New tire purchase from dealership. Thoughts on age of new tires.

[CPTRVB]

I just bought a set of five 315/70/17 KO2s from the local Jeep dealership. After a struggle balancing them I was alarmed to find out the age of the new tires with date codes of 2022 and 2023. With your collective experience, how old is too old for a new tire purchase? What kind of problems can I expect, if any, by settling for 3 year old tires?

They have been almost impossible to road force balance. A second set was ordered and was equally difficult to balance but with newer date codes. When it was discovered that the newer tires were also difficult to balance, they put the older "new" tires back on the truck and asked me to drive it for a while and let me know what I think, with the idea that we may have to go to a different brand altogether.

I must add that this dealership has been nothing short of fantastic when it comes to service and general deals on the three Jeep vehicles I own, but I need them to shoot straight on this tire issue.

Thanks in advance.

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[Hootbro]

5 years seems to be the general rule. New is always better but it really comes down to how they were stored? If stacked 4 or more higher like a barrel, the bottom tires are going to develop side wall problems that may not work out once in use the longer they sit.

 

[CPTRVB]

Thanks. I wouldn’t have a clue as to how they were stored. They were a chalky brown color when I picked the truck up though.

 

[LouisvEarlleJT]

I'd say that's on the borderline for me, I'd want a discount. Full price (IMHO) means that they're still new enough to retain their color.

If you drive alot you're probably fine, I typically run into issues with age before wear on most of my vehicles, at about the 10 year mark (by the tire date) I look for a new set.

 

[NC_Overland]

I wouldn’t have accepted those

 

[Lost1wing]

Old tires on a shelf are risky depending on their environment. Old tires mounted on a vehicle stand a bit more of a chance than ones that sat on a shelf.

My friend got a deal on 20 tires for his yard cars. We mounted 12 right away on vehicles that he moved around. The other 8 sat on his shaded porch. 4 years later, those 8 tires were so dry and hard, we could see cracking all over. The 12 that we had mounted were still soft and just a bit of cracking on one of them. The key is don't let them sit, either on the vehicle or on the shelf.

I think I would have passed on older tires for anything offroad or highway use.

 

[Hootbro]

Yeah, tires like to be exercised. Bought a new F250 that I barely put 3K miles on and sat many months at a time, by the 2nd Summer, the tires were cracking extensively

 

[In3briatedPanda]

five years is law i believe to sell a NEW tire. I dont deal in used tires so idk that market.

I know we are not allowed to sell a tire more than five years old of the dots and anything older gets recommendation for tires.

Like the 2013 Es350 with 46754 miles on it......with tires from 2015..... the old man hard of hearing assured me he knew better and i just said 'yes sir'. he didnt have an employee number, so i couldnt clock him in to do my job.

 

[whysoserious]

From the manual...

" Tires and the spare tire should be replaced after six years, regardless of the remaining tread."

 

[agoldxj]

I wouldn’t be happy about the date code, 1 year I can see but 3 is a bit much. Had horrible issues with bfg ko2s in a 37. They were calling for 22 ounces after road forcing. Ended up putting ridge grapplers on today and the worse one was 5 ounces.

 

[CPTRVB]

I wouldn’t be happy about the date code, 1 year I can see but 3 is a bit much. Had horrible issues with bfg ko2s in a 37. They were calling for 22 ounces after road forcing. Ended up putting ridge grapplers on today and the work one was 5 ounces.

I counted 17 oz on one wheel before I took it back to the shop.

 

[agoldxj]

I counted 17 oz on one wheel before I took it back to the shop.

Yeah that’s crazy, I just took off a set of 315/70/17 c rated ko2s and they all had about 4-6 ounces on them. I’d go with something different. For as much as they cost and how light they are, you’d think they’d balance better.

 

[DylanM]

I'd take them back. The combo of a third to half of the useable life timeframe already gone and being hard to balance makes for tires that will need to be replaced much sooner than they normally should be, plus have a higher likelihood of going out of balance or wearing oddly during that time. Simply not worth the headache in my opinion.

 

[SoK66]

No more than five years. I think the DOT limit is six.

 

[Stan H]

I counted 17 oz on one wheel before I took it back to the shop.

What kind of Rims are you using ?
Here is a trick if they are steel they can be warped .. have them unmount the tires and put the rims on the balancer. Check the balance of the rim and use stick on weights on the inside of the rim on the barrel . Then mount the tires and balance .

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