The Proper Tire Care during Long-Term Car Storage
In the world of cars, there is a term called daily driver, indicating a car you drive regularly. Whether daily driving to work or every weekend for a cruise down a country road, you drive it constantly without being parked for a prolonged time. With that said, there are some exceptions.
There are people with project cars that spend most of their time parked. Yes, I’m referring to Miata owners waiting for their new LS engine to arrive. Some people also go on longer trips or sabbaticals, where their cars need to be parked for a long time. Regardless of the reason, just parking your car and forgetting about it for a few months can cause some serious problems.
The problems can affect multiple parts of the car, but since we’re a tire site, I’ll focus on that part. Properly storing a car means you’ll need to take proper care of the tires to ensure you won’t damage them in the long run.
To help you with that, I’ve listed some of the more critical things to consider when you leave your friend parked for a long time.
What is Long-Term Storage?
Before I start explaining what to consider, let’s discuss long-term storage and its meaning. There isn’t a specific number for this, so it’s kind of difficult to give you an exact explanation. For the most part, a couple of weeks isn’t exactly long-term, mainly because it wouldn’t cause any serious problems. Let’s be real: people go on vacations and leave their cars, and in most cases, they come back and drive them like they haven’t left them for more than a few days.
When we talk about long-term storage, we usually refer to a period over a few months. It can be 2 months or 2 years, but at the end of the day, you should consider it as long-term storage.
Long-Term Tire Storage on a Car
You can protect your tires during long-term storage in multiple ways, so let’s discuss each one and why you should consider it. Don’t confuse this with the regular tire storage during the season you’re not using them. That’s a different kind of storage than this.
Proper Inflation
We often say that inflating the tires per spec is recommended to get the most out of them in terms of performance and longevity, but it’s also essential if you plan to leave your car parked for a long time. Tires lose pressure after a while, regardless of how well they’re mounted, so inflating them per spec is essential.
The goal is to have a set of tires with decent pressure when you return. Even if you leave the car for a very long time, it’s essential for the pressure in the tire to be more than the ambient one. This is to avoid finding a squished tire when you return because that can cause severe damage, especially to the sidewall. It can lead to bulges, which you wouldn’t want to see.
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I’ve seen some people go above the recommended tire pressure, especially when they plan to keep the car parked longer. When I say a bit, I mean a few PSI, which shouldn’t hurt the tire, but I also don’t see any massive benefits. The only one that comes to mind is in cases where you leave the car for a very long time without checking and reinflating the tires. With that said, tire age may become an issue after a few years, so you should also keep that in mind.
My Corolla is currently sitting parked, and before I did that, I made sure that the tires were inflated per spec, and I check them constantly, which is the second point here. If you’re not leaving the country and still see the car, having a pressure gauge and a portable inflator is a good idea. That way, you can keep the pressure constant and avoid long-term damage. The only important thing is to monitor the pressure constantly.
Clean the Tires
Before storing the car, it’s important to clean the tires properly. We drive our cars on the streets, which aren’t the world’s cleanest parts. Sure, we see the dirt and think it’s not an issue, but there are plenty of other contaminants that we don’t see.
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A wash and a proper cleaning can do wonders to maintain the rubber and prevent the debris from causing long-term damage to the rubber. Combining a brush with a good cleaning agent can do wonders in eliminating all the grime and dirt, leaving the tires completely clean.
Storage Location
The storage location will play a massive role in what you should do next. Ideally, you’d want the car stored in a dry garage away from generators or electric motors. The problem with these devices is that they produce ozone, which can cause accelerated damage to the rubber.
This part doesn’t differ much from what I discussed in my tire storing guide. Keeping the tires in a dry place prevents rubber deterioration. A closed garage will also protect them from UV rays, which can dry them up much faster than anticipated.
Use Jack Stands
Let’s say you own a garage where you can leave your car for a long time. If this is the case, the best thing you can do for your tires is to let the car sit on jack stands. The idea behind this approach is to prevent flat spots from the car being parked for a long time.
When a car is parked, the weight will push the tires, which isn’t a massive problem under normal conditions. When you drive the car regularly, the tires won’t have any issues. On the other hand, over a prolonged time, you risk deforming the tires and creating flat spots.
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The car won’t have any problems being on the jack stands for a long time. With that said, you need to park it on a flat surface before putting it on the stands to eliminate the risk of the car falling over.
Use Tire Parking Pads
In some situations, people may not be able to use jack stands for whatever reason, at which point the tire parking pads come into play. They’re usually made from rubber or softer plastic and act as mattresses to your tires so they don’t sit on a hard, flat surface. This enables them to distribute the weight more evenly and prevent flat spots.
Move the Car Around
Let’s say that even the pads are something you’re unable to use, so what do you do to prevent flat spots? Move the car. If you plan to leave for a few months, this can become problematic, so it applies to people who will be around the car but won’t drive it. Even without an engine, as long as the car has its wheels on, you can move it a bit after a while. You can take it for a quick drive around the block if it has an engine. This can be healthy for the tires and other parts of the car.
As I mentioned, my Corolla is currently resting in front of my building. Since I’m still around, take it for a quick drive around the block to ensure I won’t see flat spots after a few months.
Sitting in the same place for a long time creates flat spots, so the idea here is to move it around so that the other part of the tire holds the weight for a while. You don’t have to do this every day, but you can move it a bit after a few weeks. This way, you will ensure that the weight isn’t falling on the same spot every time and minimize the risk of flat spots.
Tire Protection
Finally, let’s talk about protecting the tires, and there are two aspects that I want to cover here. The first one is a protective dressing, something like the PermaShine coating. These kinds of products are designed to repel water, meaning that moisture shouldn’t be an issue. Most importantly, they work as UV protectors, so the tires won’t dry out sooner than expected. This can be especially problematic if you don’t have the car in a garage.
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On the second side of things, we have tire or vehicle covers. They help protect the tires from UV rays, rain, dust, and everything they can experience. Sure, a coating does a solid job, but covers improve on that and give you even better protection. It’s vital if your car is outside exposed to the elements.
Conclusion
Some of us have been in a situation where we’d leave our cars parked for a while, which is usually fine. Cars sitting for a few weeks won’t be an issue for the car or the tires. With that said, going for longer than this means you’ll need to take some precautions.
When it comes to tires, these kinds of precautions are essential to keep the tires in the best shape possible and prevent damage from prolonged parking. It’s not an absolute must, but it’s an excellent way to keep the tires healthy for longer and prevent permanent damage.