Everyone cheats on the date.

And it makes sense, most classics never even begin to wear out the tread. We just don’t drive them enough.

Here’s how you tell just how old your tires are:

The tire above has a three digit date stamp. This means it was built before 2000. It would have made in the 5th week of 1998, or 88? There is no way of knowing (hence the change to four digits after 2000). All tires after 2000 have a four digit date stamp like the one below. That one was made in the 34th week of 2006, which means it’s 20 years old. Still much too old to use on a car safely-eight years is the suggested lifespan.

In actuality, both of these tires are in our discard pile that you see above. Even a 10 year-old tire is considered past its prime in terms of safety.

I can tell right away from the ride quality when a tire needs to be replaced, and the date stamp merely confirms what my butt already knows. Any tire more than about eight years old has started to harden, and as such, it yields less and provides a firmer ride. Sprites need all the suspension they can get, and the tire is vital for a supple ride. Older tires also skitter along the tops of the peaks of any asphalt surface, instead of hooking up with the roadway. As such, an old tire doesn’t grip as well and certainly can’t brake as well.

I used to think this was all propaganda from tire sellers. But I have driven enough Sprites now over the same local roads to be able to feel the difference. Old tires don’t stick. Sprite suspension is so low tech that the tire is even more vital for a good ride and the safest drive. While I hate to put more tires into the waste stream, safety is more important, and if your British car stops 50 or just 10 feet sooner because the rubber is fresh, that might just save your Bugeye nose from some unsightly scars!

Please proceed to your car and check the tire date stamps today. 13 inch tires are cheap, about 1/4 of the price of modern tires for most SUVs! And if you need some new ones, we have you covered! Click the photos below to see some of our new tire options, or click here for our complete parts catalog!

We have a comprehensive checklist that we use when all cars leave our shop that allows us to check all the usual suspects for looseness.

But cars often come into our shop with anomalies, and this car in the video below is the second one we’ve seen with a loose tie rod end. In the old days all of these were built with a castellated nut, and lately they’ve been coming with a nyloc nut instead. This one happens to have a castellated nut, but no cotter pin was installed, and a few more laps around the block and we would’ve lost the tie rod entirely. It’s not hard to imagine a pretty ugly result when toe-in suddenly goes from 1/8 of an inch in to 2 feet out. Click to watch the video below:

If you get a minute, please jack-up your Bugeye and give the wheels a spin. Shake the tires– look for anything that’s loose and make sure you address it before you have a problem. We need all of you to be well and healthy and we need all the cars to be safe as well! And if you need new tie rod ends, click here to order a set!