Date:         Fri, 1 Jan 2010 22:47:51 -0800
Reply-To:     Marc Sayer <marcsayer@HUGHES.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Marc Sayer <marcsayer@HUGHES.NET>
Subject:      Re: Snow tires... 2 or 4?
In-Reply-To:  <D1DC1EB7-7002-4AC6-8FB9-A02626635082@kippert.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Absolutely all ll 4. You need traction not only to push the car forward,
but also to steer it and to stop it, and that means both front and rear
tires.

You can determine their age, it is coded on the sidewall. You will see a
number at the end of the DOT tire identification number that reads
something like this 2202 or 4807 or 159 the first is the 22nd week of
2002 (22/02 or 2202 in the DOT code) so obviously 4807 then means the
48th week of 2007. But what about the 159 you ask? Easy, sort of. It is
most likely the 15th week of 1999. But there is a catch on this, it may
also be the 15th week of 1989, or even 1979, though the odds of finding
a tire that old are rare. It is only since 2000 that the code included
two digits for the year. Before that you got one digit, telling you only
what year in the decade it was made in but not what decade (the 15th
week of the 9th year of some decade in my example). Here's a primer on
this. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

Anyway, little chance you'll come across a new Blizzak that is more than
10 years old, so most likely you'll find a four digit number and know
the week and actual year they were made. BTW, $200 for a set of four
with M&B, is a good price. Here's a good read on Blizzaks
http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=116

Mark A Kippert wrote:
> Not looking to start another tire thread, just a question on how many,
> and how old. I'm looking at a set of 4 Blizzak tires at a local used
> tire store.These are actually new that I'm considering, I just don't
> know their age. They want $200 for a set of 4, mounted and balanced
> (no warranty that I know of).
>
> First, am I better off with just putting tires on the rear or is there
> an advantage to running them on all four corners?
>
> Second, since snow tires are only run a few month out of the year (at
> least here in Indy) I'm guessing they spend a lot of time stacked in
> the garage. I don't drive my van much as it's a 3rd car so snow tires
> won't see a lot of miles (maybe a 1000 or so a year). So is there a
> life expectancy on snows?
>
> BTW, Is there a way to determine how old a tire is? These look good
> but I don't want to buy a set of tires that are so old they'll only be
> good for a few seasons.
>
> Mark K
> 1986 GL/2WD/4SPD
>

--

Marc Sayer
Journalist, Photographer, Dog Trainer (APDT member #062956)
Board member - Western States Great Dane Rescue Association
Director of Operations & Training - Deaf Dane Rescue Inc.
Oakridge, OR USA

My Homepage - http://gracieland.org
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