The rear 225/50/16 tires on my 1978 450slc 5.0 custom convertible are probably from the 80's I think. They are very old, dry, and hard. If I smash the gas pedal, they spin. I don't take many long road trips with the car, but I do keep the tire pressure high to minimize the flex in the tire, which is what generates heat and causes them to delaminate.

With a new car that sits outside for the first 15 years of its life, do you worry as much as with an old car that has sat in a garage with far less exposure to ozone? The tires on my truck were nearly 10 years old, and cracking on the sides. It didn't concern me too much. They never blew up, but it did start to worry me. I got every penny out of them. 10 years outside is probably more than a tire should be exposed, but the Michelin LTX handled it well. The Bridgestone potenza tires that lived indoor their entire lives looked nearly new when over 20 years old on my 1973 450sl. Still I hated the way they handled. New tires do make cars handle much better, but on these old cars, we barely ever get to wear them out before they "expire".

Use common sense. Most people don't even know where or how to find a date code on tires, and they are only on one side. If it was THAT much of an issue, the tire manufacturers would be forced to put the code on both sides of the tires. That my opinion.


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Past mb: '73 450sl, '81 280slc stick, '71 250, '72 250c, '70 250c, '79 280sl, '73 450sl, parted: '75 240d stick, '69 280s, '73 450slc, '72 450sl,