Old New Tires, Bad Idea?

[78F350]

I was browsing thru a salvage store today that had bought out the stock from an auto parts store. There were plenty of good, brand new tires that have been warehoused. The ones that I considered buying had a mid 2014 build date, they looked and felt fresh, but I passed since they are almost 5 years old already.
Should I reconsider? I have read internet wisdom that says yes and no. What does the 986 Forum say? These are purely for street use, no track.

[Ciao]

I would not skimp on tires or take risks on new tires that are exceeding their build dates on my Porche. The age may work against the element materials of the tires when put to use causing a safety risk.

[Quadcammer]

for a set of track tires you might wear out in a few days, thats one thing.

For a street car, no thanks

[Cunningr]

I am in the group of dont skimp on tires that is the principle thing that connects you and you the rest of your car to the road.

Now I have cousin had a 80 corvette, spent a ton of money on suspension, brakes, and a stroker small block. Car was fast as hell, but he put a set of used tires on the car and it made it drives like crap, never understood his decision. After driving it I never wanted another corvette, until I drive an 08 hehe.

My point is we splurge on our rides, but sometimes we try to economize where we really should not!

Sorry for the long story.

[itsnotanova]

Depends on how they were stored. Unlikely they would have been stored outside, but if they were stored inside I would use them on my truck or DD. I wouldn't use them on something that I planned on driving fast in though

[thstone]

Put me down as part of the "don't skimp" and "not worth the chance" group...

[78F350]

Thanks for all the responses. That's pretty much how I felt, but I'm a sucker for a bargain. Glad I passed on them now. Besides, it's my wife's car; "Here honey, I saved $50 on new tires. Just don't go fast around corners." Nope, that wouldn't go well for me.

[JayG]

Originally Posted by thstone

Put me down as part of the "don't skimp" and "not worth the chance" group...

Yea, what Tom said

Don't be a penny wise and a pound foolish

There are lots of "good" reasonably inexpensive tires out there

[jmitro]

Originally Posted by Quadcammer

for a set of track tires you might wear out in a few days, thats one thing.

For a street car, no thanks

it's even a worse idea to use outdated tires for the track. why skimp on tires when you need them to perform at their absolute limit?

[Quadcammer]

Originally Posted by jmitro

it's even a worse idea to use outdated tires for the track. why skimp on tires when you need them to perform at their absolute limit?

depending on driver skill level, older tires are not a bad training tool. I ran some old NT01s for a while (i'm talking 6+ years old) and they were clearly not as sticky as new sets. So for an entry level participant, it adds to car control skills at a slower speed.

And even though they are older, that doesn't necessarily mean they are unsafe or that they will have a drastically lower performance envelope, assuming they weren't stored in the arizona sun for 5 years.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

Depends on how they were stored. Unlikely they would have been stored outside, but if they were stored inside I would use them on my truck or DD. I wouldn't use them on something that I planned on driving fast in though

This is the key. If they were properly stored inside away from fluorescent light, which emits UV rays like the sun. I would use the tires. Actually I am driving on tires stored that way for that long. They do feel a little hard but since I always use Michelin,I have no issue driving up to 85% of the usual limit

[marsheng]

"horses for courses"

The first question is, how do you drive your car, that will determine the tire choice. If you drive to work on a straight road with a speed limit of 120 kph and you drive at 80kph, virtually anything will do. If live in twisty road area and have pedal for the metal syndrome, then buy the best.

I'm sure there are many cars out there that have +5 year old tires. Classic cars that are driven twice a year will be one of those.

When is the last time you lost control of your car ? Never ? Then these will probably do.

Next option is buy the cheapest tire from a reputable tire outlet. They wont want to loose their reputation selling junk and there are some very good Chinese tires out there at a fraction of the cost. Recently bought some and just done a 3000 KM round trip with a track day included and found they worked perfectly.

Wallace New Zealand