Would you run 2005 tires?

[jon211]

About six months ago i bought 4 power races for a bargain.  (yes.. i know you get what you pay for). 3 rears and 1 front.  One of the rears was cracked so i tried to get in contact with the seller for a couple of weeks..finally got a hold of him.  I sent back the 3 rear tires to be replaced.  After about a month of trying to get a hold of him again, I finally receive my 3 tires after i put a spot payment on my credit card. 

Now this is a couple of months dealing with this and when i receive them back they all were made in late of 2005.

This was was second race weekend and I was running 1:12s at lightning.  You guys think i should think twice about running these older tires?

by the way.. I was running pirellis this weekend.

[mx558]

maybe for a trackday I'd run-em

[jigs]

maybe for a trackday I'd run-em

Why not your brake pads are 3 years old!! LOL

[Carnag3]

I was running takeoffs and I was running 1:10's :)  Got 3rd in the MW GP AM race on Sunday. I wouldn't run tires that were made in 2005 at the same time a lot of racers wouldn't run takeoffs in a race. 

I get my takeoffs for a really good price each usually have 8-16laps on them.  I run D211's. 

[MELK-MAN]

     There should be no problem running these tires. Use warmers, take a little more care to scrub the exterior rubber off perhaps. I have seen some tires crack when not stored properly or going from real cold to hot or something like that.
FWIW.. i bought a BUNCH of 16.5" slicks that had been discountinued LONG ago. These were nearly 5 years old. $35 PER TIRE as a closeout, how could you go wrong? They were awesome..! In fact, one of our FL region Unlimited champions  bought a pile and ran ONLY those tires all year.
     It's rubber (or some chemical concoction that looks like rubber), not a loaf of bread.. 8)

[mx558]

Why not your brake pads are 3 years old!! LOL
they are only two years old

[Sklossmonster]

It has everything to do with how they were stored.  Race tires like cool and dry conditions.  The hotter and the more humid, the faster they deteriorate. 

Whenever storing race tires for long periods, they should be chimney stacked on wood or plastic, and kept cool and dry, and out of the sun.

The sun's ultraviolet rays are damaging over long periods of time, as is moisture and heat.

Never leave them on concrete for long periods.  The concrete acts like a sponge, transferring moisture from the ground into the rubber, which is why you should place a piece of wood between the tires and the floor.

Properly stored, race tires can last longer than most people would be comfortable running them, it's just unusual for people to store them properly.

Definitely bake them on the warmers first, and then keep an eye on the tires after every session.  Look for cracks in the rubber or sidewall, which is usually an indication the tires were frozen at some point.

Best of luck either way.

[Super Dave]

I'll echo some comments.  Yes, depends upon the storage totally.  Run 'em?  Sure.  There have been some old tires that really, really fast guys have used that they liked better than current production stuff. 

Now, what did you get?  Some close out old stuff might not be the favored tire at all even though it was a "deal".  That might be good question to ask.

[Jeff]

Me, personally, I wouldn't run them unless I was the one who stored them.  Even then, I'd probably be hesitant to race on them.  I always adjusted to the latest compounds & constructions of the tires I ran, and couldn't see going backwards.

That's just me though...

[fortisi876]

I got my balls busted for running brand spanking new 2-3 yo tires, could have been Summit Point moreso but about 5 yrs ago, I broke my right scapula in turn 1 due to what I (and my friends) believe were those brand new OLD tires.......since then I wont run anything over a yr (2 max) old.

[jon211]

Thanks for the input guys.  The concerns about storage is the whole reason why i sent back the three rears instead of just the one that was cracked.  My thought was if one of them was cracked why can't the other ones be shitty also.

Also i only noticed the crack in the first one after one session at a damp trackday.  Didn't notice it at all before had.  Is it possible for that tire to crack after being through a heat cycle or was it definately there before hand and i just missed it.

[Ducmarc]

i've got a set of 125 bridgestones brand new in the blue tape that came with the bike 4 yrs ago and knowing the rider the were about 3 yrs old then so they sit in the tire rack in the shop keep thinking of a track day but when the time comes i chicken out and buy new ones . maybe i'll let skidmark burn them up one of those days