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Rank: Pro license
Joined: 8/3/2008
Posts: 370
Location: Manila
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Interesting video from ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897. It's about 9 mins long so it might take time to load, depending on your broadband speed. It's an expose' on tires that look brand new but are actually old, thereby resulting in tragic accidents in the US. Some interesting highlights:
1. Tires supposedly expire after 6 yrs. In Europe, they recommend that dealers discard them, even if unused. In the US, manufacturers still resist the move.
2. You can find out how old your tires are by looking for a code stamped on the inner wall.
Makes me wonder about the state of tires sold in local dealers, or those that come as OEM on brand new vehicles. So excuse me while I crawl under my car to find out...
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Rank: Drag racer
Joined: 9/24/2007
Posts: 1,015
Location: Q.C.
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Normally the tires i've purchased brand new were at the most, one-year old. The tire retailers normally only keep the popular sizes in stock; i noticed when i order a not-so-common size, they still have to pick it up from the distributor.
More caution has to be exercised when buying 2nd hand tires.
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Rank: Pro license
Joined: 9/23/2007
Posts: 430
Location: Singapore
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Based on my experience, even small shops in Pinas sell pretty new tires (less than a year old from manufacturing)...
btw, here's an old post/thread from tsikot about tire expiry.
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DAVIDLEETONG.COM
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Rank: NASCAR racer
Joined: 9/27/2007
Posts: 2,134
Location: In front of my PC
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doesn't it make you wonder about your spare tire?
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Rank: Formula 3 racer
Joined: 11/10/2006
Posts: 5,073
Location: Manila, Philippines
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Spare? Wossat? 
http://motormanila.blogspot.com
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Rank: Autocrosser
Joined: 11/8/2006
Posts: 1,601
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Hmm. The mini-spare in my miata is 12 years old. Where can I get a new spare donut?
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Rank: Drag racer
Joined: 9/24/2007
Posts: 1,015
Location: Q.C.
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mbt wrote:Hmm. The mini-spare in my miata is 12 years old. Where can I get a new spare donut?
Try checking with the tire shops if they can source one (maybe a even a surplus thats only a few years old). Try also with Mazda since the MZ 3 comes with a space saver spare also so maybe they have on stock.
I guess you should also keep a can of those flat tire fixers handy.
A lot of people tend to neglect the spare. When i drive a car that's not under my watch, one of the first things i do is to head out to the gas station to fill up the spare tire with air. There was even a case with my officemate where his spare tire powderized when we removed it from the trunk. 
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