If you live and drive in Canada, you are more than likely to face some bad winter weather, meaning you should have a set of seasonal tires to safely drive on Canadian roads. When the winter ends, you put your summer tires back on your car and put your winter tires in storage. That’s a great start, but many people end their winter tire storage process there. To properly store your seasonal tires in the summer, and your regular tires in the winter, so you don’t have to replace them earlier than you should, follow these tips:
Wash and Treat Your Tires
Before you put your tires away for storage, make sure you wash and treat them. Tires may dry out completely while in storage due to being made from natural and synthetic rubbers. If they dry out, it could cause dry rot and cracking, which clearly isn’t good for the health of your tires. Treat your tires with a tire cleaner and wipe off the residue. After that, spray on some tire dressing to the rubber. This tire dressing will soak into the rubber to keep it from drying while in storage.
Your tires go through a lot of dirt when they are on the road which can diminish their quality of them. Wash them with detergent, rinse them off and make sure they are fully dry before putting them away.
Tire Pressure
Underinflated tires can develop flat spots when stored away for the season. To ensure that your tires are in working condition when you put them back on your car, make sure the tire pressure is good and that your tires are fully inflated. Having fully inflated tires in storage will also help keep their round shape!
Inspect them with Your Eyes
Look over every part of your tire that you can see with your eyes. Check the tread, sidewalls, and bead for any damages or exaggerated wear. If you notice that your tires are damaged in any way before you store them, it gives you a lot of time to replace them if need be. If you notice any uneven wear to your tires, go to an auto shop to check your alignment, suspension, and wheel bearings so your other tires don’t face the same fate.
Label Your Tires
When you go to put your tires away, label your tires to identify where they were on your vehicle before you took them off. Use FR for the front right, BL for the back left, and so on. You don’t want to mess up your tire rotation schedule by switching the tire location too soon.
Stack the Tires Flat
Stack your tires flat in your storage area. This will prevent your tires from suffering from flat spots, also it will prevent them from rolling around in storage. Bag up your tires, and lay them on a piece of plywood to keep them clean while they hibernate until you need them again.
All credit goes to Car R Us
