This is The Single Best Way to Store Tires
This is The Single Best Way to Store Tires
Posted on April 14, 2023
Most of us know that tires don’t like sitting still. They also don’t like being used and are damaged (very gradually) by sunlight. Park a car for a couple of weeks and you will feel how stiff your tires are and it will take a few miles for them to become pliable and comfortable again.
That is exactly what we don’t want to happen to tires stored over the winter.
Store Your Tires Indoors
Keeping your summer tires in the garage or undercover is the best way to preserve them for future use. If you can keep them away from the worst of the cold all the better.
Ultraviolet rays break down the rubber compound while the cold makes tires much less pliable and much more susceptible to flat spots.
In an ideal world, summer tires would be kept in a warm garage inside a tire cover. In reality, under cover and away from the cold is okay too.
Store Tires on Their Side
Tires are designed to go round and tire rubber is designed to stay pliable in use. Store them for any length of time while on the car and you develop flat spots where the weight of the car creates a flat portion of tire where it meets the ground.
In many cases, the flat spot can be driven out. In some cases they cannot.
If you are storing summer tires, take them off the car and store them on their side to avoid flat spots. If you are storing the car for the winter and not just the tires, sit the car on axle stands to take the weight off the tire.
Fortunately, that is all that is required to keep summer tires in good condition while you use winter tires.
Keep them out of the cold, away from sunlight and on their side or not weighed down with the weight of the vehicle.
Then, when spring comes, they should be ready for action again!
If you have any issues with summer or winter tires, visit your local Car Nation Canada dealership. We can help!