If you've just moved to a region that sees enough of a seasonal change to require that you use winter or summer tires on your car, you might not have any idea what to do with the tires from the previous season. It doesn't make sense to get completely new tires twice a year if the sets you've been using are still in great shape. That means figuring out a way to store the set you're not using so you can put them back on your car in a few months (and then store the other set for a while). But whether you have a large garage with storage space or a tiny apartment that comes alive to laugh at the idea of storing tires, here are three things to know that will help make storing those off-season tires easier.
You Don't Have to Store Them at Home
Lots of tire stores and centers offer storage services for your off-season tires. If you live in a tiny place or just don't want an idle pile of four tires sitting in a lump in your garage, arrange for storage away from home instead. Prices vary but tend to be reasonable. Plus, if you let the tire store hold onto them, you won't have to worry about lugging the tires back over to the store when it comes time to change tire sets again. Depending on the storage facility's contract, the tire store may also be the one responsible for damage if the tires are not stored correctly. Compare that to leaving the tires in your garage, where you have to fork out money to replace the tires if you haven't stored them right.
Clean Them and Wrap Them up for Best Protection
If you do choose to store the tires at your home, prepare them well. Wash them off to get all the road grime out of the treads; you don't want that stuff festering there. At the very least, the grime makes the tires look bad. When the tires have dried off, wrap them up well to keep additional dust and pests out of them. Tire stores often have properly sized bags that you can use, rather than relying on generic trash bags.
Keep the Tires Filled
Don't let the tires go flat. When tires sit in one position for a long time, they can develop a flattened appearance that makes driving (if you put the tires back on the car) very bumpy. Sometimes the flatness goes away after the tires warm up and become more flexible, but other times they don't. Or the tires crack because they've gotten so stiff. by keeping the tires properly inflated, you reduce the amount of flatness that can appear. And if you can shift the tires around frequently, changing the side on which they rest, you can reduce the flatness even further, if not prevent it completely. There are also special racks you can buy that help keep the tires' round shape, too. But even then, keeping the tires properly inflated is still necessary.
If you have any other questions about storing off-season tires, talk to stores with tires for sale about how they and their other customers handle tire storage. You'll find a procedure that works for you.
Share27 May 2016
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