Have My Winter Tires Expired ?

My understanding is that with winters it don’t matter how they look.

the rubber won’t soften properly after that much time so you lose the main benefit of winters.

 

Sounds like you've answered your question then

 

Well it’s what I read online so looking for more confirmation cause everything you read online ain’t gospel.

this is first I heard of expiry date for winters and I been driving a long time

 

I don't buy it. Six years isn't that long for a consumer tire using a compound formulated for the range of conditions it's likely to see. These aren't competition tires that be used fresh and completely within a few months of manufacture.

Nokian warranty their tires for six years from manufacturing date. Surely the tires don't do some sorta Cinderalla trick and turn into a pumpkin at midnight of the sixth year?

But why not go to the source? What does Nokian say if you ask them?

 

I zoomed in on this picture, and it looks like there are a lot of tiny cracks forming.

I'd chuck them, if it were my choice.

 

Expiration dates are there because we live in a litigation society. There are nonprofits who collect expired medical prescriptions and ship them to the 3rd world. Will the tires disintegrate if you use them a few more years? Probably not.

 

There are numerous sources. They mostly say about 6 years and some say a max of 10 years. But most suggest less than 10 years. The suggestion of 10 years is rare. Just do a Google search for - how many years are tires good for, you’ll find multiple sources.

 

Continental and Michelin (the two references I found in the first 30 seconds of Googling) give ten year guidance for replacement.
https://www.continental-tires.com/car/tire-knowledge/tire-damage-age-repair/replacing-tires
https://www.michelinman.com/auto/auto-tips-and-advice/tire-buying-guide/when-do-i-need-new-tires

 

Not at all what I found. 10 years was the extreme not the norm. But who gives a fuck. Run your tires as long as you want. Run ‘em 10 years or 20 years or run them until they blow up. Most everything in this thread is mostly personal opinion which doesn’t mean jack. So everyone can make their own decisions on how many years to run tires based on personal information, misinformation, no information , personal feelings, and who knows what else. Bottom line there will never be a consensus in this thread as to how many years to run tires. Make your guess and hope for the best. Myself I’d rather error on the conservative side and replace tires sooner than later.

 

There have been NHTSA and other 3rd party studies looking in to tire age and replacement but none really develop a distinct consensus and only arrive at recommendations which is really what tire manufacturers are getting across with any time-based guarantee. Basically anything past about 6 years is getting into numerous variables that may affect tire/tread life especially given how diverse outside environments are in the US and what peoples use for their vehicle is.

I’ve currently got 7 yr old MTs that have a lot of tread life left, look great exterior-wise, but will likely be replaced within the next year.

 

Exactly, everyone has different needs out of their tires.

Crashnburn80 has said he purposely buys popular tires in popular sizes (BF Goodrich Ko2) because he only uses them for the first 20-25% of their tread life and then he can easily sell them and offset the cost of a new set.

Compared to someone else who drives them down to the wear indicators and gets 6-8 years per set

The internet isn't going to provide exact guidelines, only personal experience and opinions

 

They are cracked pretty bad.

I don’t think they’d perform as well as a new set.

 

It really comes down to how you drive, IMO. If you are driving a mile to the store at 35 MPH, I'd run them. If you are driving at speed for distances, consider changing them. I've had a blowout on the rear axle at 55MPH and it was less than fun- and I attribute the blowout to the age of my tires. You wouldn't want to have that in snow/ice, I promise.

 

Run em for one more season. Start looking for a good deal on a new set in the Spring.

 

Most of what I'm finding recommend a 6-10 year service life, with 10 being the maximum. To your point, they're not really saying to replace them at 6 years, but rather to get them inspected regularly if they're 6 years old or more.

Michelin recommends a maximum 10 year service life. Here's what the article says:

"1. Keep five years in mind

After five years or more in use, your tires should be thoroughly inspected at least once per year by a professional.

2. Ten years is a maximum

If the tires haven't been replaced 10 years after their date of manufacture, as a precaution, Michelin recommends replacing them with new tires. Even if they appear to be in usable condition and have not worn down to the tread wear indicator. This applies to spare tires as well."

 

The RMA (rubber manufacturers association) is the one that tells people to replace tires early. Whether for safety or profit, who knows. No large tire company will ever tell a consumer to run a tire that could make the mfr liable to a lawsuit.

The risk matrix to me looks like:

New tire + proper PSI = Don't even worry about it
Old tire + proper PSI = You've got a spare tire and cell phone right?
New tire + excess PSI = You're wasting your money unless you are running the max sidewall load carrying limit; you should probably find a way to get a different tire with a higher load rating so you can run lower PSI
Old tire + excessive PSI = Death wish, especially in the summer on a blacktop highway

 

Pretty sure this affects winter tires more than all season or AT tires because compound needs to soften to work properly

probably longer for non winter tires as they maintain a hardness.

 

When I bought my 07 in 2019, the tires LOOKED fine. Then I was finding some strange tiny square rubber chunks along my driveway where I do my 7 point turn to park. Of course they were coming from tires that were around 11 years old.

So my advice is if you decide to mount them, look closely after the first drive.

Something else to consider, if you get a flat, a tire shop may refuse to fix it based on age which may put you at their mercy regarding replacement price.

 

After carefully testing my old Hakka R2's during our first snowfall there is no doubt that the rubber has hardened and traction has decreased significantly.

I ended up purchasing my second choice, Blizzak LT's. The Hakka R5's are in scarce supply.

I will be storing my new Blizzaks indoors in sealed contractor bags to prolong their useful life.

Live and learn

 

Blizzaks are excellent tires as well! Good idea storing them in bags next time. If you can keep the sun off of them, and minimize the change in humidity and temperature, they'll probably last much longer.