Hi
I've just noticed that the new tyre I got from KwikFit has a slow puncture in it. Anyway, I've now fitted the spare to take me home 50 miles but I'm not sure how old it is. It's a Dunlop SP6 with a DOT date code of 019, which is the 1st week in the 9th year. Question is, is this 1999; or when the car was built, 1989?
If anyone knows when Dunlop stopped producing this tyre it would be much appreciated.
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Mike Farrow
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Assuming this tyre was unused, if the wheel was also unused then it must be the original spare.
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All car tyres sold from 1st July 1997 must carry an 'E' marking. The 'E' or 'e' mark consists of an 'E' or 'e' followed by a number included in a circle of 12mm diameter or a rectangle. This symbol is followed by a further number.
The 'E' certifies that the tyre complies with the dimensional, performance and marking requirements of ECE Regulation 30.
The 'e' certifies that the tyre complies with the dimensional, performance and marking requirements of DIRECTIVE 92/23/EEC.
The number associated with the letter 'E' in the circle or 'e' in the rectangle is the code number of the government which granted the type approval (No. 11 for the British Government and a different identifying number for each of the other European countries involved).
The number outside the circle or rectangle is the number of the type approval certificate issued for that particular tyre size/type.
So, if your tyre has an e-marking according to the above description then from what you say it was made in 1999, and if not, then it was made in 1989.
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All car tyres sold from 1st July 1997 must carry an 'E' marking.
www.dunloptyres.co.uk/ourTyres/car/sidewallMarking.../
Click on letter F.
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Click on letter F.
Exactly where I got my text from.
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Exactly where I got my text from.
I thought it looked familiar ;o)
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I believe American DOT codes with 3 digits refer to the 1990's. Therefore 019 is, as you say week1, 1999. From 2000 they moved to a 4 digit code with two digits for the date.
JS
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I believe American DOT codes with 3 digits refer to the 1990's. Therefore 019 is, as you say week1, 1999.
I've read that they used this coding in other decades, hence the confusion and question.
More info: The tyre is "made in Great Britain", so does anyone know if Dunlop still produce tyres over here? Also I can't find an 'E' or 'e' stamp, though I haven't checked round on the other wall.
It got me home OK on the motorway and seems to hold its pressure, but I'm worried about the reliability of such a tyre if it is so old. It isn't new by the way, but has a few millimeters of tread depth left in it.
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Mike Farrow
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Thanks chaps for all the replies.
I think I'll replace the tyre when I next need to go to KwikFit for anything other than the current problem.
Turns out the new tyres OK, they just didn't replace the valves like they said they did (at £2.99 each!). I'm quite relieved in a way, as I was starting to have doubts over the quality of buying 'budget' Arrowspeed.
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Mike Farrow
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I got a belated reply from Dunlop today (they must have a full inbox!). It reads:
The SP6 was marketed from approximately 1995. Your tyre will have therefore
been built 1st week 1999.
In which case I'll keep it :-)
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Mike Farrow
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I replaced the original rear tyres (Michelin's) on wife's Clio when they were 5 years old due to signs of perishing on the side wall. A guy I trust in the tyre industry advises not to rely on tyres over 5 years old except as a spare.
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. A guy I trust in the tyre industryadvises not to rely on tyres over 5 years old except as a spare.
The original tyres on my ex-army trailer say 1954 on them. I think that is a code meaning they are 51 years old. A tyre dealer told me that as they used natural rather than synthetic rubber, they will probably last for ever.
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Funny that, just changed the original rear tyres on Nicoles clio cos they were starting to crack round the side walls. 2000 w reg.
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