How to Store Your Tyres Without Taking Up Too Much Space

You may either do it yourself or pay experts to remove your tyres. See the page on changing a tyre for additional information on the DIY method.

In either case, be careful to record each tire’s location on your car to rotate them when you reinstall them after storage. Maintain the recommended pressure advised by your car’s manufacturer if keeping your tyres on their rims. This air pressure may be on the driver’s side door jamb or in your operator’s handbook. 

CLEAN UP THE TYRES

It would be best to properly clean your wheel-tyre units after removing them from your car to eliminate any debris or other materials that can hasten their degeneration. All you need is a brush or towel and some soapy water. After washing, be careful to rinse them fully. Avoid using cleansers that include petroleum, such as solvents, gasoline, or oil, as these substances may react with the rubber components in car tyres and cause them to degrade.

RETAIN YOUR TYRES IN SEPARATE BAGS 

Your tyres should get stored in separate bags after cleaning. This will shield them from oxidization, protect them from harmful environmental elements like ozone, and stop oils from draining out of the rubber, which can cause tyres to dry up and break. Big, black bin liners will work; the most crucial requirements are that they are opaque to prevent light from degrading the tyres and durable enough to avoid tearing, which would break their seal. To rotate the bags later, it is a good idea to label the exterior of each bag with the location of each tyre on your car at this time. 

Ensure that each tyre is dry after washing before bagging it to prevent vapour from getting trapped within the bag. Moreover, you should take as much air as possible from each bag. Use a vacuum to remove the bags, then tape them shut if necessary.

SET UP THE TYRES IN A COOL, DRY PLACE.

Tyres are sensitive to UV radiation. Therefore it’s important to keep them somewhere that isn’t exposed to direct sunshine. When subjected to significant temperature changes, severe heat, or variations in humidity, tyres can deteriorate. Due to these reasons, inside in a steady temperature and humidity environment is the optimum location for storage. The most sensible option is a basement for those who have one. Less desirable locations include sheds, lofts, and garages because of how much more extreme environmental changes tend to occur there.

Be sure that tyres get stored distant from heat sources while picking the storage site. Also, it’s critical to shield tyres from harmful airborne compounds like gasoline, lubricants, and solvents. It is crucial to avoid locations with high ozone concentrations since oxidation is essentially how tyres age and dramatically speeds the process. Avoid storing tyres next to furnaces, compressors, sump pumps, central vacuum systems, or other ozone sources because electric motors produce ozone. 

POSITION OF STORAGE

Whether your tyres are kept on or off, the rims will determine the best place to store them. The two possibilities if they are on the rims are to hang them from hooks through the rims, which is usually preferred, or to lay them flat and stack them horizontally. If you select option two, it is advisable to utilize rim spacers to prevent all of the weight from getting supported by the sidewalls. The weight of the rims on one point of contact with the ground for a long period might stress that section of the tyre, thus never storing inflated tyres vertically.

While not in use, tyres should always be kept upright and next to one other. Sidewall-to-sidewall stacking is not recommended since the tyres’ weight may cause them to deform. You may also purchase a tyre rack and keep your tyres on it. Using wood or some other material is crucial to raise the tyre off the ground or floor. Its insulation shields them from changes in temperature, muck, and moisture. 

WHAT IF I CAN’T GET MY TYRES OUT OF THE VEHICLE?

 

If you want to store your car and its tyre, first try to figure out how to raise the car off the ground so it won’t be lying on the tyre for a long time. If you can’t do that, ensure the car is as light as possible before putting it away.

Avoid letting a car rest on its tyres for too long since this might result in flat spots when the typical tyre deformation in contact with the ground stiffens. If a tyre is motionless for an extended period, the deflection bulge may also experience ozone cracking. 

Move your tyres often to prevent this degradation. To reduce deformation, you can inflate your tyres further, but not over the maximum pressure on the sidewall. Just deflate your tyres to the pressure advised before utilizing them.

Last, try to keep the car indoors or use tyre covers to protect your tyres from the elements (temperature changes, sunshine, wetness).