I am having a debate with a buddy about life of the tires meaning the date not use! What is the rule of thumb everyone goes by when a tire is to "old" i buy some take offs an sell some here an there, so i am interested to hear wut people say about this, but its also to kinda tell my buddy to shut it what would be the cutoff you would race/ride on? any feedback is apreciated :up:
Race or ride? Race I would go a couple of years, riding I would go 3 or 4 years but I'm an idtio and am really talking out my ass but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
well i tell people i race an i am planning on doing some more racing than i did last year!!! So buying takeoffs 2 yrs is what your saying?? i dont ride the street anymore, just trackdays and racing, but i wanted to see what everyone's opinion was on this!! I have used a tire or 2 that i was weary on, but i got thru the day and i rode smart on it, it was a trackday not a race day, and i still had fun slidin it around, but generally wut's everyone's cutoff? 2 yrs? thanx for the input, an i am staying at the Holiday Inn Express tomorow night
no definitive cutoff on date, a lot of it depends on how the tires were stored. When I couldn't get a set of rains at Nashville in '08 when all the tire guys were sold out I bought a set off a guy I trust that he had stored properly (temp controlled, kept them out of sunlight, etc.). Tires worked great and the date code indicated they were 5 years old. I've seen other tires that were just a little over a year old I wouldn't trust as rim protectors.
As has been said before...its all about the storage from what I have encountered. I ran a set of 5 year old Pirelli's at Mid-Ohio at the GNC race....two weeks later I ran a set that were just a year old and the felt like complete trash. I ran all this spring on Dunlop's from 2006...no issues.
I am told, they won't keep anything past about 3 years in Indy where mine tires come from. Thats new, climate controlled and has not been ridden on.
I ran a set of Metzeler racetecs that were dated 13th week of 05 and they were fine. I think the key is storage......I also stayed in a Holiday Inn last night.
Ive spoken to the tire manufacturers directly on this and they said if the tires are stored properly, no UV rays hitting them...they can last 6 years in storage.
it all depends upon the tire compounds to a certain extent and then how they were stored as well. the last thing is who is using them and what they are using them for. the softer the compound the less duration they will last. for instance, a top level rider shouldn't use a rain tire that's older than a year or two old from date of manufacture. that same tire that's 2 to 3 years old will probably be fine for a midpack racer, and 3-5 years old for a track day guy. same for race tires. i've used some 4-5 year old race tires for track days and they are fine once you warm them up. would I want to race on them? probably not me, but that's just me. typically I don't want to ride on anything that's 6 years or older, but then again you are also talking about a tire that's probably 2 to 3 generations out of it's "prime" (i.e. it's been replaced once or twice by newer generation tires that will be much better). the amount you are saving can't be as much as a set of bodywork, can it?? in general for a faster expert level + racer, 1-2 years for rains, 2-3 years for standard race tires (DOT, slicks, etc). Add a year or two for other racers. another year or two for track day users, go from there and what makes you happy. at least that's what works for me.
no problem using michelin slicks and rains from last millenium in '02-'03 on the 996, left-overs from ferracci's mid-90's ama days. no qualms about using 'em again for trackdays. tech might frown upon them for racing tho'. i can fly on the *88 compound rears, spencer's favorite tire. still have original michelin pilots('00?) on my fzr1000, daytona and firebird miles. the gsxr('02) is wearing last millenium's rains...used at the dragstrip to practice launches and complete the run in bracket racing. lotsa strange looks from the competitors in the staging lanes which is kinda cool since i beat 'em all if i don't make any mistakes. lol
