by B. L. Babb

Created on: August 21, 2008

You are shopping for tires, or maybe you just are cleaning those on your car. You notice there are numbers all over the tire. What do these numbers all mean? They must indicate something or they wouldn't be there!

Several of these numbers are very important; particularly if you are in the market for tires and want to ensure you get the best value for your money.

To start you need to verify the age of the tires. It has recently been reported that tires made as long as 10-15 years ago are being sold on the market as "new" tires. While they have never been used, they may not be as "new" as you think.

The composition of a tire changes with age. The older the tire, the less time left in its useful life. Many have lost family members in crashes caused by old tires purchased as new and then failing on a car.

This number is typically located in an oval on the back side of the tire. There is a DOT number. It will either be a three or four digit number, depending on when the tire was made. There may be several characters in front of it, but you just need the numerical numbers.

For example, if you have a tire made before 2000 locate the DOT letters on the tire. Immediately following the DOT may be some alpha characters and then some numbers. It is the numbers at the end of the string you are concerned with. They should be inside an oval. If you see something like 498, that means your tire was made in the 49th week of either 1988 or 1998.

Newer tires made after 2000 have a four-digit code. It would be 5006 indicating it was made in the 50th week of 2006.

Why is this date so important? Several reasons, warranty repairs may be covered on a tire from a specific period after purchase. Without a receipt, they may be covered for a pre-determined period from date of manufacture.

For example, you purchased tires October 31, 2007. The tires you purchased have a date code of 4105 indicating they were made the third week of October two years before. They were already over two years old at the time of purchase.

If you do not have a receipt to prove purchase date, the business you purchased them from will use the tire date to determine warranty.

If they warranty tires for three years from manufacture, you reach that one year after purchasing them. Hang onto your receipt and ensure the age of the tires before purchasing. You can refuse older tires, you are the consumer. Also verify the date when you get your vehicle back to ensure tires weren't switched during the mounting process.

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