Long-term tire storage is not as easy as one might think; tires have to be removed out of the vehicle and stored somewhere. Nevertheless, when keeping your tires before you have to mount them back on your car, there are a couple of things you should keep in mind.
All the details, including the place where they are stored, how they are cleaned and even what they are seated next to, matter. Read on to understand the best tire storage practices.
Do I Need to Take My Tires Off the Car When I Store Them?
Wherever possible, it is best that you take your tires out of the vehicle to give you proper long-term storage of your tires. Removal of tires will enable you to isolate the environment in which the tires are kept, and remove stresses on the tire like vehicle weight, temperature variation etc.
Note: It is also an advantage to take off your tires during tire storage because by the time the tires are to be fitted back on the vehicle, the tires might be rotated differently as they were before. You can do this by simply taking down the position of the tires on your vehicle when you want to remove it and then upon reinstallation, you can rotate the tires accordingly.
What Do I Do When I Can Not Take My Tires Off the Car?
Special considerations ought to be made so that the tires of the vehicle are maintained in the appropriate manner. First of all, you should remove the weight from the tires. This can be accomplished by setting the car on jackstands or any other kind of load-bearing equipment which can be positioned under the car chassis. When you are unable to remove the weight off the tires, then it is prudent to empty the vehicle as much as possible and therefore the tires will be loaded with the minimum weight.
In case of long-term storage of the vehicle, you should consider rotating the car during the tire storage time so that the tires do not remain in a permanently deflected state, as it is only in one region of the tire. Such a cycle of movement will exclude the temporary flat spotting that can happen because of sitting too long in the same position and the ozone/weather cracking.
The tires have to be inflated to the inflation pressures shown on the sidewall of the vehicle. However, the inflation pressure is supposed to be corrected or rather corrected to the inflation pressure that is shown on the car placard before driving it.
What Is the Procedure of Preparing Tires to Store?
Some of the steps you need to consider when preparing your tires before any form of long-term tire storage Edmonton are the following:
- Wipe Your Tires Before Storage. As any other part of the vehicle, tires are likely to be dirty. Cleaning of all the tire dressing used, dirt, and brake dust will enable you to ensure your tires are clean before tire storage. This part of the cleaning process should be done by using a warm,soapy bath and immediately rinsing the tires using water. Also, the time taken after cleaning should see to it that your tires have dried up before proceeding further.
- Keep Suggested Air Pressure. In case your tires are stored on the wheels, keep the air pressure atthe vehicle manufacturer.
- Where are yougoing to store the Tires? In case you can store your tires in the house, it is best to store them in bags (opaque and airtight). This can be done well by using leaf bags and lawn, which can be sealed up with a heavy-duty tape to keep the elements at bay. Before sealing, attempt to remove as much air as you can from the bag, which would assist in guarding against drying up of tire compounds.
What Is the Best Place to Keep My Tires?
It is advisable to keep your tires in a dry and cool, climate-controlled area, preferably indoors. But when you have no other solution than keeping your tires outside, ensure that they are not left on the ground but are covered in bags that are opaque and waterproof in the same way you did it inside.
What Not to Do When Storing Car Tires
Putting your car tires in an unsoiled, well-ventilated and controlled environment is a way of avoiding one of the major problems here, which is sunlight. The tire can also get age faster by direct sunlight and the heat produced by it.
Also, one should not store the area close to generators, battery chargers, welding machines, as well as electric motors like central vacuums, furnaces or even water heaters. Each of these motors can generate and release minute ozone that is not ideal to tires when they are under storage.
In case you intend to apply other tire protectants or other cleaning products, read the product labels and know what other chemicals you are applying on your tire. Avoid using any petroleum-based cleaning products, because the cleaning products can degrade the weathering agents in rubber, which can cause premature cracking.
