Okay at the risk of sounding stupid, I ask this question.
I recently heard that tires actually have an expiration date?
That after X-amount of years even if the tread is good, the rubber is bad?
Can anyone clarify this for me please?

Thanks.

Moved to Lounge section <----Toddster.

There have been alot of tires that fail after a period of years. Dry rot is the culprit and how and under what conditions the tires are stored have alot to do with their lifespan. This caught the Government and tire industry'* eye and today they recommend not using a tire over 7 years old. Seems a bit severe to me, but age and moisture does deteriorate butyl rubber. I myself had a set of truck tires I bought used, fail under a load of quarry stone. They had great tread and I thought a bargain. I should have looked more closely at the weather checking on the sidewalls.

yeah first max summers I just bought used.. ContiSport2'* and there is no grip whatsoever! never again!