Polish Tyre Industry Association reminds that a non-used, properly stored and un-mounted tyre made several years ago is as good as a few-day old one. It is neither bread nor rolls with short expiration date, which lose its characteristic within a short period of time.
A new tyre is in fact not only the tyre produced in a current year, but also some years back, if it was not in use and properly stored. Such a tyre is a fully-fledged product, which did not lose its properties. It is new in terms of user experience.
- Tyre is neither bread nor rolls, nor even cosmetics, which has a short or few-months expiration date. Rubber properties change over many years, not in several months. In order to delay the aging process, manufacturers add substances to the tyre mixture that slow down chemical reactions with oxygen and ozone – says Piotr Sarnecki, Director General of PTIA.
Aging of tyres during storage is invisible and negligible compared to the aging that appears when tyre is used. Physico-chemical changes occur mainly during their use as it is caused by inner heating and tensions due to the air pressure, deformations and impacts, which does not exist during storage process.
Tyres are stored in services and warehouses, where they are protected without losing their characteristic. Tyres’ storage should not take place in the open air, even if they are covered. They should be stored in a dry, cool and ventilated area, with a right temperature and protected from a direct sunlight, bad weather and humidity. Moreover they should be kept away from any sources of heat, chemicals, solvents, fuels, hydrocarbons or lubricants that could change the nature of the rubber. This information is aligned with recommendations of European Tyre and Rim Technical Organization from 2008.
Each tyre has symbols on it, which are E.C.E., mountain with snowflake, DOT number and the size. Below are the explanations of the main symbols.
E.C.E. symbol, e.g. E3 0259091 means European homologation, that is approval for use in the EU. It consists of a sign E3, which indicates the country of the approval. Next digits mean the approval number.
Mountain with snowflake symbol is the only indication of a winter tyre. M + S symbol means that the tyre has a tread for snow and not a winter mixture.
DOT number means a coded name of the product and factory. The last 4 digits mean the date of the tyre production (week and year), for example XXY DOT 111XXY02 1612.
Tyre size consists of the following elements - tyre width, height of the profile, the diameter of the seat as well as the load index and speed.
Tyres are solid part of the car’s safety equipment. No matter one buys them new but with just few years from the date of production. When cared well, with pressure checking, tread inspection and stored properly, tyres will protect your safety.
Source: www.ptia.org.pl