How old are my tires?

**Popeye1970** · 09-12-2008, 02:28 PM

I was just wondering how old my tires are; I bought a Z28 built in 2000 with low mileage (19000 when I bought it) and it had still its original tires (Cooper Cobra Radial 245/50 ZR16 and I didn't find any indication of the production time of those tires. I was just assuming they were the originally mounted tires due to the low mileage, but I'm not sure as I can't find any clear indication on the tires themselves. Usually there's a DOT- number on tires in Europe where you can clearly see the age of the tire, the week and the year of manufacture. These tires don't have any DOT- number and I couldn't figure out any other indication...
I was just wondering as I guess it's just better swapping those tires in case they're older than seven years...especially when you drive kind of very fast on the german autobahn...on the other hand they still got a lot of tread on them...
I'd appreciate your help guys, thanks,
Paul

**LT1 > LS1** · 09-14-2008, 05:13 PM

the DOT number IS on the tire.

try looking on the back side of the tire. I used to work at discount tire, we would always put the DOT number out, to make finding it easier

**KahanaReef** · 09-14-2008, 05:19 PM

Seems it should have some numbers somewhere. Forgot you were in Europe.

**Insert** · 09-15-2008, 09:24 AM

there should be a DOT number somewhere on it. nevertheless, if you think the tires are old, i would recommend changing them out. ZR rated tires havea rubber compound that hardens a lot after a couple of years, especially if you live in a place with cold winters and the tires are stored in a warm place.

enjoy that autobahn.

**fastform** · 09-19-2008, 09:03 AM

Cooper tires were NEVER OEM on the Z28.

**Popeye1970** · 09-19-2008, 09:37 AM

@

Originally Posted by fastform

Cooper tires were NEVER OEM on the Z28.

Thanks a lot fastform, that's very precious information, because the tires still have a lot of tread on them, even for a car that only had 20000 miles when I bought it, may be I'll keep them for some more time... The only available replacement tires as far as I've been looking on the internet are Kumho tires, and I'm not really sure about them, never heard of that brand before.
Next month I'm going to a place near Kaiserslautern in Germany, there's a company specializing in tires for american cars, I'll see...

Thanks to all of you, this forum is really great and @LT1 > LS1 I'll try lookin in the back of the tires.
BTW, today the weather was fine and after work I couldn't resist to do some autobahn driving and yes the car is fast, especially when you accelerate between 60 and 110, it's amazing how fast it is...and the feeling of the car, the sound, I feel like a 19 year old kid in that car...
Thanks @KahanaReef for the picture and @Insert: thanks for the hint on these ZR tires which are not very common here in Europe, highspeed -tires are generally Y or W rated...

Paul

**fastform** · 09-19-2008, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by Popeye1970

@

BTW, today the weather was fine and after work I couldn't resist to do some autobahn driving and yes the car is fast, especially when you accelerate between 60 and 110, it's amazing how fast it is...and the feeling of the car, the sound, I feel like a 19 year old kid in that car...

Paul

This is exactly why we own and love these cars!

**Mean Green Z28** · 09-22-2008, 10:09 PM

I feel like I'm 5 when I'm in my car ... I keep giggling like a little girl when I punch the pedal and it GOES!!! lol

Kumho is a decent tire although on the mid to lower end of the spectrum. Had the Kumho Ecsta Supras on a set of wheels I had for about a couple months (before I sold them and got different wheels) and they were pretty good for the winter and offered some decent grip.