tyre storage

[geoffd]

I’m confused.

How should I store wheels/tyres when not in use on the vehicle ?

I have 2 sets of wheels – one with Dunlop SP Sport 2020 for summer use and one with Goodyear G3 Ultragrip for winter. Yesterday I started to fit the summer set, then noticed a nail or similar in the front offside. When I pulled this out it was about 10 mm long, but hadn’t gone all the way through although it must be pretty close, so I decided to check with the local tyre fit place whether it should be repaired. Repairing the hole was no problem, but they refused to do it because the tyre has some fine cracks at the bottom of the grooves – this they said makes the tyre unsafe and unusable. When I asked why this has happened they said it is generally because the tyre has been stored unused and inflated for long periods. Which it has, and the other front tyre is just the same. The back pair were replaced last year and are fine.

Being suspicious that maybe the tyre fitter was trying to drum up some business, I asked another tyre fit place about the repair and got exactly the same response.

These tyres are original (2003), have done about 20000 summer only miles and have about 3-4 mm tread left. When not on the car they have been stored horizontal in a cool, dry, dark shed and left inflated.

To try to make some sense out of this I started to look at internet tyre sites – and ended up totally confused. Michelin and some others recommend storage cool, dark, dry and horizontal but don’t mention inflation. Dunlop recommend cool, dry, dark, vertical and 0.75 bar pressure. None of the manufacturers mention age, but several other tyre sites suggest tyres should not be used beyond 6 (at the lowest) and 10 (at highest) years old. Nothing like agreement among the experts to give confidence is there ????

Question is though are these tyres past their use by date ? And has my storage method shortened their life ? Finally, and perhaps most important since I don’t seem to have much choice but to replace them, how do I avoid having a set of half worn but unusable tyres again in a few years ?

How do others store unused tyres ?

Any comments ?

Geoff

 

[kwakdonut]

Earlier this year, Lidl were selling wheel/tyre storage bags for not much money. This seems like a good idea.

Keeping the tyres out of the light (UV damages everything eventually!) definitely. Maybe deflate the tyres and cover them in some sort of tyre black/protectant?
Storing them somewhere where the temperature doesn't fluctuate too much would probably be useful too.

I too have heard 6 years would be normal for tyre life but then my z650 has had the same tyres on since June 2003 - I check them often (the bike doesn't get used much so wear isn't much of an issue!) but they still seem fine, no cracks or degradation. The bike is stored in the garage all year so this obviously helps too.

 

[Ronnie]

Some Dunlop tyres are susceptible to cracking, so maybe not a storage issue at all....you could send them back to the manufacturer via any High Street retailer who has an account with Dunlop...check Dunlop website for nearest retailer to you, although due to the tread depths remaining, you are only going to receive compensation on a pro-rata basis, that is, if it is found to be a manufacturers fault .

 

[Roger Jones]

I heed the advice of Honest John (Daily Telegraph) who "wouldn't dream of driving on rubbers more than five years old".

As to storage, keep them out of daylight; I can't imagine that keeping them inflated for six months is going to do damage; over-inflation is recommended for storage with tyres kept on the car. In any event, I would take notice of what the experts say (not that I necessarily include well known chains among them); we punters don't know as much about tyres as we like to think, as is evident in the common assumption that "speed" ratings are only about top speed capability.

Alternatively, choose a good year-round tyre. None of my cars have anything else. I guess there may be a case for a winter tyre if you are somewhere where winters are always severe, but otherwise I can't see the point.

 

[Sp!ke]

The wheels should also either be hung so that no part of the trre is touching the ground or they should be stored upright and rotated regularly.

 

[Satch]

Dunlop suggest that tyres mounted on rims but off the car be stored at 0.75BAR. a tad under 11psi.

http://www.dunloptyrecentre.co.uk/a/pdf/storage.pdf

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

http://www.ntda.co.uk/cms/images/downloads/leaflet_two.pdf

 

[BTB 500]

As per Bobby's link, you can see from the sidewall info. when a tyre was made. One that has been fitted for 6 years will obviously be older than that - and they deteriorate from date of manufacture onwards. Any kind of visible cracking/crazing would be shouting "replace me ASAP", IMHO.

 

[BTB 500]

Earlier this year, Lidl were selling wheel/tyre storage bags

In many parts of Germany winter tyres are mandatory, so most people have two sets of wheels ... one stored, and the other on the car. Those with garages normally hang them in a row on the wall.

 

[flango]

I have 2 sets for the CLK, one for normal road use, the other for track or private events. The ones that aren't on the car are hung on the garage wall by a bracket on which is welded some threaded bar, this goes through the wheel bolt hole and is secured buy a nut spun down the threaded bar.

If they are going to be there a while, usually through winter, I spray the sidewalls back and front with Aerospace 303 UV protectant to stop degredation of the sidewall and cracking, as said earlier UV is a tyres worst enemy, oh and I keep the pressures normal.

Done this with all my cars and never had a problem.

 

[Roger Jones]

At

http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html

you will find:

"As part of the DOT code (G in the tyre marking above), there is a tyre manufacture date stamped on the sidewall. Take a look at yours - there will be a three- or four-digit code. This code denotes when the tyre was manufactured, and as a rule-of-thumb, you should never use tyres more than 6 years old. The rubber in tyres degrades over time, irrespective of whether the tyre is being used or not. When you get a tyre change, if you can, see if the tyre place will allow you to inspect the new tyres first. It's not uncommon for these shops to have stuff in stock which is more than 6 years old. The tyre might look brand new, but it will delaminate or have some other failure within weeks of being put on a vehicle.
. . .

DOT Age Code Calculator
The calculation built in to this page is up-to-date based on today's date. If the DOT age code on your tyres is older than this code, change your tyres.

DOT AGE CODE: 15 03
​

Interesting note : in June 2005, Ford and GM admitted that tyres older than 6 years posed a hazard and from their 2006 model year onwards, started printing warnings to this effect in their drivers handbooks for all their vehicles."

 

[Roger Jones]

That Dunlop document is sprinkled with errors, mainly typo. However, by this:

"When storage exceeding 6 months is anticipated, the vehicle should not be blocked up so weight does not rest on the tyres and inflation pressure reduced to 1.0 BAR. Storage of such vehicles should be under cover if possible."

do they mean this:

"When storage exceeding 6 months is anticipated, the vehicle should <DELETE not> be blocked up so weight does not rest on the tyres and inflation pressure reduced to 1.0 BAR. Storage of such vehicles should be under cover if possible."

 

[Rory]

Some Dunlop tyres are susceptible to cracking, so maybe not a storage issue at all....you could send them back to the manufacturer via any High Street retailer who has an account with Dunlop...check Dunlop website for nearest retailer to you, although due to the tread depths remaining, you are only going to receive compensation on a pro-rata basis, that is, if it is found to be a manufacturers fault .

That's interesting - my daughter has SEAT Ibiza with Dunlop SP Sport 2000 tyres. Owned from new and looked after by me - tyres never run flat etc.

At 4yr MOT (34K) miles, the tester noted cracks at the bottom of the treads of the rear tyres, which were less than half worn (fronts had worn out earlier and been replaced - car is FWD). I took the wheels off at home and was pretty horrified by how cracked they were - one of the tyres had an open crack for its whole circumference, and the other was heading the same way.

 

[BTB 500]

The first set of new rear tyres for my SL were 3 years old when delivered by the supplier. Needless to say they were rejected - always check the date codes.

 

[geoffd]

tyres

Hm…lots of opinion here. Not totally consistent perhaps, but the one thing missing is support for horizontal storage – which is what I was advised to do, and what Michelin and a few other manufacturers advise for tyres mounted on rims. Perhaps it’s time I made some brackets to store them vertically off the ground.

It’s interesting about the Dunlop/cracking issue. The Goodyear set show no such damage, and surprisingly, neither did the rear Dunlops before I changed them last year. I think I’ll show them to my local indy tyre expert and see if he knows about this issue and if it’s worth sending these tyres back to Dunlop for comment. I’m not really bothered about compensation, I am bothered that if I buy Dunlop again I might have the same problem in a few years.

Just one other point. In response to the comment about winter tyres, and whether they are worth it : in general, at temperatures less than about 7 C normal tyre performance starts to deteriorate. Where I live, over the last three or four months it’s been less than 7 C at some point for probably 60-70% of the days. I think that’s a sensible safety precaution. And if I lived somewhere more extreme, I’d definitely advise them. Also, by using two sets of wheels it means my nice shiny summer set don’t get ruined by salt.

Thanks for all the thoughts and ideas.

Geoff

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

It's popular amongst caravanners to remove wheels in winter to avoid flat spotting, and advice I've heard amongst caravanners is to store horizontally with a flat board between each wheel/tyre. Best in a cool, dry place, and covered.

Not sure about deflation - I'll check.

 

[BTB 500]

Just one other point. In response to the comment about winter tyres, and whether they are worth it : in general, at temperatures less than about 7 C normal tyre performance starts to deteriorate.

That's widely quoted ... by tyre manufacturers who want to sell winter tyres.

What's not widely quoted is by how much the performance degrades. I've certainly driven my SL on 'summer tyres' at -7C (clear roads - not snow) without any traction/grip issues over a 120 mile journey.

It's also been pointed out that none of the major fleets (Police, Ambulance, Military, etc.) switch their vehicles to winter tyres simply on the basis on temperature. Only where persistent snow/ice is expected (and not always then).

 

[BTB 500]

It's popular amongst caravanners to remove wheels in winter to avoid flat spotting

I put my caravan on axle stands.

 

[crockers]

I dream of a set of tyres lasting 3 years.......rears lucky to get 1.

 

[br0ke]

Just one other point. In response to the comment about winter tyres, and whether they are worth it : in general, at temperatures less than about 7 C normal tyre performance starts to deteriorate. Where I live, over the last three or four months it’s been less than 7 C at some point for probably 60-70% of the days. I think that’s a sensible safety precaution. And if I lived somewhere more extreme, I’d definitely advise them. Also, by using two sets of wheels it means my nice shiny summer set don’t get ruined by salt.
Geoff

Couldn't agree with you more, and what is the point of driving around with tyres that cost £150+ each when you can drive around safer with tyres that cost £50.
I just took off the 16" and put on the 18" at the weekend. The car feels more skittish, doesn't deal with pot holes very well and the traction light comes on too quickly in the wet.
Looks one hell of a lot better though.....