Tires: New tire not really new, Tire Storage, Tire Age

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
I recently bought a set of new tires.  After they were mounted and balanced, I noticed that three were manufactured in 2009, but one was not; it was manufactured in 2008 (the 25th week; the last 4 digits of the DOT code were 2508).  In other words, this tire was manufactured more than one year ago.  Is this a concern?  Should I go back to the store and request another, newer tire?

Thanks for your advice.

ANSWER: Kenneth,

This is not a concern.

Tires can be considered to be "new" for up to 3 years with no other consideration.  Tires that have been properly stored have a shelf life up to 5 years.  If extraordinary storage conditions are used (like hermetically sealed in a bag full of nitrogen) - well, no one's done any research on the subject, but it must be a long, long time.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I live in the desert Southwest.  The reason that I needed new tires was not worn tread, but rather UV-damage to the sides from sun exposure over about 6 years, despite the fact that the car is garaged.  Do you have any suggestions about minimizing this type of damage in my new tires?  Some type of silicone rubber protectant, or does this type of product simply deteriorate the rubber quicker?

Thanks again.

Answer
Kenneth,

I recommend you follow the standard recommendations about tire maintenance - check pressures once a month, rotate tires every 5K to 8K miles.

I haven't done any research on the effectiveness of tire dressing but I would recommend against the use of silicone anywhere around the tire.  Some rim slippage has been traced to the use of silicone.  If I were to guess at what works, I would lean toward tire dressings with antioxidants (AO's) in them.  But I don't think this helps what is going on inside the tire, which is the most important thing.

My experience says that 6 years is about the limit for tires in the desert SW US.