How old is my spare tire?

[harmony]

I know that now days you can read the code off a tire to determine when it was made.  I'm wondering if that also applies to the tires of the good old days.  My spare tire is a G78-15.  Goodyear Power Streak II.  Bias ply, polyester cord, 7/8" whitewall.  The code under where it says DOT is PFVV  YH0345.  It's in really good shape.  Lots of tread, no cracks anywhere on it and it has never lost any pressure since I've owned the car (4 years) .

[Sniper]

Well, if I am reading it right, it looks like your tire was built in the 34th week of 19?5.

 

https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/learn/tire-basics/tire-date-code

 

Quote

If your tires were made before the year 2000, the date code will be only 3 digits – the first two digits again listing the week of the year, and the last digit being the last digit of the year of the tire’s manufacture. This means a date code of “529” could mean the tire was manufactured in December 1999, or December 1989 – or even December 1979.

 

[harmony]

So with the information Sniper provided.  The only way to narrow it down any more, would be to calculate the years the Power Streak II were made coupled with when the 7/8" wide whitewalls were made or at least when they were popular.  I could google myself to the grave trying to figure that one out.   I'm guessing somewhere from mid 70's to late 80's.   Key word there is "guessing". 

[FarmerJon]

If I remember right, being an alphanumeric size, and having a DOT date code dates it to the '70s

[D35 Torpedo]

I find these old bias plys to be quite comical. The buzz words never stop. No cracks! Save your shoe polish.

[Marcel Backs]

way past "Best before date"?

[Plymouthy Adams]

nah.....they just have good agenda driven lobbyists......

[MarcDeSoto]

I just checked my 48 DeSoto.  I bought it in May, 1980 and have never changed the tires.  I think the previous owner was cheap on tires because only two of them match.  The LF and LR are Sears DynaPly 20.  They both have a 1" whitewalls with the number 2-84145.

The RF tire is a Goodyear G-78 15 with the numbers MDVV J9A075.  It also says Power Cushion 78 and VytaCord tubeless.  It has a thick white wall.  It also has "BLEM" stamped crooked on the black sidewall.  I wonder what that means?  

The RR tire is a JC Penney G-78 15,  4997  Mileage Maker  with a wide white wall.  Any idea on the date of these tires other than they are pre 1980?

These tires haven't been driven on much in the last 43 years so the tread is good and I've only had to fill more air in them a few times.  They have never gone flat despite sitting for many decades.  All the whitewalls are facing in probably because the white walls don't match.  Of course, I do plan to buy new tires after I get the car on the road.

Edited March 21, 2023 by MarcDeSoto

[D35 Torpedo]

5 minutes ago, MarcDeSoto said:

I just checked my 48 DeSoto.  I bought it in May, 1980 and have never changed the tires.  I think the previous owner was cheap on tires because only two of them match.  The LF and LR are Sears DynaPly 20.  They both have a 1" whitewalls with the number 2-84145.

The RF tire is a Goodyear G-78 15 with the numbers MDVV J9A075.  It also says Power Cushion 78 and VytaCord tubeless.  It has a thick white wall.  It also has "BLEM" stamped crooked on the black sidewall.  I wonder what that means?  

The RR tire is a JC Penney G-78.  4997  Mileage Maker  with a wide white wall.  Any idea on the date of these tires other than they are pre 1980?

These tires haven't been driven on much in the last 43 years so the tread is good and I've only had to fill more air in them a few times.  They have never gone flat despite sitting for many decades.  All the whitewalls are facing in probably because the white walls don't match.  Of course, I do plan to buy new tires after I get the car on the road.

Power Cushion! That's a good one. I romped around on four different tires for a few weeks before i got new ones. Wish I had of taken pics. Lumpy, cracked and different catchy names.

[MarcDeSoto]

Power Cushion is the same idea as when I was working, I took a Power Nap!

[D35 Torpedo]

8 minutes ago, MarcDeSoto said:

Power Cushion is the same idea as when I was working, I took a Power Nap!

Ahh yes, the Good Day Power Nap. Always a solid choice.

[joecoozie]

Tires were/are?? stamped "BLEM" when they are not deemed "perfect" to sell for full price.

That meant that there were some flaws to the tire (i.e. - crooked whitewall(s), etc....) 

They were sold at a discounted price because of the flaws.

[MarcDeSoto]

I knew the previous owner was cheap.  He probably bought the tires used too!

[Dan Hiebert]

Our '37 Terraplane's spare is the original.  Other than whatever bragging rights that could conceivably generate, it is otherwise totally useless.  We're only the 4th owners of the car, and it came with an incomplete packet of documentation from over the years.  We could deduce that the original owner touted the original spare to the second, and after that I think it became a challenge to keep the car with the original spare, although when we bought it that wasn't pointed out.

[Tom Skinner]

I bought my first 1948 Chrysler in 1973, with the original tires on it, with 32,000 miles on them.

I drove it for 11 years with those tires and sold it with those tires still on it, about 70,000 miles. They looked worn.

Either Tires were made much better in the day, or tire companies encourage owners to replace them every 7 years or so. Why?

My 2001 Pick -Up Truck is on its 6th set of Tires with 302,000 they still have at least 10,000 more miles to go.

Don't buy into the tire hoopla of getting new ones just to have new ones unless they are really needed.

Its all just a caching thing. I'll be the first one to tell you new tires are nice, but with the price of them now - not so much.

 

[Tom Skinner]

I forgot to say - I rotate every 5-6000 miles and check/keep tire pressure every month. 

Its also a good time to check bearings and brake pads or shoes.

[Dan Hiebert]

"BLEM" = blemish or blemished.  Ditto on joecoozie's explanation.  Not structurally deficient, but not meeting the manufacturer's standards.

[Booger]

Blems?? what about retreads? put em on all my crap cars.