Bongo Fury

I just wondered if there is a legal limit to how old a tyre can be or is it purely
relative to condition ?

There is no legal for cars/vans but commercial vehicles have just had introduced a limit after a coach crash a couple of years ago which had a 25 year old tyre burst killing several on the coach!
Oh not quite https://www.smmt.co.uk/2019/03/governme ... bus-tyres/ its consulting instead (again) there have been several attempts to get a 10 year limit imposed.

Manufacturers are sometimes reluctant to tell you how old there tyres are. Presumably as you'd want a new one rather than a 2 year old one for example.
Tyres are marked with loads of information. I'm sure the date of manufacture could be added. I guess they'd have to add this information if the law changed regarding the lifespan of our little circular rubber friends.

The date of manufacture is, indeed, shown.

It's a three or four didgit number fairly obviously branded onto the tyre after manufacture.

It's pretty small, but indicates the week number and year it was made.

Cheers Bob.

g8dhe wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:00 pm There is no legal for cars/vans but commercial vehicles have just had introduced a limit after a coach crash a couple of years ago which had a 25 year old tyre burst killing several on the coach!
Oh not quite https://www.smmt.co.uk/2019/03/governme ... bus-tyres/ its consulting instead (again) there have been several attempts to get a 10 year limit imposed.

Was the coach tyre a re-treaded one? If so, then in a sense its the practice of re-treading old tyres that leads to very old ones staying in use. I suppose, if I was to choose (in the absence to being able to find date stamps) two guidelines to follow, they would be (1) avoid re-treads and (2) discard tyres if the walls show any sign of cracking.

No idea Mike, it just astonished me at the time that anyone would even think of putting a 19-25 year old tyre on a coach!

Trouble is what is astonishing to most of us is 'worth a try to save a few quid' to a small number of idiots.

It's looking as though the lorry that crossed the M5 north of Bristol, killing 5 people, a while back may have had a front tyre re-cut down to the metal cords.

g8dhe wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2019 10:24 am No idea Mike, it just astonished me at the time that anyone would even think of putting a 19-25 year old tyre on a coach!

Found a Mirror news report:

"The inquest heard that the tyre had been bought second hand by the company and had legal tread and had never been regrooved or retreaded and was perfectly legal to use."

So thats ok then

Thanks I had some vague thought it was 7 years max. I only ask as I have 4 Bongo summer tyres
in storage at the mo and wondered how long they might be good for.

Tyres are like crisps. Good ones will store better, cheap ones with two Mins in the sun, go all floppy.

Northern Bongolow wrote: ↑Wed Mar 13, 2019 1:26 am Tyres are like crisps. Good ones will store better, cheap ones with two Mins in the sun, go all floppy.

Absolutely Ady. Applied common sense. Rubber perishes least in a cool dry dark place. And reinforcement likewise and where its not made to work too hard/fatigue from esp. under inflated tyres. Its easy to see why you cant easily assume a tyre is not fit for purpose due to its age alone

Tony x wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2019 11:11 pm Manufacturers are sometimes reluctant to tell you how old there tyres are. Presumably as you'd want a new one rather than a 2 year old one for example.
Tyres are marked with loads of information. I'm sure the date of manufacture could be. I guess they'd have to add this information if the law changed regarding the lifespan of our little circular rubber friends.

But it is above all the marking that determines the tires you do not believe.