10 year tyre age recommendation

PF999 · 23 Mar 2025

Hi everyone,
I've had my 997.2 C4S for around 8 weeks now having changed from a 987.1 Boxtser S. When I bought the car from the dealer, all the tyres were in good condition (no cracking) and had good levels of tread on its N2 P Zero's (it hasn't covered many miles in the last couple of years), so thought nothing more about it. I've just looked at the DOT of the tyres and 3 are from 2015, one from 2017. I've seen on some tyre manufacturers sites that irrespective of wear or cracks, tyres should be replaced at 10 years as they have a higher risk of failure. This is the first time I've experienced this as normally tyres don't last that long for me!

Has anyone had the same experience and if so, did you change the tyres? This is what I'm considering as I've a trip to IOM and a track day lined up in the next few months.

drmark · 23 Mar 2025

I would change them.
Downside? Cost
Upside? You will have new, more modern / better tyres - and peace of mind.
If replacing all 4 I would also get them fitted somewhere that has a Hunter Road Force balancer for maximum smoothness and to check all 4 wheels are straight. But I like that new car ride

Slayer · 23 Mar 2025

I replaced mine in 5 years irrespective of the tread. They usually show minor cracks by then

PeterHoward · 23 Mar 2025

I wouldn't run them, 6 or 7 years max for me

jl-c · 23 Mar 2025

I must admit; and I thought manufacturers recommendation was too ; I change mine at 5 years. If you have had the car for 2 months then I would be throwing it back at the dealer. They shouldn't be selling you a car with tyres that old. read here ? tyres

Marty* · 23 Mar 2025

I’d be switching out any that are 5-7 years old which normally would be the fronts they should last a fair bit longer than the rears. Obviously that depends on how many miles you are doing

PF999 · 23 Mar 2025

jl-c said:
I must admit; and I thought manufacturers recommendation was too ; I change mine at 5 years. If you have had the car for 2 months then I would be throwing it back at the dealer. They shouldn't be selling you a car with tyres that old. read here ? tyres

Thanks for this (and everyone else's replies). To be honest, I've lost confidence with the dealer as there have been a few other things that have occurred that haven't sat too well with me. Anyhow, I'm all about looking forward not back and enjoying the car. Who needs money anyway

GMG · 23 Mar 2025

5 years for me irrespective of wear...they go hard...off...

Gizmob73 · 23 Mar 2025

The rubber compound of the tyre hardens with age and results in less grip as well as increased risk of failure.
Also if you switch from the N2's to MPS4S's they will feel massively better with much more grip. I know this because I just replaced 7 year old N2's on my front end and the massive understeer was gone.

Punchdrunked · 23 Mar 2025

The DOT age of a tyre is not part of the MOT nor is it a service item - tread depth across the tyres and cracked tyres are. If an owner garages their car in a heated garage and only drives the thing in the summer the rubber is likely to be fine. All that said, in a high performance car, it makes sense to keep on top of your tyres and notice when all is not well.

I’d rather use 10 year old tyres with good tread depth and no cracking than high performance tyres, less than 5 years old, that have had several heat cycles through them due to track activity.

MaxA · 24 Mar 2025

I'm just about to remove a set of 9 year old Nokian winters, as they have gone off. There are no visible cracks, but I can feel the reduction in grip. I checked the manufacturer and they recommend, subject to adequate storage, a life of between 7-10 years. I've had similar experience with 10 year old Nokians on a Land Rover.

As to summers on the 997, I note that my local club will only let us run Michelin on track up to 6 years old. In my limited experience, PZeros heat-aged really quickly in Dubai, Pilot Sport2s didn't make it to 5 years, although the current set of Pilot Sport 4S seem to be holding up really well.

I'd replace those tyres.

buttertubs · 24 Mar 2025

same happened to me when I bought my 997. I knew the tyres had decent thread depth and no cracks, but a couple of days after getting the car home i checked the date and they were 8+ years old.

What prompted me to look was the car being a little bit more lively than expected when pushing into corners on a wet day.

Changing the tyres made a massive difference. The new softer rubber was much quieter too.

moo75x · 24 Mar 2025

turn traction off and burn them up - then get new all round - wouldn't track a car with tyres over 5 years.

gizlaroc · 24 Mar 2025

5 years for me, absolute max.

Conti Sport Contact 7 would be my choice at the moment.

Looking forward to the new PS S5, but I find the PS4S a bit numb steering wise, things have moved on.

R60BBA · 26 Mar 2025

PF999 said:
Thanks for this (and everyone else's replies). To be honest, I've lost confidence with the dealer as there have been a few other things that have occurred that haven't sat too well with me. Anyhow, I'm all about looking forward not back and enjoying the car. Who needs money anyway

Which dealer did you purchase the car from?