cucvrus;2016057. How do I tell how old the Uniroyal tire is.[/QUOTE said:
Up until 2000 the DOT code was three digits, the first two are the week, the last is the year. The problem is that unless you know when a certain tire was available, that one digit doesn't mean all that much.
Let's say the code is "346". That tire was then made the 34th week of...'96? '86? '76?
From 2000 and up it's a four digit code, with the last two being the year. Far more meaningful.
For what it's worth, tires from before '85 can be much better than, say, '96. How can a 33-year old tire be better than one that's "only" 11 years old?
Something changed around '85, I suspected that environmental rules had banned some kind of adhesive. Years later a tire manufacturer rep pretty much admitted that this was what had happened.
All this pertains to radials, by the way. A bias tire is nowhere near as susceptible to aging. As long as the sidewalls aren't too cracked, they're usually still good.