How to Store Tires in the Off-Season

How to Store Tires in the Off-Season For The Best Longevity

Key Takeaways

• Whether you’re storing winter tires, performance tires, or want to have a spare set just in case, tire storage is crucial to maintaining their tread depth and value for continued use.
• Extended time in direct sunlight and high temperatures can cause a lot of damage to your tires.
• Storing tires isn’t as simple as throwing them in the corner and waiting for the seasons to change.
• A new or freshly used set of tires can last a long time in storage if you care for them properly.

Table of Contents

1. Best Practices for Storing Tires Indoors and Outdoors
2. How Temperature and Humidity Affect Tire Rubber
3. Should You Store Tires on or off the Rims?
4. How Long Can Tires Be Stored Before They Expire?

Storing season-specific tires away from the elements is vital for their effectiveness and can save you money in the long run. Improper storage can lead to deterioration and uneven wear on your tires. We’ll show you the best ways to store tires inside and outside your home so you can get the most value out of your seasonal tires.

Best Practices for Storing Tires Indoors and Outdoors

Whether you’re storing winter tires, performance tires, or want to have a spare set just in case, tire storage is crucial to maintaining their tread depth and value for continued use. Keep your tires in a cool and dry place. Excessive heat and direct sunlight can dry out your tires, causing extensive damage to their integrity and performance capability.

The ideal place to store your tires is your basement. With its cooler temperatures and lack of direct sunlight, it is easier to control these conditions so you don’t have to worry about your tires frying in the sun outside. Whether you’re storing your tires in your basement, garage, shed, or storage unit, keep them off the floor to avoid uneven wear and water damage from occurring. If they aren’t mounted on rims, stack them up, but put a pallet under them to avoid any water damage. Occasionally turn them in the off-season to avoid flat spot buildup.

If you don’t have a basement, there are also outdoor storage options to choose from. You need to watch out for a few things if you decide to do this. Keep your tires out of hot spaces like sheds, attics, or outdoors during the summer. Garages and storage units are good options for tire storage.

We also recommend you use vacuum-sealed bags. Tire storage bags are key to preventing your tires from deteriorating. Make sure to vacuum all the air out of the bags for a tight fit. You should also clean and dry your tires to make sure they clean of any road debris, leaves, or other gunk and grime.

How Temperature and Humidity Affect Tire Rubber

Extended time in direct sunlight and high temperatures can cause a lot of damage to your tires. This doesn’t mean you can’t drive around this summer, but heat and humidity do have an impact on tire rubber.

Do not store your tires outside in direct sunlight during the summer. The UV rays from the sun can deteriorate the rubber. This can result in drying out the tire, which leads to cracking. Higher temps and humidity also increase the air pressure in your tires. Make sure you don’t overinflate your tires, especially in the summer, because they can increase 1 PSI for every 10 degrees. Overinflation in high temps can cause uneven tread wear and increase the risk of tire failure.

Heat also leads to tire rubber getting softer, which leads to faster tread wear. Tires will wear down faster in the summer. This is why tire rotations and maintaining recommended tire pressure are important through hot, humid days.

Should You Store Tires on or off the Rims?

Storing tires isn’t as simple as throwing them in the corner and waiting for the seasons to change. Tires that are mounted on rims need to be stored differently than tires without rims. How to store your tires really depends on whether they’re on rims or not.

For mounted tires, hanging them is a good way to prevent water damage, bald spots, and other wear you might find after having them sit for months on end. Use heavy-duty hooks to hold them up from the center hub for security and distortion prevention.

For unmounted tires, you should stack them on top of each other and routinely turn them around to avoid rubbing and wear. Do not hang unmounted tires because that will cause the tire to lose its shape over time, which will impact its reliability and performance.

How Long Can Tires Be Stored Before They Expire?

A new or freshly used set of tires can last a long time in storage. The rule of thumb is that tires should be replaced every six years, no matter if their tread depth is still good.

After six years of use or storage, the rubber will start to lose its integrity. The compounds of the tires start to dry out, which leads to hardening, cracking, and weakening the tire, increasing the chances of a blowout.

Even the steel belts above the tire plies start to weaken, leading to greater and greater risk of structure failure over time.

Hardened, dried out tires also lose their grip, so if you have six year old winter tires, they are not going to perform as well as you hoped and can be dangerous on icy road conditions.

Always know and monitor your tires’ age and tread depth, especially as winter approaches because of the snowy and icy road conditions. Before your tires turn six, you should make a plan to buy new tires, so shop around and find the right tires for your vehicle, the upcoming season (ie winter or performance tires), and your budget. Learn more about our selection of tires to help you find the perfect fit.