The OEM M+S tires on their 18" wheels have been removed and replaced with 17" rims on which winter tires are mounted.
Should I place the stored tires in garbage bags or anything?
Thank you.
Just for winter storage, I would just keep them inside and out of any sunlight. They shoud be fine over the short term.
With long term storage (5 years, etc) sprinkling them talcum powder and bagging them can help to preserve the rubber quite a bit.
Store tires in a cool, dry place away from sunlight, sources of ozone (electric motors), radiant heat (furnace), and comtaminants (oil, gasoline). Do not deflate them. Store them upright, if possible, but this isn’t a big deal. Just don’t pile something heavy on them. In bags is good, in bags filled with nitrogen is even better.
If you want a more complete set of intructions, see the Rubber Manufacturers Association Manual:
http://www.rma.org/publications/tire_service_professionals/index.cfm?PublicationID=11516
Page 26 !!
Ok4450…is good
Anything more then just standing them in the garage, in a cool place is over kill for just summer storage. My eight are aligned under a work bench with a dust cloth over them. Garbage bags are more beneficial for keeping the tires from griming up the interior during transport…I would replace tires rather then store them for very long term.
Thank you, ok and Capri.
On the garage concrete foundation’s ledge, I have three tires stacked upright, on top of each other, tied to eye bolts screwed into the wall studs behind the drywall. (No weight is on the eyebolts.)
The fourth tire can’t fit under the garage ceiling, so it is out of the way on the same ledge at the garage door.
Is there a way to hang tires from the ceiling? That would open up room on the right side of the Expedition.
Would a storage rack like the one at tirerack.com/accessories/category.jsp?category=Tire+Storage work?
Thanks, dagosa. One set of wheels is stored just while the other is on the vehicle.
(During a dry period with no snow, I removed the Winter wheels and put the 18" M+S wheels back on. Didn’t want to needlessly wear the snow tires on dry roads.)
Lion, that wall rack would be nice but we’re all voldumbteer and have no money for that.
I store mine in the basement in a dark corner. I have them in garbage bags so the rubber does not mark the floor. I leave the gabage bags open, not tied shut. Have been doing this for over 40 years with good results.
@robertgift
You rotated the tires back to all seasons because of a dry spell ?
In my experience with winter tires, if you drive carefully, as they don’t handle as well, you get just as much mileage as an all season out of them. That is if the weather remains cool. You are still wearing the tires you put back on. So, I see no reason to keep swapping tires after winter begins. The exception might be if you traveled on a trip and knew the studs ( if you had them) might take a beating.
Do snow tires not have a softer compound? (I purposely make larger radius turns to wear less rubber off.) Also they are on 17" wheels and presumably higher rolling resistance.
So these 250 to 500-mile round trips use less fuel using Ford’s 18" Bridgestone M+S tires.
(I would calculate fuel economy, but emergency runs ruin my efficient-as-possible efforts.)
(These tires have holes for studs. Should I get studs installed? Perhaps someone may donate installing them. Or is dirt in the holes now a problem?)
(Can I pound studs in myself?)
We have a little floor hydraulic jack, so it is easier swapping the wheels.
The softer rubber compound allows winter tires to stay pliable in cold weather. All season tires are pliable in summer. That dosen’t mean they wear excessively then. When it’s warmer then 50 degrees on a consistent bases, winter tires may tend to be too soft. In the winter, no. It just doesn’t work that way. I would keep them on all winter long because first, It makes little diference in wear, and second, I am not that great a driver that I can pick up refreeze black ice from snow melt or frost while driving at night. I need all the winter help I can get, all the time…
From experience with tractor tires which also get very hard in the winter, I can tell you that the harder rubber tread like that of the all season can be useless on ice. Again, my good man, NO ONE recommends rotating back and forth between all seasons in the winter, just because the roads appear dry. Well, maybe Clark Kent…I’m retired and I don’t have “that” much free time on my hands. Do it if you wish. I see little or no advantage if you don’t have studs.
If you have already used the winter tires, it’s too late to install studs.
Thank you.
My concern has been deep snow where studs will not make any difference.
Glad for your advice about leaving the Winter wheels on; I don’t relish swapping tires, especially without any power tools. But I hate running winter tires for three weeks on dry roads. I’d also hate wearing off studs on dry pavement. Wish that a “stud cord” running inside a tire groove channel could be tightened on. Then take it off when dry roads.
At night I drive more slowly and have not slid on black ice on which others have wrecked.
Well used to be around here you had to have the studded tires off by around the first of April,now they are completely illegal,if storing air, down to about half inflation pressure and store in a dark,cool place away from anything that will generate ozone and if you have ran the tires any you cant put studs in them.Pretty novel idea about not stressing the tires by short scrubbing, radius turns,I know twisty roads sure take a toll on truck tires.
Its probaly just me but the rubber compounds dont seem to last as long now as they used to and remember tires do have an expiration date now,DOT will write us a ticket now on out of date Truck tires-Kevin
Contractor bags to keep out the dirt, rain, flooding, spider webs, and moths.
Contractor bags keep out the dirt ? Like tires are bothered by dirt and rain to begin with during the winter when on the car ?
Throw in a mouse trap (s) if you store the wheels in bags, shed, or like.