR2]

That's all fine with a 4 figure code, but as you can see I don't have a 4 figure code.

[autorover1]

Prior to 2000 it was a 3 digit code with a diamond shape in the corner, and prior to 1990 it was  just a 3 digit code . I did buy some ex Mod Michelin 900 x16 XC and they had no obvious date code

[w3526602]

 H1,

My knowledge is vague in this area, but I think we are on the right lines.

Perhaps worthy of mention ... many yonks ago, a firm in the Swansea Valley was selling very healthy looking part worn tyres for £10 a time. In fact, they appeared to be unused.   

Years later, I became aware tyres over ten years old were illegal in France, and Monsieur Plod would check the age of the tyres on cars that came to their attention. Drivers were forbidden to move their cars until the tyres had been replaced. That included unused spare tyres.

Suddenly, there was a market in such illegal tyres, shipping them to the UK, where nobody was interested in the age of such tyres. I am not aware that anything has changed, apart from, perhaps, the introduction of "emergency" spare wheels.

I suggest that the information on the tyre sidewalls should be easily understood, so that everybody can read it without the aid of a grimoire (book of magic spells).

602

[simonbav]

I remember that cheap tyre boon, 602. Happy days 

[Hopeydaze]

With our Series vehicles I assume we don't worry about tyre age here in the UK as our mileages and speeds are low . Therefore we rely on checking the tread depth and whether there are any cracks in the sidewalls? 
I'm sure my BFG Mud Terrains are 20 years old, and look hardly used. 
Cost of replacement is high - top brand tyres can be over £200 each. I've been checking for my 2010 Defender. 

[TimV]

Avon Ranger - the crossplies? Pretty sure they are ancient.

Not Avon Rangemaster?

[JohnR2]

No, Ranger, they're in good condition if they're ancient!

[nathanglasgow]

Those are at least 25 years old

[TimV]

Ancient crossplies, even in good condition will be very stiff, they will have lost any pliability.

[John]

Why don't tyre makers just mold a clear date stamp in 1" hign letters such as 05/2024 

[autorover1]

I think at one time they didnt want the public  to be able to read the age !

[w3526602]

Hi,

I have had very ancient tyres, on an S1 109. explode while standing in the sun. Two of them!

Here's me dashing outside, to see who was playing "silly Bs" with a shotgun. Swansea Valley ... a couple of years later, some mother's son was shot dead.

Also ... My best mate took a shot gun blast through the head, point blank, while trying to wrestle the gun off his younger brother. This was in his back garden in Tooting Bec, in South London. I was in Arabia at the time, without giving my friends a forwarding address, so it was many months before I heard about it. Circa early 1960s.

602

[Archie]

The 'DoT' code is an American requirement (Department of Transport)
Sometimes the Dot date code will be inside an 'oval' depression in the tyre wall.
The 4 digit code applies.