New but old track tires - should I buy them?

[killerniceguy]

I have come across 2 sets of unused but three year old (Spring of 2006) Perelli DOT race tires.  They are the last year of the previous generation Pirelli Supercorsa Pro DOT tires.  They have been stored indoors and are in otherwise new condition but almost three years old.

I am looking for tires for the track, I have no intention of using these on the road, I also have tire warmers.  I have no experience with track only tires using Corsa III and Strada's on the track last year without and problems.  I plan to race the monster this year in addition to track nights.

Is buying and using these tires a good idea or should I pick up new tires?  Finding any kind of consistent information on this topic has been difficult at best.

Thoughts?

KNG

[ducpainter]

You'll get a million opinions.

I've run 10 year old new Michelins on my 750 for a season.

My 996 doesn't like a 2 year old tire with a couple of days on it..

Go figure.

[Spidey]

+1 on there being a million opinions.

I wouldn't run a tire that'd been sitting on a bike for 2 years.  But I'd run a brand new three year old tire that'd been kept in a dry place and out of sunlight.  I definitely wouldn't pay anywhere near full value for 'em.

The problem is that if you have no experience with track tires, you won't be able to tell how good the tires are.  And if you're just starting to race, it's better to not be worrying if your tires are fubared.  It's hard enough to stay upright (at least for me) to not have complete confidence in your tires.  So, on second thought, if I were in your shoes, I'd skip those tires unless they're an absolute steal.  Crashing is more expensive than saving $ on tires. 

[killerniceguy]

This is just it - a million opinions on this.  The reality is race tires rarely if ever see three years in a unused condition.  We have all seen the 10 year old, dry rotted tires that I wouldn't put on my worst enemies bike - not the same. 

The question is has anyone ever ridden on old but new race tires.  We all, well almost all, run tire at least two, three and even older street tires on our bikes with nothing but great times. 

You would think if the tires expired they would have an expiry date on them.

[Spidey]

I've raced on tires that were 2.5 years old and fresh off the Dunlop truck.  They were just fine, but that was on a widdle bike. 

[killerniceguy]

widdle bike?

I've raced on tires that were 2.5 years old and fresh off the Dunlop truck.  They were just fine, but that was on a widdle bike. 

[Holden]

I bet most tires are already older than you'd imagine. Probably not by much, but it's a thought.

Use your nose. If they're not still emitting new tire smell, they've probably "dried out." I could be wrong...

[Spidey]

widdle bike?

Neeenja too fiddy.  Eetsy beetsy widdle bike. 

[killerniceguy]

Perhaps just slightly less powerful than my monster.  My S2R800 puts down a whopping 70hp and 53ftlbs...

Neeenja too fiddy.  Eetsy beetsy widdle bike. 

[Buckethead]

PM ducvet. He did an experiment where he used "new" (that is, un-run) old (that is, manufactured some time ago) tires.

His conclusion was that the tires he was experimenting with had an un-run shelf life of about 10 years.

I don't remember what brand/type of tire he said he was experimenting with, but even using that as a baseline: if you get the tires new, off the shelf, and the manufacturing date is less than five years ago, I'd say you'll be okay. Look for a date code. Its 4 digits in an oval. The first two digits are the week of the year, and the last two digits are the year. So if you have a tire with a date code of 2205, it was manufactured between 3 and 10 of June, 2005.

So, judging from his experience, you should be fine. Run a set of tires and then put the warmers on them to either keep them hot or slow their cooling, but they should behave like any other tire you might happen to run with a newer fab date.

My 996 doesn't like a 2 year old tire with a couple of days on it..

You call it the "Tire Eater" for a reason.

[ducpainter]

This is just it - a million opinions on this.  The reality is race tires rarely if ever see three years in a unused condition.  We have all seen the 10 year old, dry rotted tires that I wouldn't put on my worst enemies bike - not the same. 

The question is has anyone ever ridden on old but new race tires.  We all, well almost all, run tire at least two, three and even older street tires on our bikes with nothing but great times. 

You would think if the tires expired they would have an expiry date on them.

I've used 10 year old new Michelin race rear tires on my 750 track bike with no issues.

I don't think they'd work on a bike that made any power.

[gm2]

why not... they're Pirellis so when they do throw you on the ground you'll get zero warning either way.

[Spidey]

why not... they're Pirellis so when they do throw you on the ground you'll get zero warning either way.

  

So true.  So true. 

[ducpainter]

Not much different than the Michelins....

[madmatt]

Someone mentioned "how much?" My sentiment too.

If they seem decent and are pennies on the dollar, then by 'em run 'em. If they feel squirrely, ditch 'em and sell them to some squid stunter for what you go them for.

Of course, don't pay near retail when you can get something new and sticky - and more importantly something that you're confident about.