Darra Tyres, Brisbane

In tyres age does matter… The older they are the more likely they are to fail…

Each tyre has a little known code which displayed the month and year of manufacture. It’s a 4-digit code on the sidewall that is easy to read.

1209 would mean the 12th month of the 2009.
1110 would mean the November of 2010.

Some international tyres have only 3 digits. If you were to notice a tyre with 110 that looked quite old then you would most probably find that it’s a November 2000 which means it’s 10 years old and most definitely should not be used.

Many people believe that tyres last forever, that simply isn’t the case. Sure they have many anti-oxidising chemicals which extend the life of a tyre but Darra Tyres suggests that another over 5 years should not be used.

For those operating on a commercial basis a tyre over 4 years should be considered at the end of a tyres useful life, obviously this will depend on their application.

Infrequent use will speed up the ageing process as well as lower mileage. The most common signs of ageing is small cracks in the sidewall. Ageing raises the risk of tyre failure and blowout so you need to be particularly careful when operating at high speeds. And don’t forget the spare tyre which you may have neglected for many years.