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Bus Discussion => Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) => Topic started by: PP on December 24, 2010, 11:33:17 AM

Title: Tire Dating ?
Post by: PP on December 24, 2010, 11:33:17 AM
Merry Xmas to Everyone!
I'm trying to decode the date on these tires. They're Mich. ZXA's made in France. Virgin tires--never been mounted, but what year were they made?
'0087835'
this is the only number that I can find the same on all 8 tires. I do know that they have been lying in the back of a warehouse for a while. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you, Will
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: gmbusguy1 on December 24, 2010, 11:56:42 AM
Will, It would be a miracle if all of your tires have the same dot date on them.

really what are the chances of that ???

the date code is molded in a rectangle near the bead with 4 numbers in it like 4705

meaning the 47th week of the year 2005

Hope this helps

Chris
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: luvrbus on December 24, 2010, 12:21:40 PM
Look for the letters DJA then numbers that gives you the date also there should be a E4 or e something lol after the 0087835 that will tell you if the tire can be sold here in the US, I got burned on the France made tires before for not having the the right E number OK Dot did not like my bargain tires




good luck
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: gus on December 24, 2010, 12:38:13 PM
'0087835'  may be a lot number.
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: luvrbus on December 24, 2010, 12:57:01 PM
008675 is the plant and shipping codes OK Dot taught me that lol mine had a shipping code to Mexico according to the officer all Greek to me,I did get a good lesson that was never buy 40 truck tires from a guy a driving box truck with no name on it and doesn't speak English


good luck
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: Sean on December 24, 2010, 02:28:22 PM
Quote from: PP on December 24, 2010, 11:33:17 AM
Merry Xmas to Everyone!
I'm trying to decode the date on these tires. They're Mich. ZXA's made in France. Virgin tires--never been mounted, but what year were they made?
'0087835'
this is the only number that I can find the same on all 8 tires. I do know that they have been lying in the back of a warehouse for a while. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you, Will
You need to look for the number that starts out "DOT."  As Chris said, the last four of that number will be the date code; other digits identify the manufacturer, plant, and other parameters.

The DOT number will only be on one side of the tire.

If your tires do not have DOT numbers on them anywhere, they are not legal for use in the US.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com (http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com)
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: Oonrahnjay on December 24, 2010, 03:22:08 PM
Quote from: Sean on December 24, 2010, 02:28:22 PMIf your tires do not have DOT numbers on them anywhere, they are not legal for use in the US.
-Sean 

And it is a requirement of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 119 that the symbol "DOT" itself appear on every tire sold in the US.  Here's the text:

    Section 6.5  Tire markings. Each tire shall be
marked on each sidewall with the information specified in paragraphs (a)
through (j) of this section.  The markings shall be in letters
and numerals not less than 0.078 inch high 
The tire identification and the DOT symbol labeling shall comply with
part 574 of this chapter.

    (a) The symbol DOT, which shall constitute a certification that the
tire conforms to applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards. This
symbol may be marked on only one sidewall.

(Back to Bruce's comments):  This is the Federal Certification.  And due to the Federal preemption wording in FMVSS's. other NHTSA regulations and National Highway Traffic Safety Act of 1966, as amended ("Title 49 of the United States Code, Chapter 301, Motor Vehicle Safety"), no State can require any other requirement than the Federal requirement.  States and state inspectors can enforce the DOT regs and they can enforce State regs that are identical to the DOT regs, but they can't enforce anything different. 
A tire can have 97 "E-marks" but if it doesn't have the "DOT", it's not legal in the US; conversely, if it has the "DOT" and no "E-marks", it is US legal and no state can refuse its use for certification purposes (FMVSS 119 and 120 specify requirements for tires and wheel rims; a state can refuse to allow the use of a tire if it doesn't match the rim as required by the Standards, or if it's out of load or speed rating, etc., but if it has "DOT", it can't refuse to allow on certification grounds).  Also, the Standard requires the "DOT" symbol on one sidewall but (if a particular manufacturer's molding process or whatever requires it) it allows marking on both sides.

Part 574 of the FMVSS's sets other format requirements.  As Sean says, there's a complete group of numbers, as:

DOT mark (3 digits)
Manufacturer's ID (2 digits)
Tire Size Code (2 digits)
(Optional - Tire Type Code - 3 digits
Allowed but not required)
Date Code (4 digits) as week code 01-52 and also year code, last two digits of year
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: luvrbus on December 24, 2010, 03:37:09 PM
Sean, I don't know about the DOT on all tires I have been to a couple of car factories and have saw the E.C.E rating on tires they may have been for export ?.
VanHool buses come here with E1 and E2 tires( I would think the Setra buses do also) there is no Dot number anywhere on the tires on a new Vanhool bus there are about 50 of those E numbers I was told but I could have been told wrong also and the Dot in OK told me E1 and E2 tires were acceptable but nothing higher what that means I have no idea  lol


good luck
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: Oonrahnjay on December 24, 2010, 04:43:00 PM
   If it's sold for use on the public roads (or comes on a vehicle for use on the public roads) in the US and I'm pretty sure that CMVSS/Transport Canada is the same; it *must* have the DOT symbol on the sidewall.  It must also have the other required markings and meet the other requirements (load rating for the load used on that axle, inflation, speed rating labels, etc.)

   Things are murky because the US Fed. standards were written in consultation with RMA (US), TaRA (US and UK), ECE (Europe - which sets E-mark requirements), DIN (Germany), JIS (Japan) and other important players.  For this reason, the requirements are almost entirely the same for all the countries -- except for those specific marking requirements for N America.  You may have been told that some "E-marks" replace the requirement for the "DOT" mark; if that's the case you were told wrong.   Even if the "E-mark" requirements are identical to N American requirements, a tire sold in the US must be "DOT" marked.  (It may be that some gov't official in OK has figured out that "E-mark" requirements are the same as the NA technical standards and it's alright by them for tires to be sold in OK, but that doesn't change the Fed requirement.)

   Things like cross over between metric-sizes and inch-size tires or load ratings can get complicated.  The DOT requirement isn't complicated. It's black or white.
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: luvrbus on December 24, 2010, 05:12:22 PM
The tropper never said the E replaces the Dot If you cannot sell tires with the E rating in the USA someone needs to tell VW,Gm,Ford and all the other manufactures about using the E.C.E tires for exports.
1000's of Mexican Trucks and buses run the USA highways everyday with E tires,hell most of those cannot spell DOT check one of your German tour buses or the Mexican buses or a new Vanhool or Volvo must be a loop hole some where.
I may be 70+ but I don't wear glasses and can read plus I have this bad habit of believing my lying eyes.
Not that it means much as I stated the tires I bought were made for the Mexican market and OK Dot was not impressed to say the least using those on OK based trucks all about taxes IMO  
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: Sean on December 24, 2010, 05:20:37 PM
Quote from: luvrbus on December 24, 2010, 03:37:09 PM
Sean, I don't know about the DOT on all tires I have been to a couple of car factories and have saw the E.C.E rating on tires they may have been for export ?.

Clifford,

Bruce already answered part of this, but AFAIK you can not cross state lines in the US without a DOT stamp on the tires.  Same goes for brakes and lights.  Individual states may have different rules.  Anything made strictly for export would be exempt.

QuoteVanHool buses come here with E1 and E2 tires( I would think the Setra buses do also) there is no Dot number anywhere on the tires on a new Vanhool bus there are about 50 of those E numbers I was told but I could have been told wrong also and the Dot in OK told me E1 and E2 tires were acceptable but nothing higher what that means I have no idea  lol

The number after the "E" in E-code (ECE) products is strictly the country of origin.  They are as follows:

E1   Germany
E2   France
E3   Italy
E4   Netherlands
E5   Sweden
E6   Belgium
E7   Hungary
E8   Czech Republic
E9   Spain
E10   Yugoslavia
E11   United Kingdom
E12   Austria
E13   Luxembourg
E14   Switzerland
E16   Norway
E17   Finland
E18   Denmark
E19   Romania
E20   Poland
E21   Portugal
E22   Russian Federation
E23   Greece
E24   Ireland
E25   Croatia
E26    Slovenia
E27   Slovakia
E28   Belarus
E29   Estonia
E31   Bosnia and Herzegovina
E32   Latvia
E34   Bulgaria
E37   Turkey
E40   Macedonia
E43   Japan
E45   Australia
E46   Ukraine
E47   South Africa
E48   New Zealand

Hard to imagine why tires from Germany and France would be OK but not ones from, say, Australia (E45).

Also, FWIW, I spent ten minutes on the side of the road trying to explain federal regulations to an OK state trooper once.  His answer: "This here's Oklahoma; we don't follow them federal laws, we got state laws supersede that..."  (exact words).  I gave up and just said "OK, ossifer."  (This was in regards to motorcycles, not buses.)

YMMV.

-Sean
http:/OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: PP on December 24, 2010, 05:39:14 PM
Thanks to everyone for their help. I thought I knew how to date tires, but these are completely beyond my abilities. So what I have done is take down all the numbers from both sides of a tire. Here they are:

E2-0087835
06-4471
DOT A13X ARC X023
HH 329
152/148L

They also say approved for US and Australia. If anyone can decipher the date out of this, I would greatly appreciate it. Hope you're all having a Merry Xmas,
Thanks, Will
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: Sean on December 24, 2010, 06:11:56 PM
Quote from: PP on December 24, 2010, 05:39:14 PM
E2-0087835

E2 = Made in France
0087835 = Specific ECE number for this product

Quote
DOT A13X ARC X023

OK, this one concerns me, because 11-digit DOT numbers were only on tires made through 1999-2000, after which they had 12-digit numbers (they went from one digit to two for the year).

A1 = "Pneumatics Michelin" (Michelin tire plant, Potiers, France)
3X = 12R22.5  (Size code.  There is a chart.)
ARC X = Only Michelin knows.  These digits are for manufacturer use.
023 = Manufactured 2nd week of 1993 (or 1983, who can tell)

Where have these tires been sitting?

Quote
152/148L

152 = 3550kg (7830 lbs) single
148 = 3150kg (6945 lbs) dual
L = speed 120kph (75mph)


-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com (http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com)

(edited to correct decoding of 023 to 2nd week of 93; I had mis-written 23rd week of '00)
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: gmbusguy1 on December 24, 2010, 06:44:22 PM
Will, what is the brand of tire you are getting these numbers from?

Chris
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: Sean on December 24, 2010, 06:48:58 PM
Chris, he said these were Michelin XZA's (OK, he said ZXA but I think that was a typo).  DOT code confirms they are Michelins, size 12R22.5 and over ten years old. (Correction -- almost 18 years old)

-Sean
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: jackhartjr on December 24, 2010, 07:01:21 PM
Ya'll amaze me!
I never know what kind of knowledge I will get here!
Thanks
Jack
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: gmbusguy1 on December 24, 2010, 07:17:21 PM
Sean, Thanks for the reminder that I should go back and re-read the post before offering any input on the subject at hand. enjoy the rally wish we were going.

Will, my research indicates the second week of 1993 according to the numbers you posted here. tires made in 1993 would probably be rock hard and not need any air to use them LOL

Michelin recommends new tires every ten years no matter what

Merry Christmas to all

Chris
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: Sean on December 24, 2010, 08:31:27 PM
Quote from: gmbusguy1 on December 24, 2010, 07:17:21 PM
...
Will, my research indicates the second week of 1993 according to the numbers you posted here. tires made in 1993 would probably be rock hard and not need any air to use them LOL

Sorry, brain fart... Chris is right, 2nd week of 93, not 23rd week of '00 as I wrote.  I transposed the year and week.  So even older than I thought.

Definitely would not use any tire with a 3-digit date code now, as they are all over ten years old.

I will fix my previous post, for posterity.

-Sean

ps. Chris, sorry we will miss you.
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: PP on December 25, 2010, 09:07:27 AM
A big thank you to everyone that gave assistance with this post, especially Sean and Chris. These tires are in the back of my deceased uncle's shed. He used to run a small trucking outfit and my aunt is getting ready to move into an assisted living center. She's my mum's twin and asked the family for help in selling or disposing of everything before they put the prop. up for sale. I was interested in the tires and thought I might surprise her with a big payday for Xmas. Now it looks like the only surprise I will have for her is hauling them to a recycling center to make them disappear  :'( Thanks again to everyone for helping out with your quick responses on Christmas Eve.
Merry Christmas to everyone,
Sincerely, Will & Wife
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: Sean on December 25, 2010, 09:50:03 AM
Quote from: PP on December 25, 2010, 09:07:27 AM
... thought I might surprise her with a big payday for Xmas. Now it looks like the only surprise I will have for her is hauling them to a recycling center to make them disappear 
Will,

Don't underestimate the cheapness of truckers.  Even though I would not run those tires and would not suggest it to any of my friends, I know from experience that some guys will gobble those up to run them on drop trailers or bogie axles.  You might advertise them on Craigslist or put a note on the board at your local truck stop.  You could get a few bucks for them, but at the very least I would expect someone to take them off your hands without you having to pay the disposal fee.

For better or worse, there is no law in this country about the allowable age of a truck tire, and lots of rigs have some tires that old or older on them.

To protect yourself I would list them as being "as is" and be honest about the date code.

FWIW.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com (http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com)
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: PP on December 25, 2010, 10:08:29 AM
Thanks Sean, I will give that a try and see if we can salvage something out of them. Will
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: Busted Knuckle on December 26, 2010, 08:45:35 AM
Will,
If you have any independent trash haulers in you area or major construction project that have trucks that never leave the job site nearby this could be a place to get rid of them too!
The trash haulers hardly ever get up any speed and go thru tires like mad driving in the dumps.
And if the truck never leaves the job site a construction company won't be worried about the age of DOT since it is exempt and hauled from job to job.
FWIW  ;D  BK  ;D
Title: Re: Tire Dating ?
Post by: buswarrior on December 26, 2010, 10:41:26 AM
Yes, ditto what BK says.

Off road users will be pleased to get fresh tread at disposal prices.

Then both of you will be happy!

happy coaching!
buswarrior