Tyre Expiry Awareness

Hi Friends! I never really knew that car tyres got expiry dates!!! I thought only food & drinks have that.

Anyways, this post will be very useful, especially for Jamie those who are going to change tyres soon, and those who haven't checked or changed their tyres for ages.

Vehicle tyres have a 4-year validity period from their Date of Manufacture (DOM). Thereafter, the tyre expires and may burst whilst in use. How to find out whether your tyre has expired? Check for a stamp like this: (*2603*) There is an asterisk at the beginning and at the end of this serial number. Sometimes there are no asterisks but the 4 numbers are surrounded by an oval. The first two numbers 26 will tell which week of the year has it been manufactured. For those who are new to Earth, one year has 52 weeks. The last two numbers represent the year of make. Therefore, *2603* shows that the said tyre was manufactured in the 26th week of the year 2003. *3007* shows that the tyre was made in the 30th week of this year.

What if there is no serial number? Ahhh... I believe no one knows about this but tyres have imitation products too. Either it is imitation product, or the tyre is long expired... meaning, the shop dealer "rubbed" out the DOM. Didn't know that huh? Neither did I... *sob* *sob*... But nevermind... better late than never.

Check all your tyres for safety purposes. Do not use expired tyres. They are likely to burst (especially when running in hot weather) because the rubber component may have hardened and cracked. INSIST on getting a newer tyre... don't let the shop dealer, who just want to clear old stocks, fool you!

How often should you change? Well, I'm not a tyre expert or specialist... I heard of recommendations of 2 years, 3 years, but seriously, I think it depends on how heavy the usage is. There's a lot of difference in driving everyday for 2 years, and driving only in the weekends for 2 years. And also on the condition of the roads travelled, and the length of usage per trip. Our ever-summer Malaysian weather is an important factor too. As a rule of thumb:

1. Make sure it is less than 4 years from the expiry date.

2. Use a 20 sen coin to check... picture courtesy of Jamie (hee hee... thanks! Cheh cheh... promo for your blog :P)