Winter Tyres 2013/2014 Thread

Iceweasel

Good advice on storing can be found here:

http://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/www/tyres_uk_en/themes/tyres_safety/how_to_store_your_winter_tyres_during_the_summer_en.html

OddballJamie

bigjl wrote: »

You are unlikely to get any distortion as the tyres are not under any load.

But putting them on their side means they are loads are being exerted on parts of the tyres not designed for that kind of constant load

Just my take on it.

Every time i have seen tyres being stored it is always tread down.

If I was storing just tyres I would agree, however I'm storing wheels with inflated tyres.

Was also recommended to do it this way by a tyre fitter mate of mine. Something about tyre flatspots.

OddballJamie

Iceweasel wrote: »

Good advice on storing can be found here:

http://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/www/tyres_uk_en/themes/tyres_safety/how_to_store_your_winter_tyres_during_the_summer_en.html

Thanks for that, glad my mate was right, just need to let some pressure out of them this weekend.

bigjl

OddballJamie wrote: »

If I was storing just tyres I would agree, however I'm storing wheels with inflated tyres.

Was also recommended to do it this way by a tyre fitter mate of mine. Something about tyre flatspots.

The flat spots are caused by the weight of the tyre pressing down on the ssme position for long periods of time.

I have never seen anybody other than a scrap yard store tyres on of off wheels sidewalls down.

If you look at the pictures of the cheap tyre store sbove you will see that the load is carried by the wheel and the sidewalls don't touch each other.

Though i would prefer the motorsport solution with the rack storing them the correct way up.

Not being rude about your friend but a tyre sidewall is not designed to support that kind of load, it is as simple as that.

And stories of tyre deformation are from classic car owners or similar ehose vehicle sits for months at a time. The simple act of moving the vehicle s few inches will negate any issues.

Hence why most car dealers move their stock around every week or so.

You are free to take or ignore any advice on the forum but fitting tyres doesn't actually mean they k ow anything about tyres.

And if the tyre shop i went too stored tyres on their side for lengthy periods of time i wouldn't buy there, harsh perhaps, but it is my money and my safety.

bigjl

http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/learn-share/care-guide/the-storage-story


Michelin would appear to have the ssme opinion as me for normal tyres but agree with Continental for winter tyres.

Is this due to the softer compound of winter tyres perhaps?

Certainly in my experience the rubber feels harder in the sidewalls than the very squishy rubber on the tread.

I will concede i am wrong as winter tyre storage goes, but i will claim the moral victory on the summer tyre storage.

My excuse being i have only had one set of winters and i left them on!!!!

AdrianC

The loads on the sidewall from a stack of four, even eight, tyres on rims are absolutely negligible, even compared to the outward forces imposed by the pressure within the tyre.

The tyre will change shape slightly, until the pressure upon the outside reached equilibrium with the pressure inside - typically about 30psi, just as they do when the weight of the car is on them on the ground. They don't... Even when they're damn near flat, they barely spread.

The weight of a complete rim and tyre is, what, about 15kg? Times four = 60kg, or 120lb. At 30psi, for there to even start to be any deformation would require only 4 square inch of contact area at the bottom of the stack. That's to put just the bottom tyre's lower sidewall into equilibrium with the pressure inside the tyre, remember?

A bit of simple maths (pi x diameter, remember), shows that there's only just over an inch of sidewall contact needed to balance that pressure, assuming there's none of the rim in contact with the ground. As soon as the rim starts to take weight, then there's no more deformation.

(and, yes, I'm sorry about the dibnah units of measurement, but psi's kinda inherently dibnah...)

OddballJamie

I'm even more conflicted now I've looked at the site I got my last set from.
http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/fitting-and-storage-advice.html#Storing_your_tyres

I'm tempted to get some big ladder hooks and hang them on the garage wall.