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Need Help Dating a Tire

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Old Oct 9, 2014 | 02:53 PM
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Default Need Help Dating a Tire
Hey all,

I posted on here about a month ago asking for advice before taking my new '72 on a cross-country road trip.

I got a lot of advice, but one common theme was: check the date on the tires!

Well, I've had some issues trying to date them, I can't seem to find the DOT stamp anywhere on any of them!

Any help would be appreciated, I sure hope they're not over 15 years old. How long ago did the DOT require them to stamp the tires with date of manufacture anyways?

Thanks guys! Have a great day!

-Josh










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Old Oct 9, 2014 | 03:52 PM
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"Need Help Dating a Tire"

Well, like everyone, they like you to take it slow at first - give em a chance to warm up to you gradually. After you get to know them a little better, go ahead and get a bit more aggressive - just be respectful of their limits. Don't get them out of shape and they'll likely take care of you. You'll know when it's time to take them to the limit . . . . .

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Old Oct 9, 2014 | 04:04 PM
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I always buy them dinner first.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=11
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Old Oct 9, 2014 | 04:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Mike Ward
...I always buy them dinner first...
Does that work? Nice place, I assume. Not Chucky Cheese or Arby's.
Last edited by Easy Mike; Oct 9, 2014 at 04:27 PM.
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Old Oct 9, 2014 | 04:29 PM
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Just because you take it slow ..... even take them to dinner .... doesn't guarantee they won't blow up on you.

I usually have found the date stamp on the backside of the tire. 3 or 4 digits near the rim. 6 or 7 years is a good figure, but I would be very afraid after 10.
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Old Oct 9, 2014 | 04:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Easy Mike
Does that work? Nice place, I assume. Not Chucky Cheese or Arby's.
Depends how many miles they've got on them or if they're retreads. I prefer radials too, pretty good on the curves and in the wet.
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Old Oct 9, 2014 | 09:31 PM
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I wonder if those are Coker reproduction tires. Would they have the same date code as a BF Goodrich made tire?


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Old Oct 9, 2014 | 09:40 PM
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It's better to date tires than dating trannys
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Old Oct 9, 2014 | 10:55 PM
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Originally Posted by ed427vette
It's better to date tires than dating trannys
Oh man... nearly spewed Mt Dew all over this clean monitor... (cough-cough, hack...) Dayum, that's was too funny.

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Old Oct 9, 2014 | 11:05 PM
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The date code isnt in any of those pics. Its gonna be a series of numbers and letters followed by a 4 digit number. Might be on the other side of the tire.
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Old Oct 10, 2014 | 11:11 AM
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Originally Posted by georgiaboy
Just because you take it slow ..... even take them to dinner .... doesn't guarantee they won't blow up on you.

I usually have found the date stamp on the backside of the tire. 3 or 4 digits near the rim. 6 or 7 years is a good figure, but I would be very afraid after 10.
This is what I found with the 72 I just bought.

On the rear it says DOT

And below that it has MBUF DL1297 and I am assuming that means 12th month 1997 ??
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Old Oct 10, 2014 | 12:04 PM
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Originally Posted by ed427vette
It's better to date tires than dating trannys
Originally Posted by Dustup7T2
Oh man... nearly spewed Mt Dew all over this clean monitor... (cough-cough, hack...) Dayum, that's was too funny.

What's the difference between dating a tire and dating a tranny....

You don't have to be on top of a tire to get your date.
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Old Oct 10, 2014 | 12:31 PM
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It's on the non white letter side. I had a set of Dunlops that were the same.

brit vet, 1297 seems a little odd. You sure it's not 297 which would be
29th week, 7th decade.
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Old Oct 10, 2014 | 01:20 PM
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Originally Posted by brit vet
This is what I found with the 72 I just bought.

On the rear it says DOT

And below that it has MBUF DL1297 and I am assuming that means 12th month 1997 ??
Probably 1207, 12th week 2007.
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Old Oct 11, 2014 | 10:28 AM
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before you date a tire, have you tried eharmony.com?
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Old Oct 11, 2014 | 12:02 PM
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Originally Posted by dar322
before you date a tire, have you tried eharmony.com?
I use Match.com so I can date all four of the correct age
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Old Oct 12, 2014 | 06:12 AM
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Originally Posted by ddawson
It's on the non white letter side. I had a set of Dunlops that were the same.

brit vet, 1297 seems a little odd. You sure it's not 297 which would be
29th week, 7th decade.
Originally Posted by Mike Ward
Probably 1207, 12th week 2007.
Just checked again and it is 1297
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Old Oct 12, 2014 | 07:55 AM
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Please post up a photo of the DOT and date code bars.
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Old Oct 13, 2014 | 01:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Mike Ward
Soooooo...Lame

On the other hand ....I doubt even a tire would find you remotely interesting.
Last edited by LS4 PILOT; Oct 13, 2014 at 01:56 PM.
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Old Oct 13, 2014 | 07:34 PM
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Originally Posted by ed427vette
It's better to date tires than dating trannys
This is funnier than anything I've got.

BTW, I hope the two of you are happy.
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