http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

I just saw this video today and thought I'd share it with you guys. It's basically about how tires 6 years or older are being sold and the dangers of using such an old tire even if it were new. Hopefully some of you guys find this useful.

 

Thanks!
I figured dry rot happens on rubber products sitting around.
I had crap Korean Kumho Supras which I only drive around 1K miles per year
and even it had lots of tread on it, side walls started to crack in the garage after 4 years.
Finally stop being lazy in this summer and got a new set of BS RE01R's.

 

Tires should not be six years old when sold as new. Up to one year is really not a big deal, but never as much as two or more. The big internet tire dealers have plenty of turnover in their inventory, so from them you should be getting tires that were manufactured quite recently. However, when you're buying at a local tire store, it's possible to get stuck with a tire that's older than you really ought to be buying.

Here are the relevant write-ups on the Tire Rack website:

Determining the Age of a Tire
Rubber Cracking
Tire Aging

Here's what it says in that last write-up:

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tire Rack website &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Our experience has been that when properly cared for, most street tires have a useful life of between six to ten years. And while part of that time is spent as the tire travels from the manufacturing plant to the manufacturer's distribution center, to the retailer and to you, the remainder is the time it spends on your vehicle.</TD></TR></TABLE>