Wombat

Thanks Gareth. Whilst at the tyre shop I took photos of the other two SportMaxx RT tyres on the car, both of which had either 2016 or 2017 dates. The fourth tyre was a generic budget one. A tread photo of each other tyre (still inflated) are attached. As you can see, they are all cracking after 2.5 to 3.5 years of use. Not sure what kind of mileage or temperatures, but the tyre fitter thought it was not good. Anyway, they're all heading for the disposal/recycling now. Cheers Tom

Date code is 1716, so week 17 of 2016?

We bought a used Audi A3 1.4 TFSI convertible a few months ago. Mainly used for short local trips and the occasional motorway run. The other day we had a flat - nothing dramatic, tyre just went soft which I then replaced with space-saver. They are Dunlop SportMaxx RT. When I inspected the tyre, I noticed what appeared to be a split down the centre of the tread. Ironically, this emanates from the Dunlop logo which is also moulded into the tread pattern. Will try and attach photo in due course. I haven't checked date code yet, but will do later. I noticed minor cracking on the shoulder of at least one other tyre, so decided to bite the bullet and get a complete new set of boots for safety. Going to try some Michelin Crossclimate+ (had previous version on another small car and they worked a treat all year round). Tom