Storing summer tires

W

White95Max

New member
In this article, they state NOT to use tire dressings on the tires?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=37



I was planning to apply 303 to the tires at least once while the tires were being stored. I'll keep them either in my apartment or in my storage closet (in the center of the apartment building).



I don't understand why they would tell you not to put any tire dressings on. How could it hurt anything?



BTW here's some information on the winter tires that I'm getting...



http://www.tirerack.com/survey/Surv...vehicleSearch=true&index=1&partnum=865TR4WSM3

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...vehicleSearch=true&index=1&partnum=865TR4WSM3



Ranked #1!

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=W&VT=C
 
Can anyone tell me what, if anything, they've done to their tires in the past during storage time? Have you ever applied dressings to them?



I'm sure I'll be putting sealant on the wheels throughout the winter, because I'll want to do something to them. :) But I want to make sure the tires don't dry-rot or anything since they won't be flexing at all during this time.
 
Cover them in trash bags, tape them really well, and put them stacked on the sides. It's just a few months of storage so I doubt you have much to worry about.
 
I've never put anything on my tires while in storeage. I switch my summer/winter tires everyseason and have never seen any problems. Other than wear, UV rays are a tires worst enemy (other than prolonged oil contact or something ridiculous). That being the case, in a closet or storage is the furtherest place from the sun. I simply clean them and stack them. I leave mine on the wheels since i have dedicated sets for each season.



I've stored at least 2 sets of tires for extended periods and had no problems with "dry rot" or blossoming or any abnormalities.



If you are getting the tires dismounted do clean off the crud they use to lube the tire. I don't think it does anything to the tire but it will be a pain to clean off in the spring.
 
truzoom said:
Cover them in trash bags, tape them really well, and put them stacked on the sides. It's just a few months of storage so I doubt you have much to worry about.
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I do mine that way when switching from between winter and summer sets as well. I clean up the rims and rubber really well prior though.



I forget the reason for not applying anything to the rubber b4 storing them, but do remember it seemed valid.



I've brought tires from them and they've always seemed nice on the phone. Why don't you email them and ask?
 
violentveedub said:
If you are getting the tires dismounted do clean off the crud they use to lube the tire. I don't think it does anything to the tire but it will be a pain to clean off in the spring.
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The tires will stay mounted to my summer wheels. The snow tires are being mounted on the OEM wheels.
 
IMO the "don't apply dressings" sounds suspiciously like "no need to wax" ;)



I've stored tires with and w/o dressings and never noticed any difference. Just keep em out of sunlight and you should be fine. Even sunlight isn't gonna be a big deal for the length of time we're talking about.



I pull off the out-of-season wheels/tires, clean 'em up, put some sealant on the wheels and *maybe* dress the tires if I feel like it. But the dressing will need redone by spring anyhow and will make them a little slimier to handle during winter. I don't bother bagging them or anything like that, but I can see the point if you're storing them someplace other than the garage.
 
I'll probably bag them, and I'll be tempted to at least throw some 303 on them during the winter. I'm sure I'll be tempted to bring them out and seal them again during the winter as well. :)



I haven't heard back from TireRack about the topic yet.
 
I would use the winter time to do the best job polishing/protecting them possible so they are better than new by the spring, it's too hard for me to do with them on the car and driving every day.
 
Don't worry I'll be spending a good hour per wheel when I take them off. They'll be getting the royal treatment for sure. :)
 
I store several sets of tires and have done so for years. I have winter tires, summer tires and race tires. Before setting them away for the winter I simply clean them well inside and out with tire/wheel cleaner, I wax the wheels and apply a non-silicone (water based) dressing to the rubber. I seperate the tires with cardboard and store OFF the ground on carts I made myself. Keep inflated to full pressure. I store them in my garage which is heated through the midwest winters but normally when I am not out there working I don't let it get colder than 45°. In the summer it rarely gets hotter than 80°. Like I said, this has worked well for years.



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Cool.

I have cardboard sheets like that, which came with my wheels/tires when they were shipped from TireRack. I intended to store them with the cardboard circles between them, just like you show above.



The storage closet where I'll have them has a wooden rack at the bottom, which would keep them off of the ground.



When you say "inflated to full pressure", do you mean the pressure that you'd have them at normally, or inflated to the MAX PSI rating on the sidewall?
 
White95Max said:
Cool.

I have cardboard sheets like that, which came with my wheels/tires when they were shipped from TireRack. I intended to store them with the cardboard circles between them, just like you show above...
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Yeah, save those cardboard discs, they're handy. I let mine touch each other now that they're hanging on the wall, but I always used the discs when I stored them the way Brad does.



IMO you could inflate them to either the working PSI or the max. I use something around the max myself. It's not like the max pressure (or even more ;) ) is gonna hurt anything, seems like all the problems come from not having *enough* pressure in tires that aren't being used.
 
MorBid said:
I've bought tires from them and they've always seemed nice on the phone. Why don't you email them and ask?
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Here's the response I got:



"Paul,

Thank you for your inquiry. The benefits of tire dressings are cosmetic and do not actually enhance the life of the tire. Many contain chemicals that can actually dry some of the oils out of the tire. Tires are best stored in the most neutral environment possible: cool, dry and dark. We do not apply any tire dressings prior to shipping."
 
That's about what I'd expected, a not-untrue CYA answer ;)



That way they won't get blamed if somebody uses something nasty and well, of course they're not gonna put something slimy on tires before they ship them :rolleyes



But that bit about it being purely cosmetic isn't correct. I've had identical tires stored for years (stable conditions, no UV exposure), some treated some not. The untreated ones got oxidation/dry rot and the treated ones didn't. They can safely say it's just cosmetic since most people don't hold on to tires for a long time and for just a few years it won't matter much if you keep them out of the sun.
 
I figured that's how the response would be too. They don't want to get themselves into some kind of liability issue.

I know that the benefit isn't entirely cosmetic (with some dressings). I'll still plan on applying 303 to the tires before storing them.
 
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