Unused tires harden and deteriorate quickly in harsh desert climates. When I shop for tires I want to make sure I get ones that are as fresh as possible from the factory without trusting the sales representatives too much.
Is it possible to tell when a tire was made just by looking at it?
Most legislations require tire manufacturers to list the week and year of manufacture as a 4-digit code on the sidewall.
In the example picture, the last four digits of the tire identification number (5107) refer to the week and year of manufacture (WWYY format).
This means that the tire in the image was manufactured in Week 51 of 2007 (mid-December).